In Brooklyn, a Left-Wing Challenger Is Dispensing With the Democratic Ballot Line Entirely
The handpicked successor to a radical Brooklyn political dynasty is challenging an establishment-backed Democratic candidate for state legislature solely on a third-party ballot line, in one of New York’s poorest — and most loyally Democratic — neighborhoods.
Keron Alleyne, a young activist in East New York, seeks the assembly seat once held by Charles Barron, an early member of the Black Panther Party. (Keron Alleyne for NY State Assembly)
This month, a self-described socialist candidate in Brooklyn will attempt a rare feat in New York political history: beating a Democrat with only a third-party ballot line.
Running solely as a candidate of the Working Families Party, Keron Alleyne, a young activist in East New York, will seek to fill the assembly seat once held by Charles Barron, an early member of the Black Panther Party, and his wife, Inez. The Barrons are political royalty in the area and proud radicals, advocating for free public college, reparations for the descendants of slaves, anti-Zionism, and defunding the police long before they became familiar positions among leftists. Alleyne, who ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2020, is very much their protégé, a neighborhood activist embracing the Barron ethos.
The February 15 special election will be an uphill climb. Alleyne is pitted against Nikki Lucas, who has the full support of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and Hakeem Jeffries, the congressman who is widely believed to be Nancy Pelosi’s successor. Jeffries, who represents East New York in Congress, won a lopsided but very bitter victory against Charles Barron for the House seat a decade ago. For Jeffries, clashes with the Barrons are personal: he has backed candidates against them, without success, before.
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