Queens County Democrats Petition For Party Reforms

QUEENS, NY — A faction of the Queens County Democratic Party is pressing their new leader to make the organization more transparent.

More than 100 people have signed a petition demanding a series of robust reforms to the powerful Queens County Democratic Party, including greater access to information about the party structure and how to run for the organization's County Committee.

The Queens County Democratic Party, made up of more than 1,000 committee members who each represent a few blocks in the borough, fills public office vacancies and nominates judicial candidates, according to The New York Times. The party also recommends NYC Board of Elections commissioners.

"The structure of the Queens Democratic Party suggests active and robust democratic participation. However, the actual practices of the party leadership are just the opposite," Orianna Webb, the petition's creator, wrote on Change.org. "Democratic voters should expect more from their party."

Webb ran for County Committee last year, but the Board of Elections invalidated her petitions due to a clerical error, she told Patch.

The Sunnyside resident decided to start the petition after reading a letter that outlined suggested reforms to the party organization, signed by 43 Democratic County Committee members and addressed to U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks, the newly elected chairman of the Queens County Democratic Party.

The letter, dated April 4, requested such changes as more frequent meetings of the full County Committee, the creation of an ethics committee, live-streaming Executive Committee meetings, and a public record of all votes by the organization's Executive Committee and County Committee members and district leaders.

"There’s a lot of energy among the electorate in Queens, and they want to be involved,” Webb said.

Friends in Queens: Tell @Queens_Dems Chairman Greg Meeks to adopt County Committee reforms & stop doing #QueensMachine politics.

Add your name to the petition. Take 5 seconds.

Kudos & thanks to the #CountyCommittee members leading this effort.#QCC4Allhttps://t.co/Gd7VzVdVZh
— Bright D Limm 임대중 (@bdlimm) April 8, 2019

"The County Committee is supposed to represent the voice of grassroots Democrats," said Jackson Heights resident Radha Vatsal, who was elected to the County Committee in 2018. "The bylaws don't actually let County Committee members do anything."

County Committee members, who serve two-year terms, only meet once every two years, according to Vatsal. She said of the organization: "It's just controlled by a few power brokers at the top."

Meeks hasn't yet responded to the letter, Vatsal said.

About 70 district leaders in March unanimously elected Meeks, who represents Jamaica and other areas of southeastern Queens, as the organization's new chairman. Meeks succeeded former U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, who stepped down in February when he joined one of the country's top lobbying firms.

Read the full letter by Queens Democratic County Committee here.