Democratic State Committee Member Morgan Evers and Democrat Aaron Stayman announced on Jan. 18 that they are partnering to run as New York State Democratic Committee Member candidates in the 81st Assembly District in the June 25th Democratic Primary.

 

The two previously partnered as a slate for the same positions in 2022. Each Democratic assembly district elects two committee members of different genders. Evers won her election that year and went on to become a State committee member, as reported.

 

The 81st assembly district covers much of the Northwest Bronx, including some or all of the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Wakefield, Woodlawn, Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Riverdale, North Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil and is represented by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81). His son, Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), represents much of the same area at City Council.

 

Evers and Stayman said they have also partnered together prior to and since 2022. They said they created a group called “Think National, Act Bronx” to organize in 2020 in the lead up to the U.S. presidential election, and again in 2022 and 2023 in other races in various parts of New York State.

 

The two said they led organizing efforts to bring volunteers north for “Pat Ryan for Congress” in the 2022 midterms and for Anthony Parisi for Dutchess County District Attorney in 2023, races in which both candidates were victorious.

 

Evers and Stayman said their goals for this election and a subsequent two-year term in the target roles, if elected, include working to better organize the New York State Democratic Party as a statewide body, ensuring [the party] is “collectively best expressing empathy and partnership with voters in effective ways that help Democrats not only to win campaigns, but also win long term voter confidence.”

In serving on the New York State Democratic Committee, Evers said she has advocated for public school funding, climate justice, tenants’ rights, a public school curriculum that is inclusive for all students, and literacy as a civil right. She said she has also promoted party reforms within the New York Democratic Party and has fought for a more transparent and inclusive statewide party.

 

Evers said she is particularly enthusiastic about advancing issues that benefit working families, including universal childcare, along with issues that affect individuals with disabilities in New York. She added that she is an active member of the Jewish caucus of the New York Democrats, a founding member of The Unity Democratic Club, and a prior board member of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, the latter in 2019.

 

Evers said that in 2018 she volunteered for former New York State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive Democrat, who previously represented Senate District 34 in The Bronx and Westchester. Biaggi decided not to run for reelection for her senate seat in 2022, and instead made a bid for Congress initially in New York’s 3rd congressional district, and later after redistricting, in New York’s 17th congressional district, ultimately losing in the primary to Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, who she later campaigned for in the general election.

 

Maloney was later defeated by Republican Assemblyman and now Congressman Mike Lawler in the general election that year, one of a number of Democratic defeats which ultimately caused the Democrats to lose their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Meanwhile, as reported, the redrawn senatorial district 34, which covers much of the East Bronx, is now represented by State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez.

 

Evers is a New York City teacher with 17 years of experience who said she has a passion for educating children, creating a sense of belonging in a community, and resolving problems collaboratively.

 

For his part, Stayman said he served as membership chair of The Unity Democratic Club from 2022 to 2023, and as vice president of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club from 2020 to 2021, having previously served as an executive board member of the latter club in 2019. He said he also served as the “Riverdale volunteer leader for canvassing” for Biaggi in 2018.

 

Stayman is a marketing analytics consultant professionally and said he enjoys “finding ways to make operations run cleaner and to better utilize data in everything he works on.” He said this is a skillset he “hopes to bring uniquely to the New York State Democratic Party.”

 

Both Evers and Stayman are members of the Bronx-based Unity Democratic Club, launched in October 2022 by, among others, former members of the Kingsbridge-based Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, an organization with a strong Riverdale-based, and some would say moderate Democrat following.

Riverdale is among the most affluent neighborhoods in The Bronx, and has long been considered [both positively and negatively] as the political stronghold of the 81st Assembly District. When Wakefield-based candidate, Carlton Berkley, ran for City Council in 2021 in City Council District 11, which covers much of the same area as A.D. 81, he pointed out during one political debate that the council district has, for the most part, traditionally been represented by Riverdale-based candidates.

 

That city council race was ultimately won by incumbent, Eric Dinowitz. Conversely, some Bronx Republicans feel the “Progressive Left” has “taken over” the Democratic Party. As reported, The Unity Democrats held their November 2023 monthly meeting, as well as other prior club meetings in Norwood at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. Both Evers and Stayman are residents of Riverdale.

 

The duo said they look forward to a fruitful campaign season, “full of meaningful conversations in The Bronx, winning majorities in the New York and federal legislatures,” while also preparing, even during primary season, for the general election work they say is necessary to re-elect U.S. President Joe Biden. They added that they look forward to partnering with their community and making for a successful year for Democrats up and down the ballot in 2024.

As previously reported, Michael Heller, a former president of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, a former district manager of Bronx Community Board 8 (CB8) and former chair of the Bronx CB8 Traffic and Transportation committee, who currently serves as president of the Association of Riverdale Co-ops/Condominiums, announced that he is also running for re-election as a member of the New York State Democratic Committee, representing the 81st Assembly District.

 

Additionally, Ben Jackson, an attorney and longtime Democratic volunteer also announced his candidacy for district leader in A.D. 81 in December 2023.

 

The upcoming State Committee Member race in A.D. 81 will not be the first time that Heller and Evers have gone head to head as previously reported by The Riverdale Press.

 

Read more on the upcoming primaries here.