Not So Many Young New York Democrats in Denver

DENVER—Matthew Silverstein, president of the New York State Young Democrats, is not totally satisfied with his organization's presence at this year's convention.

Of the 361 delegates and alternates in the New York delegation, only 14 members are below 30 years old, and the average age is 53. In addition, Silverstein told me last night, members under 30 comprise only three percent of New York's delegation, compared to 16 percent nationally.

Silverstein sees a lot of room for improvement.

But, he added, "on the bright side," a number of Young Democrats from New York won positions in the group’s national parent organization.

“We hope this sends a message that Young Democrats in New York are here in force and will continue to be a strong voice in New York politics for years to come," he said. "We would hope, as we move forward, that we can get young people to run and become delegates in the future.”

As we were chatting, we bumped into Bronx Democratic County Chairman Jose Rivera, and Silverstein asked him to help launch a Young Democrats chapter in his county--the only one in New York City without one.

“They’re already empowered in the Bronx,” Rivera said.