The Vital Role & Impact of District Leaders: Insights from Brooklyn Democratic Party Vice-Chair and District Leader Henry Butler
Who Is Your District Leader & What Do They Do? We spoke with Brooklyn Dems’ Vice-Chair Henry Butler to find out
The New York State legislature in Albany has kicked off the new year with a flurry of state-wide political action in the spotlight of an ever-present press core. But at the hyper-local grassroots level, where the rubber meets the road, a very special political operative is just as busy, often under the radar of the press corps. While Brooklyn’s vitality in politics is more heavily represented by the Democratic Party, each party represented in the state assembly (for example, Republicans and Conservatives) elect district leaders for each of Brooklyn’s 44 districts. That represents a lot of grassroots political activity that is taking place, often under the radar of press coverage of candidates.
District Leaders (DLs), who serve elected, unpaid positions, are pivotal as “the peoples’ most local voice.” So says Henry Butler, a longtime District Leader for the 56th Assembly District in Bedford-Stuyvesent. Butler, who is also the Vice-Chair for the county Democratic Party, serves locally as the District Manager of Community Board 3 as well.
The Brooklyn Eagle’s affiliate website IN PUBLIC SERVICE (IPS) spoke with Butler, a 30-year public servant, to learn more about what exactly District Leaders do, how they make an impact on the community and about some of the future initiatives of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.