What is a County Committee?

Political parties are broken up into “committees,” or groups of party representatives that make decisions at the national, state, and local level. The major political parties, Republican and Democratic, are organized by a national committee, 50 state committees, and numerous county and local committees within each state.

Each of New York City’s 5 boroughs is its own county: Manhattan is New York County, Queens is Queens County, Bronx is Bronx County, Staten Island is Richmond County, and Brooklyn is Kings County. In New York, there is a state Republican and Democratic Committee, and there are several county committees, such as the Queens County Democratic Committee and the Kings County Democratic Committee.

Committees can select candidates for elected offices, adopt platforms, fill certain vacancies in elected offices, organize campaigns and may provide a source of government appointees. In short, the individuals and groups that make up the party structure can have tremendous influence on nation, state, and local policy.

To learn more about County Committees, please visit our partner, Grassroots Initiative.

Why is this important?

A good example of local political committees exerting a huge amount of power is the Christian conservative movement in American politics. Christian conservatives make up roughly 13% of the American public [1]. Beginning in the late 1980’s, they began running for local political party committee seats in mass numbers. As of 2002, Christian conservatives held a majority of seats in 36% of all state Republican Party committees (18 states), plus large minorities (25-49% of members) in 81% of the rest [2]. They have successfully used their local committees as an organizing tool that has impacted not just local elections, but state and federal elections.

The Kings County Democratic County Committee

The County Committee of the Brooklyn Democratic Party is made up of 5,000 or so volunteer positions which each represent an Election District. This is usually just a couple of blocks where 700 – 1,000 voters live. As the lowest level of party leadership, County Committee members have few formal responsibilities, but they play a crucial role in selecting candidates for special elections, adopting the Party platform, and helping to organize their neighborhoods. The County Committee poses a great opportunity for individuals (like you)concerned with the dysfunction and corruption in local politics to make a difference. As elected community representatives, County Committee provides a great advocacy platform for individuals and groups to help advance their agenda and advocate for the causes they care most about. More than 50 NKD members are already on the County Committee and serve as a great resource for others who are thinking about running.

The Brooklyn Democratic Party should set the national pace for innovation and progressivism, and demand competence and effectiveness from our local elected officials. As the largest county in New York State, a revitalized Brooklyn Democratic Party is uniquely positioned to advocate for and effect systemic change in our dysfunctional local and state governments.

Make a difference. Run for County Committee.