Wash Heights Rep Calls For Dem Chair's Removal After KKK Analogy

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Nobles Crawford — a State Committee member representing Washington Heights and Harlem, and a member of Upper Manhattan's Community Board 12 — is calling for New York Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs to resign after he used an analogy to compare the obligation to endorse Democrat India Walton for mayor of Buffalo to the hypothetical endorsement of former KKK leader David Duke.

Jacobs brought up Duke after being asked in an interview about what type of precedent it would set if the New York's Democratic party leadership chose not to endorse Walton, a Black woman and a socialist.

“Let’s take a scenario, very different, where David Duke — you remember him, the grand wizard of the KKK — he moves to New York, he becomes a Democrat, he runs for mayor in the city of Rochester, which is a low primary turnout, and he wins the Democratic line,” Jacobs said in the interview.

“I have to endorse David Duke? I don’t think so. Now, of course, India Walton is not in the same category,” Jacobs added. “But it just leads you to that question: Is it a must? It’s not a must.”

Jacobs' statement faced widespread criticism, leading to his eventual apology on Monday.

“Using an extreme example of David Duke winning a primary, to make a logical point — even with stating twice the specific qualification that India Walton, was in a different category — was wrong. I should have used a different example, and for that, I apologize,” Jacobs said in a statement.

Crawford, who is also a member of the Uptown Community Democrats, took to Facebook the same day to call for Jacobs' resignation over the statement.

"But the era of bully politics is crumbling to a close, and we need new leadership who is willing to stand with the real-life members of our party – not cronies and donors," Nobles wrote. "The rhetoric used by Chairman Jacobs today is racist, misogynistic, and frankly inaccurate considering David Duke never even won a primary election."

Nobles also urged his colleagues in the State Committee to publicly commit to removing Jacobs if he failed to resign from his position as chairman.

"Chairman Jacobs needs to resign, and if he does not choose to do so – then the State Committee must remove him at the next possible opportunity," Nobles wrote.

Nobles has lived in Washington Heights for over a decade and serves on Community Board 12's Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee and the Public Safety Committee.

He appears to be the first State Committee member to publicly call for Jacobs' resignation.

Read More: Leader doubles down—then apologizes—for comparing Black candidate to former KKK leader David Duke