County Committee

Join county committee in March 2023. It requires minimal work but gives you great opportunity to influence the Democratic Party. Each year, many seats are unfilled and so we need your civic engagement

Read this page to see why you should run and how you can run

Why you should run for County Committee?
Big Impact for Little Work

Over the years, many Harlem officials owe their careers to the Harlem’s county committee. When there is a Special Election, when the incumbent officials vacate a seat before their term ends, the county committee is the body that elects Democratic Party Nominees. Over the years, the Harlem’s county committee voted in Brian Benjamin, Cordell Cleare, Bill Perkins and Eddie Gibbs, and as often happens in Harlem, the Democratic nominee wins the Special Election open to the public easily.

Eddie Gibbs

In Jan 2022, Eddie Gibbs won special election to fill the seat vacated by Robert Rodrigez who was appointed Secretary of State (link)

Cordell Cleare

In Nov 2021, Cordell Cleare won special election to fill seats vacated by Brian Benjamin (link)

Brian Benjamin

In May 2021, Brian Benjamin won special election to fill seats vacated by Bill Perkins who was elected to City Council (link)

Bill Perkins

In 2017, Bill Perkins won in 2017 to fill vacated seats by Inez Dickens who won the election to State Assembly (link)

HOW TO JOIN THE COUNTY COMMITTEE

1. Fill out this google form with your contact info

2. We will assign an election district to you, typically near where you live or work (see the district on the left or a larger impact here)

3. In March - Gather signatures from residents from your election district, only during March to mid April

4. In May - If there aren't others competiting with you in the specific election district, you are in!

5. In June Primary - You will be on the election ballot if you have competition. In that case, you will want to encourage residents from your election district to come out to vote

Harlem comprises of many election districts and county committee members represent their own districts in the Democratic Party

Where is my election district? See these maps for 68 (East Harlem) and 70 (Central Harlem), or pluck in your address in: https://vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll-site).

FAQ

What is the responsibility of a county committee member?

As a committee member, there isn't obligations for you. However, in the event there is a Special Election in your district, you have the OPTION to come out to vote. In a bi-annual meeting of the Manhattan Democratic Committee, you can vote for party leadership. See the current list of leaders here: https://manhattandemocrats.org/leadership/. You can do more if you like to help turnout voters, but there is no obligation. Many existing members do little work.

Why should you run for county committee?

You should run if you want to drive change in the political process in Harlem:

The County Committee has substantial power to drive change in our political system but requires little work. In fact, about ⅓ of current NYC legislators were selected from the county committee! ANY registered Democrats can run inside the Assembly District where they reside. But, since many people don’t run for these seats, the political party will appoint their friends to the seats who don’t have incentive to drive change.
Facilitate voter engagement and voter turnout. This gives the candidate an opportunity to engage your neighbors to discuss the need for change in local politics and to encourage them to come out to vote in the primary election of 2023.

How many county committee members are there in East Harlem and Central Harlem?

In Assembly District 68 East Harlem, there are about 250 county committee members who are regular citizens living in East Harlem, coming from about 70 election districts

Which Election District can I run in?

You can choose ANY of the ~70 election districts within your assembly district to run. (e.g., if you live on 125th Street and Lexington Ave, you can still run at an Election District on 102th Street and 3rd Avenue)
Typically, people will run inside the election district where they live, work or where they do community work. (find which district you live in through https://vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll-site). Because only people who live in an election district can vote for the candidate of a specific election district, it makes sense to run in a district where some voters already know you

Reference Material

Mapping of Election Districts to Part A, B, C D in each Assembly District and the number of County Committee Seats in each Election District

More info can be found here:

- New York State Election Law

- Latest District Maps for 68 (East Harlem) and 70 (Central Harlem)

Contact

Have questions? Need help? Email us at harlemeastblock@gmail.com