On October 1, 2022, the Monroe County Democratic Committee convened its organizational meeting. These meetings happen in even-numbered years, according to a combination of New York State Election Law and the Rules of the Monroe County Democratic Committee.
Former Chair Zachary Pelleschi-King had resigned a few weeks before to join the Morelle re-election campaign, clearing the field for his Vice Chair, Stephen DeVay to take on the role.
Everyone else who was both willing and able to run for Chair, knew not to do so – be careful what you wish for – so no credible opposition to the new slate developed. As a result, Mr. DeVay was installed by unanimous consent.
There is a structural problem with Mr. DeVay’s elevation to MCDC Chair: Since 2020, he has been running a consulting firm called Tuesday Digital, which he co-founded with Gerrit Mora and Nate Salzman, then-Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Demond Meeks (on September 30, the day before the organizing meeting, Mr. Salzman announced his departure from Mr. Meeks’s office – he will be joining the Bello Administration).
There is an obvious conflict of interest between serving in Party leadership and running a political consulting firm. The job of Party leadership is to recruit, develop, and elect candidates for public office; if the Chair of the Committee has a political consulting business, every stage in that process is tainted by that potential conflict. For example, in discussions leading up to designating caucuses, candidates could tilt the playing field in their favor by promising to do business with (or continue to do business with) Mr. DeVay’s consulting firm.
Nowhere in “recruit, develop, and elect candidates for public office” does the job description for Party leaders say they should enrich themselves while doing their work.
“Enrich,” you may wonder. Well, yes. Whatever you may think of Mr. DeVay’s ethics, there is no question he has figured out how to monetize his skill set! As of August, according to disclosures filed with the New York State Board of Elections, his firm had collected more than $400,000 in revenue in the two years since its founding.
In the 2000s, the Democratic Party in Monroe County criticized Republican Chair Steve Minarik for much the same thing. Now, as with so many other issues, it seems the Democratic Party has decided to borrow a page from the Republicans’ playbook.