Front runner Kings County Surrogate Candidate Haitian American Judge, Dweynie Esther Paul has been endorsed by the largest municipal union, DC37 of AFSCME, and DC37 Locals: Local 371, Local 372, Local 1407; Teamsters Local 237; Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL).
Recent endorsements by the City’s largest labor organization, the 150,000-member District Council 37 and its affiliated local unions, along with support from the nation’s largest Teamster local union will – political observers believe – continue to strengthen Judge Paul’s clear front runner status in the June Democratic Party primary election for Kings County Surrogate’s Judge.
Kings County Civil Court Judge Dweynie Esther Paul, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, is a George Washington University School of Law graduate, Deacon of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and former community board member.
“Judge Paul will bring her life-long sense of community to the Surrogate’s Court,” said Shaun D. Francois I, President of the 25,000 member Local 372 District, Council 37, representing NYC Department of Education Employees. “She has no other agenda but public service.”
“Restoring faith in government, begins with faith in our courts,” said Anthony Wells, president, Local 371, Social Service Employees Union (SSEU), District Council 37, AFSCME.
“The Kings County Surrogate deals with the most sensitive issues,” he added. “There could be no better choice than Judge Paul. The surrogate must be compassionate at what might be the most difficult times of life. Judge Paul understands diversity, and the need to ensure that every citizen receives equal treatment.”
DC 37 Local 371 represents more than 21,000 members work in nearly all city agencies including courts.
“Judge Paul is the only choice for us, the people who keep New York working,” said Local 237 Teamsters President Gregory Floyd. “We need Judge Paul elected Brooklyn Surrogate because we can trust her to be fair, to be honest and to be ethical.”
“The Alliance of South Asian American Labor is proud to endorse Dweynie Esther Paul for Kings County Surrogate’s Court Judge,” said Maf Misbah Uddin, founder and president of ASAAL. “The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic workers in our communities facing economic uncertainty and creating a heavy load on working families everywhere.
“We need Judge Paul to stand alongside ASAAL as we protect workers’ rights, demand equal pay for equal work, fight for safe working conditions, and secure economic justice for all. We are proud to stand with Dweynie E. Paul as she is the best among the rest, while bringing hundreds of volunteers’ to work hard for her victory on Jun. 22,” Uddin added.
“As the daughter of a labor union worker, I am honored to receive these momentous endorsements from New York City’s largest municipal public employee union, DC 37, its affiliated local unions, the nation’s largest Teamster local union, and the Alliance for South Asian American Labor,” said Judge Paul, who resides in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.
“With these endorsements, I know that it is my duty as a Surrogate’s Court Judge to protect these employees by ensuring that their assets are carried on from one generation to the next,” she added.
DC 37 and its affiliated unions, including Local 1407, Local 372, and SSEU Local 371 represents more than 150,000 people and 50,000 retirees.
Teamsters Local 237 represents 24,000 New York City employees who work in government agencies. ASAAL is the voice of the nation’s South Asian labor force.
Judge Paul said she has also received endorsements from the Brooklyn Democratic Party and its chair, Haitian American Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, as well as several political clubs, including Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, Progressive Democratic Political Association, Bay Democrats, Rosa Parks Democratic Club, Arthur Ashe Democratic Club and Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club.
Judge Paul obtained a dual Bachelors in political science and social science, a minor in child and family studies, and a Masters in public policy from SUNY Stony Brook University.
She graduated from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
In 2015, Paul became the first person of Haitian-American descent to be elected Civil Court Judge in the State of New York. She presided in Family Court working to strengthen our families.
Currently, Judge Paul says she presides over cases in Civil Court “with experience, integrity and compassion.”
This year, she said she has “a unique opportunity to continue to serve Brooklyn residents but in a different capacity, as a judicial candidate for Kings County Surrogate’s Court.” The Democratic Primary election is Tuesday, June.22, 2021.
As a Surrogate’s Court Judge, Paul said she will “fight to preserve the transfer of intergenerational wealth and bridge the gap between the court and the community.”
