New York State Democratic Committee Explained

New York State Democratic Committee
Chairperson:Jay Jacobs
Leader1 Title:Governor
Leader1 Name:Kathy Hochul
Leader2 Title:Lieutenant Governor
Leader2 Name:Antonio Delgado
Leader3 Title:Senate Temporary President/Majority Leader
Leader3 Name:Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Leader4 Title:Assembly Speaker
Leader4 Name:Carl Heastie
Headquarters:420 Lexington Avenue
New York City, NY
Membership Year:2024
Membership: 6,404,841[1]
Ideology:Liberalism
National:Democratic Party
Seats1 Title:New York State Assembly
Seats2 Title:New York State Senate
Seats3 Title:Statewide Executive Offices
Seats4 Title:New York City Council
Seats5 Title:U.S. House of Representatives (New York)
Seats6 Title:U.S. Senate (New York)
Colors: Blue
State:New York
Country Dab1:Politics of New York (state)
Elections Dab1:Elections in New York (state)

The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany.[2]

It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling the majority of New York's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the governorship.

History

The three Democratic presidents who were from New York are Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd) who was the governor of New York from 1929 to 1932, Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th) who was the governor from 1883 to 1885, and Martin Van Buren (eighth) who was the governor in 1829. Van Buren is also the only Democratic vice president who was from New York.

In the early 20th century when New York was without a Democratic governor, county leaders controlled nominations and campaign finances.[3] President John F. Kennedy got involved in the early 1960s, funneling federal patronage through New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. to the detriment of state chair Michael H. Prendergast.

In 1974, Democrats benefited from Republican problems stemming from the Watergate scandal, winning control of the New York State Assembly and electing a governor, Hugh Carey. Democrats have controlled the Assembly ever since. Republicans controlled the State Senate for some years after that, but Democrats gained a decisive advantage in the chamber in 2018 and 2020.

In August 2021, Jay Jacobs of the committee was the one to tell Andrew Cuomo to resign as New York governor over reports of sexual harassment, then supported Cuomo's successor Kathy Hochul.[4] As of 2022, the NY Democratic Party was described as having "dominance" in New York politics, as it largely controlled political positions in Albany, and Republicans had not won statewide since 2002. As of August 2022 the chair of the committee was Jay S. Jacobs.[5] He was reelected chairman in September 2022.[6] The Executive Committee is chaired by former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The Executive Director is Alexander Wang.

Current elected officials

The following is a list of elected statewide and federal Democratic officeholders:

Members of Congress

Democrats hold 16 of New York's 26 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and both of New York's seats in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senate

Democrats have controlled both of New York's seats in the U.S. Senate since 1998:

U.S. House of Representatives

!District!Member!Photo
3rd
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
18th
20th
25th
Tim Kennedy

Statewide officials

NYS Democrats control all four of the elected statewide offices and NYS Cabinet and Departmental Head positions (e.g., New York State Department of Health, NYS Secretary of State, NYS Department of Corrections, New York State Office of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Office of General Services, NYS Department of Education) and the Governor's Office.

State legislative leaders

Mayoral offices

As of 2019, Democrats control the mayor's offices in nine of New York's ten largest cities:

List of chairpersons

Chairpersons[7] ! Chair !! Tenure !! Hometown while serving
1853-1856 Manhattan
Samuel Fowler 1856–1857 Port Jervis
1857 – August 1866 Batavia
August 1866 – September 1874 Manhattan
September 1874 – September 1875 Watertown
September 1875 – October 1877 Ogdensburg
William Purcell October 1877 – September 1879 Rochester
Lester B. FaulknerSeptember 1879 – October 1881 Dansville
October 1881 – August 1885 Albany
John O'Brien September 1885 – September 1886 Rhinebeck
September 1886 – January 1888 Corning
May 1888 – September 1894 Troy
James W. Hinckley September 1894 – September 1896 Poughkeepsie
September 1896 – September 1898 Manhattan
September 1898 – April 1904 Bath
Cord MeyerApril 1904 – October 1906 Queens
William J. ConnersOctober 1906 – June 1910 Buffalo
June 1910 – October 1910 Thomson
October 1910 – October 1911 Hudson Falls
October 1911 – February 1912 Buffalo
February 1912 – March 1914 Cobleskill
March 1914 – April 1916 Garrison
Edwin S. Harris April 1916 – September 1918 Schuylerville
Joseph A. Kellogg October 1918 – December 1918 Glens Falls
William W. FarleyJanuary 1919 – June 1921 Binghamton
July 1921 – January 1926 Tuxedo Park
January 1926 – August 1928 Albany
August 1928 – September 1930 Utica
October 1930 – June 1944 Manhattan
Paul E. Fitzpatrick July 1944 – December 1, 1952 Buffalo
1952 (Acting) Bronx
December 1952 – June 1955 Utica
Michael H. Prendergast July 1955 – February 28, 1962 Haverstraw
William H. McKeon March 1, 1962 - July 1965 Auburn
John J. Burns July 1965 – December 1971 Binghamton
Joseph F. Crangle December 1971 – December 1974 Buffalo
Patrick J. Cunningham December 1974 – January 31, 1977 Bronx
Dominic J. Baranello February 1, 1977 – December 1982 Blue Point
December 1982 – December 1984 Albany
Laurence J. Kirwan December 1984 – May 1989 Rochester
John A. Marino May 1989 – May 1993 Manhattan
Alfred Gordon May 1993 – March 1995 Queens
Judith H. Hope and John T. Sullivan March 1995 – April 1998 East Hampton and Oswego
Judith Hope April 1998 – December 2001 East Hampton
December 2001 – December 31, 2006 Manhattan
June O'Neill and Dave Pollak December 2006 – April 2008 (Pollak) December 2006 – September 2009 (O'Neill) Watertown and New York
Jay S. Jacobs September 2009 – June 2012 Laurel Hollow
June 2012 – April 2014 Manhattan and Syracuse
April 2014 – May 2014 Manhattan
May 2014 – November 2015 Harlem
Sheila ComarNovember 2015 – June 2016Washington
Byron BrownJune 2016 – January 2019Buffalo
Jay S. Jacobs January 2019 – present Laurel Hollow

Executive Committee Chair, Christine Quinn

Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she is the first female and first openly gay speaker.[3][4] As City Council speaker, Quinn was New York City's third most powerful public servant, behind the mayor and public advocate. She ran to succeed Michael Bloomberg as the city's mayor in the 2013 mayoral election, but she came in third in the Democratic primary.

County parties

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Winger . Richard . June 2024 Ballot Access News Print Edition. July 5, 2024. Ballot Access News.
  2. http://www.nydems.org/ Home
  3. Book: Hardwick, Michael. [<!-- State Party Profiles]. 1989 . 278–279 . December 5, 2011-->.
  4. Web site: Hochul accepts nomination for governor at New York State Democratic Committee Convention . 18 February 2022 . Einsidler . Nina . WBNG.
  5. News: Castelli's chances against Stefanik may depend on how well he nationalizes race . The Daily Gazette . Schenectady . 27 August 2022 . Waite . Andrew.
  6. Web site: Reisman . Nick . 23 September 2022 . New York Democratic Party chairman re-elected to post . NY1.
  7. Web site: Democratic state chairs, 1853-2008 (Incomplete!) . Lawrence . Kestenbaum . Lawrence Kestenbaum . 2010 . . . 2011-04-12.