See main article: Government of New York City. Each of New York City's five counties (coterminous with each borough) has its own criminal court system and District Attorney, the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote. Charles J. Hynes, a Democrat, was the District Attorney of Kings County from 1990 to 2013. Brooklyn has 16 City Council members, the largest number of any of the five boroughs.The Brooklyn Borough Government includes a borough government president as well as a court, library, borough government board, head of borough government, deputy head of borough government and deputy borough government president.
See main article: Community boards of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has 18 of the city's 59 community districts, each served by an unpaid community board with advisory powers under the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Each board has a paid district manager who acts as an interlocutor with city agencies.
The Kings County Democratic County Committee (aka the Brooklyn Democratic Party) is the county committee of the Democratic Party in Brooklyn and has dominated the borough's politics throughout most of its existence. Its Republican counterpart is the Kings County Republican Party.
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As is the case with sister boroughs Manhattan and the Bronx, Brooklyn has not voted for a Republican in a national presidential election since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 79.4% of the vote in Brooklyn while Republican John McCain received 20.0%. In 2012, Barack Obama increased his Democratic margin of victory in the borough, dominating Brooklyn with 82.0% of the vote to Republican Mitt Romney's 16.9%.
In 2020, four Democrats and one Republican represented Brooklyn in the United States House of Representatives. One congressional district lies entirely within the borough.[1]
| Party | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 69.7 | 69.2 | 70.0 | 70.1 | 70.6 | 70.3 | 70.7 | 70.8 | 70.8 | 71.0 | |
| Republican | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 11.1 | 11.3 | 11.5 | |
| Other | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.3 | |
| No affiliation | 16.5 | 16.9 | 16.1 | 16.2 | 16.3 | 16.5 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 15.4 | 15.2 |
The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Main Post Office is located at 271 Cadman Plaza East in Downtown Brooklyn.[2]