Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte has been chosen to succeed longtime Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Frank Seddio, becoming the first woman and first African-American woman to lead a county party in New York City.
Seddio, who served as chairman for seven years, recently retired. The former Democratic Party Boss stepped down last week after months of rumors of internal strife between the more moderate members he represented and the more progressive, socialist members who wanted change. After announcing his resignation, Seddio publicly backed the assemblywoman, and Bichotte in turn praised Seddio's record on Twitter: "Brooklyn Democrats are grateful to Chairman Seddio for his distinguished service, building the most unified county party organization in the city," she said.
Bichotte won 39-0 with one abstention by former Assemblywoman Joan Millman.
"It's a very humbling experience, obviously historic," Bichotte, who has served in the state assembly since 2015, representing the neighborhoods of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Ditmas Park, and Midwood. "I'm really excited. And I'm very happy to get the support of my district leaders."
With more than 1 million registered Democrats, the Brooklyn Democratic Party is one of the largest Democratic county committees in the country.
"My goal is to ensure that our diverse party remains the most inclusive in the city and in the country," Bichotte told reporters. She added, "The Democratic Party is a party of working people, and we will be the party of working people from every corner of the borough."
Bichotte, a Brooklyn-born Haitian-American, is an engineer by trade. She has worked in Japan and China as a math teacher and also on Wall Street. She moved to Illinois to attend Northwestern University for her MBA. While she was living in Illinois, she decided to try her hand at politics, working for then-Sen. Barack Obama. In the assembly, she served on the Banks; Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce & Industry; Governmental Operations; Health; Higher Education; and Housing Committees.
Bichotte has introduced over 100 pieces of Legislation, nine of which became law, and she co-sponsored over 250 others. As chair of the MWBE Subcommittee, she co-authored a law that re-authorized Article 15-A, which expands both the MWBE Program for both the city and state.
She is also a member of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus and the Legislative Women's Caucus, and sits on the Task Force on Women's Issues.
In addition, Bichotte was appointed to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Advisory Council on Domestic Violence, and appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to NYC's Advisory Council on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise.
Bichotte holds an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, a BS in Electrical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo, a BS in Mathematics in Secondary Education and a BT in Electrical Engineering both from Buffalo State College.
Brooklyn Dems, say hello to your new Boss, Bichotte!