Time to make a change at the top

To the editor:

The results of our recent election were a relief to Democrats around the country.

Closer to home, however, New York residents suffered a “red wave” in the city and across the state.

Four New York congressional seats flipped to Republicans, contributing to the Democrats’ losing control of the House. In parts of the city, Democratic Assembly seats went undefended, leading to defeat after defeat.

Gov. Kathy Hochul won her race, but by only 6 percentage points — a close margin given that her opponent was an election denier.

Who must we hold accountable for this poor performance by Democrats, who outnumber Republicans by a margin of 2-to-1 in New York? With our party exceeding expectations nearly everywhere except here, New York Democrats are demanding action.

As I write, 750 party leaders and community activists across the state — including the leadership team of our club, the northwest Bronx’s Unity Democratic Club — signed a letter to Hochul demanding the replacement of state Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs.

A few of our elected representatives — including Councilman Eric Dinowitz and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz — declined to sign the document. Also missing from the letter was the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club president Virginia Krumpinger.

It’s disheartening that these local Democrats won’t change direction after we lost so much ground to the Republicans. The Unity Democratic Club stands with the 750 —and growing — Democrats calling for fresh state party leadership.

Betsey Knapp

The author is the acting president of the Unity Democratic Club