A judicious advocate for a diverse bench
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
Anyone who knows New York
City politics knows Keith
Wright well. He’s a veteran of
politics in both the city and Albany,
who remains a force even more than
two years after leaving offi ce.
A native son of Harlem, Wright, 64,
was fi rst elected to the New York State
Assembly in 1992, going on to win reelection
11 times, serving 24 years, before
retiring from Albany in 2016.
His tenure in the Assembly saw him
champion an array of progressive causes
as he chaired various committees over
the years, such as Housing, Election
Law, Social Services and Labor.
He has fought for the rights of domestic
workers, boosted benefi ts for seniors
and gone to bat for public housing
residents, among others.
In a wide-ranging interview, Wright
recently talked with Schneps Media
about growing up in Harlem — where
he still lives — his political career, the
critically important task of electing
good judges...and, oh yeah, that special
election in 2017 when Assemblymember
Brian Kavanagh got the nod over
District Leader Paul Newell to run to
fi ll the state Senate seat formerly held
by Daniel Squadron.
Before the Assembly, in what he
admits was probably his favorite job
Keith Wright in his East Midtown office. He currently specializes in
government relations.
ever, Wright was the director of then-
Manhattan Borough President David
Dinkins’ s Uptown Offi ce. He loved being
on the ground in his own neighborhood,
engaging with constituents about
their concerns and helping them out.
“I got to know and serve my own
neighborhood,” he said. “It was a privilege.”
He has a political pedigree of sorts.
His father, Bruce Wright, was a lawyer
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
who became a New York State Supreme
Court justice. His mother was a principal
at a Harlem public school — though
Wright himself attended the Ethical
Culture School on the Upper West Side
and then Fieldston High School in the
Bronx, getting an education infused a
“humanist” perspective.
“They emphasized public service and
helping your fellow humans,” Wright
said.
But what Wright has also been
known for since 2009 is perhaps something
a little more arcane for the average
New Yorker. During that period,
he’s been the chairperson of the New
York County Committee, and as such,
he’s played a very important role. The
County Committee, under Wright’s supervision,
is responsible for the Democratic
judicial candidates that Manhattan
voters see on their ballots when
they go to the polls.
Under a process that has been hailed
for creating greater diversity and quality
on the bench, Manhattan judicial
candidates go through a screening process
before panels composed of lawyers
and members of community groups.
The panels then present up to three
candidates for each seat that they deem
qualifi ed.
“As the chairperson of the New York
County Democratic Committee, one of
my primary interests is to make sure we
have good judges on the bench,” he explained.
“Notwithstanding the registration
of more voters, our primary function
is to have good Democratic judges
on the bench and make sure we have
good diversity on the bench.”
Wright’s predecessor as county leader,
the late Herman “Denny” Farrell,
who died last May, started the process.
“Denny Farrell certainly left a useful
blueprint on how to proceed,” Wright
said. “In Manhattan, certainly we have
one of the most diverse benches in the
United States.”
On the other hand, New York City’s
mayor appoints judges for Criminal
Court and Family Court. But the County
Committee is the body responsible
for the candidates for Civil Court and
state Supreme Court that are on the
ballot.
“They have to go through a very rigorous
screening process” to be “reported
out” — as in, recommended, by the
panels — Wright explained. As County
Committee, he’s in charge or organizing
these screening panels.
Although the New York County
Committee did endorse Letitia James
for state attorney general in her recent
victory, Wright said it won’t be endorsing
in next month’s free-for-all special
election for public advocate.
“You have like 20 candidates,” he
said. “I don’t think it makes sense for
the County Committee to endorse.”
Although Jumaane Williams and Melissa
Mark-Viverito are the likely frontrunners,
it’s anyone’s guess who might
win, he said.
Wright was also co-chairperson of
the New York State Democratic Party
for two years from 2012 to 2014.
Harlem is a central — and cherished
—part of Wright’s identity. He still lives
in the same rent-regulated apartment in
the Riverton Houses that he grew up
in as a kid, at 135th St. and Fifth Ave.
When Wright’s father returned from
fi ghting in World War II, the family
tried to get into Stuyvesant Town but
was rejected.
“They said, ‘No blacks allowed,’”
Wright recalled, matter of factly.
“Listen, that’s part of our history,”
he shrugged. “We don’t run away from
it.”
The Riverton Houses were built for
the black middle class, he noted. It was
the same concept as Stuy Town, but it
was an era when racism was blatant.
Nevertheless, Wright loved growing
up there, and made great friends there,
with the likes of Dinkins, Harry Belafonte,
Jr., and others.
The Stuy Town rejection wasn’t the
fi rst time prejudice would strike his
family. His father got into Princeton
— with a full scholarship. But when he
arrived on campus to check in, he was
promptly told he was not welcome, according
to Wright.
His mother was politically active and
took him to the March on Washington
when he was 7.
Wright has been married for 31
years. His wife isn’t political, but works
at Studio Museum of Harlem — another
connection to the famed neighborhood.
“I tell you, I’m Harlem, brother, stone
cold,” he quipped.
At the same time, he can’t help but
recognize changes to the area.
“Every neighborhood changes,” he
refl ected. “I always say, the white folks
Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick
congratulates her friend
and former colleague,
the wonderful
Keith Wright
WRIGHT continued on p. 12
10 January 17, 2019 TVG Schneps Media