Retired Judge Kathryn Freed challenges Inez Dickens for Manhattan BOE commish

Editor’s note: After this story was published, Manhattan Democratic Party Leader Keith Wright made a motion to table the vote for a later date given the lack of consensus among district leaders in light of Kathryn Freed coming forward as a candidate. That vote will likely be held at the next county meeting sometime in February.

The Manhattan Democratic Party is expected to hold a vote Monday night on whether to proceed with nominating former Harlem Assembly Member Inez Dickens as a commissioner on the New York City Board of Elections despite steep City Council opposition – or to pivot and potentially nominate retired state Supreme Court Justice Kathryn Freed instead. 

Momentum grew around the latter over the weekend and into Monday as Freed, a former City Council member who represented lower Manhattan, attempted to coalesce support behind the scenes. Manhattan City Council delegation co-chair Chris Marte initially suggested she’d make a good potential candidate. On Monday morning, she emailed Manhattan Democratic Party Leader Keith Wright and the county’s 72 district leaders officially submitting her candidacy for the seat left open after the death of retired Judge Carol Edmead. 

“It is my deep belief that the position demands a candidate with the experience, integrity, and dedication to voter justice that our community deserves,” Freed wrote, later adding “I welcome the opportunity to discuss my candidacy further and humbly ask for your support.”

The opposition to Dickens – and building movement behind Freed – is the latest in a series of challenges to Wright, who has faced numerous attempts to dethrone him.

The city’s BOE is composed of ten commissioners, one Democrat and Republican from each borough, who are tasked with appointing and overseeing the staff that run elections in the city. It’s an important job. And the BOE has drawn its fair share of controversy over the years, be it nepotism allegations or criticism over poorly run elections – like illegally purging the voter rolls of thousands of voters in 2016. Whoever is ultimately nominated by the Manhattan Democratic Party – be it Dickens, Freed, or perhaps even someone else who has yet to come forward – can only be appointed as a BOE commissioner if they are approved by the City Council’s 10-member Manhattan delegation. That means securing at least six votes. City Council Democrats would then vote to confirm the nominee.

Dickens, who became Wright’s pick for commissioner after former Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell withdrew from consideration, has faced a swell of opposition from both within and outside of the Manhattan Democratic Party. So much so, her potential appointment would be effectively dead on arrival, according to four members of the Manhattan City Council delegation. Politico New York was first to report the City Council’s reluctance to approve Dickens. Government reform group Common Cause has also been pushing against Dickens’ potential nomination, urging constituents to contact City Council members to voice their opposition. 

Concerns have ranged. Dickens garnered criticism from a number of elected officials, including members of the City Council Manhattan delegation, last spring after she told a largely Black crowd that they need to take Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s seat back to “a Black seat.” Susan Lerner, Common Cause executive director, said the group’s opposition is much less about “individual nominees” for potential commissioners than it is about the entire selection process, which she described as undemocratic. “It should not be in the hands of political party operatives. It shouldn’t be happening in closed meetings. It should be a public, nationwide process to find the best people.” The group launched a similar effort against the nomination of former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Frank Seddio who was unanimously approved as a BOE commissioner last week after he was nominated by the Brooklyn Democratic Party. 

Part of the push within the Manhattan Democratic Party around Freed comes from district leaders feeling like they weren’t given an opportunity to weigh in on who they thought would make for a good candidate in the build up to today.

“If this is being positioned like ‘nope,’ it’s a vote only about one candidate, that’s not acceptable, that’s not fair, that’s not a process. That’s not a democracy,” Melissa Mark-Viverito, a district leader and former City Council speaker, said, describing Monday night’s vote as an “issue of fairness.” She described Freed as well respected in terms of fairness and transparency. 

While Wright confirmed Freed has indeed put her name forward for consideration, he said he’s yet to speak with her about her interest. “There will be some sort of vote tonight,” Wright acknowledged, adding “potentially yes” when pressed on whether that would be between Dickens and Freed.

Still, Wright doubled down on his support for Dickens, saying the party will move forward with Dickens. He also disagreed with the notion that she has no viability with the City Council as a nominee. “She’s someone that spent 12 years in the City Council so this notion about her being dead on arrival I think is not true,” he said.

Dickens said she’s ready for a fight, pointing to her years of experience interacting with the BOE as a district leader, the City Council, and in the state Assembly – experiences she said gave her a personal understanding of the BOE’s pitfalls and the need to transparently address issues. 

“I don't take anything for granted. I don’t just assume in any election – because I’ve been in numerous elections – that I’ve won,” Dickens said. “Do I feel good about it? Do I feel that it’s going to be a bull fight? Yes I do.”

As for the opposition she’d face in the City Council if nominated, Dickens said she’s concentrating on the vote tonight, but she noted she’d reach out to members and make her case if nominated. She also questioned Freed’s “sudden” emergence as a candidate over the weekend. “There seems to be a constant barrage of infighting within the Manhattan Democratic Party and that’s unfortunate and sad,” Dickens said. “It needs to be brought together and unified for us to have strength within the national party.” 

There are a couple of different potential outcomes that could come out of the Monday evening meeting. District leaders could still vote for Dickens to be the nominee despite City Council opposition, they could nominate Freed, or there could be a motion to move the vote to a later debate. Though, county party executive director Kyle Ishmael noted that there is a shared desire to move quickly to find another qualified candidate for commissioner so Democrats aren’t the minority on the BOE. 

“It’s pretty clear that Inez is not moving forward in the delegation and Kathryn Freed does have support in there,” one Manhattan City Council member said. “Ultimately, it’s kind of a decision whether they want to bring somebody forward that we can support or not.”

On the other hand, if Freed were to be nominated Monday night, she could be confirmed in the next few weeks, according to Marte. While he said he hasn’t spoken to every Manhattan council member yet, his sense is confirming her would be “an easy yes” for the delegation. 

“She’s probably the best candidate out there,” Marte said, pointing to Freed’s background in election law. “For a lot of people, it gives us confidence that we’re going to have an outstanding BOE especially now during the Trump administration where we just need to make sure that we have someone that’s responsive, that actually knows the duties of the job and is willing to take it seriously.”