IMPORTANT: Despite misleading communications that imply otherwise, there is no process for the Brighton Democratic Committee (BDC) to “designate” candidates.
There are eight (8) candidates running for the 4 slots on the Brighton Democratic Committee in the 34th Election District.
For an article on “What Is the Brighton Democratic Committee?,” click here.
Election Day is Tuesday, June 25. On that day, for ED34, the polling place is the Jewish Community Center, 1200 Edgewood Ave., Rochester, NY 14618.
Early voting is happening now through June 23, and voters can use any early voting location. In Brighton, a popular early voting site is Empire State University at 680 Westfall Road. For information on locations and hours for early voting, click here.
Justice For Brighton is supporting a slate of three (3) candidates for Brighton Democratic Committee in the 34th Election District: Josh Owens, Thatcher Lyman, and Sarah Johnston. All three candidates live in dense housing in the neighborhood, as do most voters in the district. Josh lives on Greystone Lane; Thatcher lives on Wintergreen Way; and Sarah lives on Eastbrooke.
Candidate Dan Simpson was petitioned on by Justice for Brighton, but has not registered with the New York State Board of Elections.
Candidates Benjamin Koffman and Aileen Koffman petitioned themselves on along with incumbent BDC members Dylan Feliciano and Eliran Fischer, but only the Koffmans have filed paperwork with the New York State Board of Elections.
The Koffmans are supported by Friends of Brighton Democrats, an authorized multi-candidate committee that, judging from the return addresses listed on their mailers and literature, is closely collaborating with Democrats for Brighton, which has the dubious distinction of running an all-white slate of 31 candidates across Brighton, as documented in the article Whiter Than A Trump Rally.
Aileen Koffman has distinguished herself by attacking Town Councilmember Robin Wilt publicly and privately, starting in 2021 after Ms. Wilt published a Facebook post as Israel prepared a ground invasion of Gaza. As with Jewish Federation CEO Meredith Dragon, Ms. Koffman conflates criticism of actions by Israel with antisemitism, and she has reiterated complaints about use of the phrase “Free Palestine.” Needless to say, in the aftermath of the October 7, as the Palestinian death toll mounts into the dozens of thousands and international cries for a ceasefire continue to go unheard, Ms. Wilt’s humanitarian stance with respect to the Palestinian people seems to have aged better than the fearful objections to use of the hashtag #FreePalestine.
There is little doubt that Ms. Koffman’s main motivation in joining the Democratic Committee is to support opposition to Ms. Wilt’s continued service on the Brighton Town Council.