Kings County Democratic Party Boss Frank Seddio and the County Democratic Executive Committee this week appointed Educator Tommy Torres and Attorney Anne J. Swern as Democratic District leaders.
Torres is replacing the late former Assemblyman and former County Boss Vito Lopez in the 53rd Assembly District covering Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick.
A lifelong resident of Williamsburg, New York City public school teacher and the current assistant principal at the Grand Street Campus High School, Torres also serves as the Commissioner of the Williamsburg Sports League, and on both Community Board and as a Woodhull Hospital Community Advisory Board member.
In a Facebook post, Torres thanked Assemblywoman Maritza Davila for her nomination and confidence in him, Seddio for his support, and all the other Brooklyn District Leaders whom he looks forward to working with in the future.
Swern replaces Paige Bellenbaum, the female Democratic District Leader in the 52nd Assembly District, who stepped down from the unpaid position to devote more time to her young children and family. The district includes Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill.
Swern was a prosecutor for over 33 years, during which time she served four elected district attorneys. Among her responsibilities as the First Assistant District Attorney for Kings County, she supervised more than eleven hundred attorneys and support staff members in their prosecutorial and administrative functions was the senior executive for alternative sentencing policy and programming. Together with other stakeholders she planned and supervised the Brooklyn Treatment and Mental Health Courts, the Red Hook Community Justice Center and the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) Program. During her tenure at KCDA, she supervised various Bureaus and Divisions and conducted numerous investigations and jury trials to verdict, including homicide and sex crimes cases.
Swern is a member of the Judiciary Committee of the Brooklyn Bar Association and a Special Advisor to the Criminal Justice Council of the American Bar Association and a Co-Chair of the Reentry and Collateral Consequences Committee. She served on the New York State Commission on Drugs and the Courts and assisted in the preparation of a report to Chief Judge Judith Kaye, Confronting the Cycle of Addiction and Recidivism.
“”I am privileged to serve the wonderful people of the 52 Assembly District. Thank you Assemblyperson Joanne Simon, my co leader Josh Skaller and the Democratic Party in Brooklyn,” she said.
Both Torres and Swern are up for re-election this year in the Democratic Party Primaries.
