After much debate, Democratic Committee decides not to endorse either candidate

Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s controversial challenge to incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman set off fireworks at two recent meetings of the usually tranquil New Rochelle Democratic Committee (NRDC) as Latimer supporters attempted to bulldoze a party endorsement of their candidate.

congressional representatives down to the town or city council.  These petitions are usually circulated in March, and a primary is held in late June if more than one candidate submits the required number of signatures.  All these dates and procedures are set by New York State law.  

In January and February, potential candidates for elected office visit the city and town committees to indicate their intention to run for offices that will be on the ballot in November.  The agenda for the NRDC’s January 25 meeting included candidate presentations for Congressional District 16 as well as the state legislature and Westchester County District Attorney.  Sparks began to fly in advance when it became known that some Latimer supporters were going to attempt to have the NRDC endorse him for Congress, and were planning to strengthen their effort by packing the Committee with 11 new District Leaders, mostly from Council District 6 in New Rochelle’s north end.  Five of these names were sent out to members only 29 hours before the actual meeting.  Some committee members questioned whether it was appropriate to appoint  new members just before a controversial endorsement vote.  

A Latimer endorsement, which would prevent party leaders from distributing nominating petitions on behalf of incumbent Democratic Congressman Bowman, would be highly unusual, since committees rarely endorse the challenger to an incumbent, in this case, the first African-American to represent the district.  In fact, the New Rochelle committee had not endorsed any congressional candidate in over 20 years.   In their enthusiasm to endorse Latimer, his supporters did not  consider how this would be perceived by, among others,  New Rochelle’s Black community, the Democratic Party’s most reliable voters.

Bowman, who was first elected in 2020, is the first Black man ever to represent New Rochelle in Congress.  Unlike previous congressional representatives, he has developed a very strong relationship with New Rochelle’s Black community, taking their concerns seriously and providing support through a number of crises.  Many district leaders in the Black community felt that their voters would be deeply offended if the NRDC chose to endorse a primary challenger against Bowman, especially with a push by new district leaders from the predominantly white north end. 

Congressman Bowman addressed the January meeting via Zoom , while Latimer spoke in person.  Former City Council Member Barry Fertel made the motion to endorse Latimer for Congress.  A robust debate over the proposed endorsement roiled through a long evening, with interruptions to hear from various candidates for District Attorney and other offices as they arrived to make their own presentations.  The first vote was on whether to seat the proposed new members immediately, given the objections raised.  By a roll call vote, the majority decided to seat them.  But at the end of the evening, by an overwhelming majority show of hands, the committee put aside Fertel’s motion to endorse Latimer by tabling it.

endorsement of the congressman, realizing that a significant number of committee members had serious questions about his positions on Israel’s war on Gaza, and other issues.  Some Latimer supporters planned to push a Latimer endorsement, despite the controversy it had generated the previous month, while others thought it better to skip the endorsement, given the opposition of many Black district leaders.  It was not at all clear, as the meeting started,

District in numerical order, moving roughly from south to north.  The votes varied considerably by District (as tallied unofficially by an eyewitness):

District	Yes	No
1	5	2
2	5	12
3	3	22
4	1	7
5	11	8
6	22	6
Total	47	57

A unity coalition, including both Bowman and some Latimer supporters won the day, and a potentially divisive endorsement vote was avoided.  As a result, the NRDC will remain  neutral in the congressional primary race and will support district leaders in getting petitions for both candidates signed and processed.

For Bowman supporters, this was a clear victory.  Coupled with last year’s election of two Black men and two women of color to the City Council, this vote showed the increasing influence of  communities of color and their allies in New Rochelle as their numbers and level of organization grow.  Although the vote was hard fought, those who carried the day felt that it would lead to speedier healing and greater unity among New Rochelle Democrats after a divisive primary is concluded.