Brooklyn’s Democratic Boss, Frank Seddio, Believes Tolerance and Experience Will Take Democrats to Victory, in New York and the Rest of America

Photo of Frank Seddio taken by Marcus Ayala

By Dakota O’Brien and Marcus Ayala

 

On Thursday, New Yorkers went to the polls to cast their votes in the state’s primaries. Frank Seddio, the ‘boss’ of the Brooklyn Democratic machine, spent his day at the Thomas Jefferson political club, awaiting the results.

Officially, Seddio, a native of the Canarsie neighborhood where his club is located, is a District leader and the Chairman of the Kings County Democratic party. But in the lingo that’s been used in Brooklyn for generations, he’s known as the borough’s boss. He was elected county chairman by 36 of the 40 Democratic leaders of Brooklyn – an almost unanimous vote.

This year’s New York primary was unique in that it drew a line between so-called progressive Democrats and the ones Seddio calls the “common sense” Democrats. He puts himself in the latter category. “I believe in the evolution of party, not the revolution,” Seddio said in an interview with Brooklyn News Service at the Thomas Jefferson club in Canarsie.

Based on outcomes of Thursday’s voting, it might be said that for many Brooklynites, and other New York City Democrats, a revolution is welcome. New York witnessed a kind of political revolution on Thursday, with many incumbents losing to left-of-center challengers. It was a revolution that began in June, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for the 14^th Congressional district, in Queens.

Seddio believes the common sense prevailed in Thursday’s voting for the highest office in the state. Cynthia Nixon, former actress and part of the Democratic progressive movement, challenged New York’s incumbent Governor, Andrew Cuomo. The Thomas Jefferson Democratic club, located on Conklin Street in Canarsie for over fifty years, lent its support to Cuomo, and Cuomo won.

The Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, led more than two generations ago by the infamous political boss Meade Esposito, has had a long-standing tradition of creating “active Democrats,” that is to say, Democrats who vote. In some respects, the Thomas Jefferson club is like the progressives in the way it operates. Their shared style of acquiring voters is making calls, knocking on doors, and visiting schools in their districts.

Seddio is steadfast in his adherence to tradition. He opposes the faction that he calls the “Democratic Socialists.” And he is tolerant of the group of Democratic state senators who were part of the Independent Democratic Conference, or IDC. Those Democratic legislators several years ago aligned themselves with Republicans in Albany, in an effort to get favors for their districts. But after the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, those IDC members were strongly targeted by the party’s progressives. In a stunning development on Thursday, IDC senators across the city lost their elections to progressive challengers. But, rather than attack IDC, Seddio asserted that the group of compromisers had “a right to exist.”

“The Democrats are a party that tolerates all views,” he said, speaking comfortably and openly at his office.

In addition to being part of the tolerant portion of his party, Seddio proudly calls himself a man of the people. He was a New York City police officer for 23 years, and has worn many others hats, working for and within his close and wide communities.

Seddio helped start the West Indian Day parade in 1969. The parade is held every year along Eastern Parkway on Labor Day, and Seddio has been the organization’s attorney for two decades. He has also been president of the East 90’s Community Association, a member of the New York State Assembly, a District Manager and Chairman of Community Board 18, and much more.

While Seddio is not the president of the Thomas Jefferson Club (that role belongs to Henry Bolus), he is still a central part of it. His uncle introduced him to the club 54 years ago, and his interest in politics never waned.

Seddio’s first involvement in a big election was the 1977 governor’s race between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo, and he supported Cuomo (father of the current governor). Eleven years later, Seddio helped Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts, in Dukakis’ campaign to be president of the United States.

“I was able to meet and interact with Democrats as far as Hawaii and Maine,” Seddio recalled tenderly.

Frank Seddio considers experience to be a key quality for a serious political candidate. “I believe the most important values for a candidate are integrity, good character, and a history of political activism, as well as experience in the position they’re seeking,” he said.

Along with its support for Andrew Cuomo, the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club endorsed Kathy Hochul for Lieutenant Governor and Letitia “Tish” James for Attorney General. Seddio said his club’s chosen candidates had resumes revealing skills and career backgrounds that he and his club members hold dear.

“Anyone can run for office, but people should look for credentials,” he said.

Seddio believes that the radical tendencies he sees among some Democrats will hurt the party as it tries to assert itself forcefully in New York State and Washington, D.C. “The extreme view point of the Democratic socialists has the split the Democratic party, and it will not be beneficial for the next election,” Seddio said. “That is why Hillary Clinton lost.