New York State Democratic Party

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. 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. 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. He was reelected chairman in September 2022. 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:

File:Chuck Schumer official photo (cropped 2).jpg|Senior U.S. Senator
(Minority Leader) File:Kirsten Gillibrand, official photo, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg|Junior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

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.

File:Kathy Hochul, November 2017.jpeg|Governor File:Antonio Delgado, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg|Lieutenant Governor File:Letitia James Interview Feb 2020.png|Attorney General File:TPD's Headshot (cropped).jpg |Comptroller

State legislative leaders

• Temporary President/Majority Leader of the Senate: Andrea Stewart-Cousins
• Deputy Senate Majority Leader: Michael Gianaris
• Vice Senate President Pro Tempore: Neil Breslin
• Senior Senate Assistant Majority Leader: Antonio Delegado
• Chair of Majority Program Development Committee: Tim Kennedy
• Chair of the Majority Conference: Jose Serrano
• Senate Assistant Majority Leader on Conference Operations: Brad Hoylman
• Senate Assistant Majority Leader on House Operations: Gustavo Rivera
• Senate Majority Whip: Kevin Parker
• Senate Majority Conference Vice-Chair: Toby Ann Stavisky
• Senate Majority Conference Secretary: Velmanette Montgomery
• Senate Majority Deputy Whip: Joseph Addabbo Jr.
• Senate Majority Assistant Whip: John Liu
• Chair of the Senate Majority Steering Committee: Roxanne Persaud
• Senate Liaison to the Executive Branch: Todd Kaminsky
• Deputy Senate Majority Leader for State/Federal Relations: Leroy Comrie
• Deputy Senate Majority Leader for Senate/Assembly Relations: Shelley Mayer
• Assistant Senate Majority Leader on Intergovernmental Affairs: Monica Martinez
• Speaker of the Assembly: Carl Heastie
• Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly: Pamela Hunter
• House Majority Leader: Crystal Peoples-Stokes

Mayoral offices

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

• New York City (1): Zohran Mamdani
• Buffalo (2): Sean Ryan
• Rochester (3): Malik Evans
• Yonkers (4): Mike Spano
• Albany (6): Dorcey Applyrs
• New Rochelle (7): Yadira Ramos-Herbert
• Mount Vernon (8): Shawyn Patterson Howard
• Schenectady (9): Gary McCarthy

List of chairpersons

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.

References

References

1. "New York Voter Registration Statistics".
2. [http://www.nydems.org/ Home]. New York State Democratic Committee. Retrieved on May 13, 2010.
3. Hardwick, Michael. (1989). ["State Party Profiles"](<!--).
4. Einsidler, Nina. (18 February 2022). "Hochul accepts nomination for governor at New York State Democratic Committee Convention".
5. Waite, Andrew. (27 August 2022). "Castelli's chances against Stefanik may depend on how well he nationalizes race". The Daily Gazette.
6. Reisman, Nick. (23 September 2022). "New York Democratic Party chairman re-elected to post".
7. Kestenbaum, Lawrence. (2010). "Democratic state chairs, 1853-2008 (Incomplete!)". [[The Political Graveyard]].