Manhattan Democratic Party Boss Has a Target on His Back — Again

Corey Ortega, a Wright-staffer-turned-Espaillat-ally, introduced the rule change proposals on behalf of the group of district leaders, which he called the “New York County Coalition for Change.”

“Either there’s a change in execution or a change in management,” Ortega told New York Focus. “Nobody wants a weak Democratic party going into the 2024 presidential election.”

To reform-minded progressives and good government groups, the spat is an opportunity to build out anti-corruption policy — and they hope to have an impact beyond the local feud.

“This makes sense — and not just in one county,” said Rachael Fauss, policy director for Reinvent Albany. “Lobbying is a particular area where you’re trying to influence government,” she said, and serving as a top party official while peddling influence is “an obvious conflict.”

The group of district leaders also proposed reforms that would require translation services at meetings and create a gender-divided dual position structure for party leadership positions, akin to the structure currently in place for district leaders. If passed, the latter reform would force Wright, who has served as county leader for nearly a decade and a half, to share his power with a female or non-binary co-chair.

At the same September 12 meeting during which Ortega introduced the proposals — which the county party’s rules committee will consider at a future meeting — Wright won re-election. He ran unopposed, perhaps partly because the Manhattan Democrats only gave district leaders seven days’ notice (the minimum required under party rules) that the election was taking place.

Of the 58 district leaders present at the meeting, 51 voted for Wright and seven abstained, according to a party spokesperson. The spokesperson declined an interview request on behalf of Wright, and the county leader did not respond to New York Focus’s emailed questions.

Veteran party members may find the reform proposals familiar: Four years ago, a group of district leaders attempted to create a party rule that would disallow the county leader from lobbying.

Wright used procedural hurdles to block it from a vote, according to the New York Post, which described the saga as an attempted “coup.” The dissidents hoped to bring it up again by electing a fellow reformist to the county party’s number two position, which had the power to independently raise the issue. But that failed, too, as Wright was able to wrangle enough votes for his preferred number two, Domenico Minerva, whose inaction on the lobbying proposal put the issue to bed.

Last month, Wright tried to return the favor. As New York Focus reported, Wright stepped in — unsuccessfully — amid a revolt against Minerva’s apparent attempt to get his wife on the shortlist for a powerful judicial nomination. The next election for Minerva’s position is October 5, according to the party spokesperson.