The Kings County Democratic County Committee 2020 organizational meeting concluded early this morning. Operating under Robert's Rules of Order newly revised 12th Edition parliamentary procedure, the party voted for a new slate of officers, adopted five rule amendments and filled over 2,000 vacancies in its membership.
This is the first virtual organizational meeting in party history, and despite early delays due to a technical modeling error, it was a success, led by Kings County Committee Chair Assemblywoman Tremaine S. Wright.
Kings County Democratic Executive Committee Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte said, "I welcome the diverse voices of all new county committee members and look forward to building a unified party we can all be proud to call our own. We have political parties in this nation whose officials all look and think alike. Ours is a party that reflects the needs of all its constituents. I congratulate our new officers and look forward to leading our party to elect strong Democratic voices in our city and borough."
Unfortunately, some county committee members used this platform as an opportunity to threaten and intimidate members of our staff and volunteers. We condemn this Trumpish behavior and have referred threats made against our fellow Democrats to the proper authorities.
The first order of business at the meeting was the filling of vacancies, which was performed in accordance with our rules and a court order under the guidance of a Professional Registered Parliamentarian.
Once the vacancies were filled, the party voted to elect the new slate of officers. Arleny Alvarado-McCalla was elected county committee chair by an overwhelming majority. The newly elected officers are:
Chairperson: Arleny Alvarado-McCalla
First Vice-Chairperson: David Schwartz
Second Vice-Chairperson: Shirley M. Patterson
Third Vice-Chairperson: Victoria 'Tori' Kelly
Fourth Vice-Chairperson: Christopher M. McCreight
Fifth Vice-Chairperson: Tremaine S. Wright
Sixth Vice-Chairperson: Lori S. Maslow
Secretary: Aaron D. Maslow
First Assistant Secretary: Sabrina Rezzy
Second Assistant Secretary: Emmanuel Vambran
Treasurer: Thomas Sorrentino
Assistant treasurer: Sue Ann Partnow
Sergeant-at-Arms: T.S. Candii
"As the first-ever Latina county committee chair, I look forward to championing the needs of Democrats across our borough," said Arleny Alvarado-McCalla. "I thank the county committee members who supported me, and look forward to working with all our members. I anticipate progressive changes in the new year."
"I thank the Kings County Democratic County Committee for the opportunity to preside over this meeting and congratulate our newly elected county committee chairperson, Arleny Alvarado-McCalla," said Assemblymember Tremaine Wright. "I am very happy I was able to help the county committee elect a new slate that is reflective of our diverse borough."
Four Maslow rule amendments were voted on and approved:
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Amendment #1: Require one policy-issue meeting of the County Committee in odd-numbered years.
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Amendment #2: Add two more vice-chairs and eliminate the requirement that the chair and the first vice-chair be of opposite sexes.
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Amendment #3: Eliminate the requirement that the vice-chairs preside in the order of their vice-chair number.
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Amendment #4: Eliminate the required subcommittees of Assembly District Committees and permit the Assembly District Committees to decide which subcommittees they want that reflect their district needs; and ensure that the Assembly District Committee inform the County Committee secretary of what they do, so as to facilitate maintaining records on Assembly District Committee activities.
Also, an amendment put forth by New Kings Democrats President Mariana Alexander and supported by Aaron Maslow was adopted. That reform institutes financial governance that will bring more financial transparency and accountability to the Kings County Democratic County Committee, including to approve and an annual budget.
After voting concluded, the Task Force on Gender Discrimination and Representation and the finance committee gave reports.
We thank our Kings County Democratic County Committee Chair, Assemblymember Tremaine S. Wright, who presided over the meeting; our parliamentarian, Rob Robinson; our forensic accounting team, Grassi Advisors & Accountants; and our meeting facilitator and stenographer, whose efforts made this virtual meeting possible and ensured that the integrity of each vote was preserved.
