Frank Seddio is stepping down from his role as the Brooklyn Democratic Party boss — but he’s still weighing down the cash-strapped group’s balance sheet.
The embattled political machine owes more than $226,000, including $50,000 to Seddio’s own political account, records examined by The Post show.
Those liabilities are quintuple the $40,000 in cash the party still has in its bank accounts.
“It’s pretty concerning that the party has been relying on a single person [in Seddio] to help finance its coffers,” said Jessica Thurston, vice president of the New Kings Democrats, a progressive group seeking reform in the county party. “And that fact that the new [chairperson] is his handpicked replacement does not inspire confidence that” the financial problems “will be solved.”
Seddio in November loaned $24,000 to the committee through a campaign fund he uses to help retain his longtime 59th Assembly District leader post, according to state filings released last week.
He’s also owed another $26,000 on two previous loans made in 2018.
Despite the Kings County Democratic Committee’s poor financial standing, Seddio remained firmly in control of the party’s levers of power and was even able to anoint a longtime ally — Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte — as the likely candidate to replace him.
Bichotte, who is expected to be elected as the new chairwoman on Monday night, has argued that her fundraising prowess will help put the party back on firmer standing.
Seddio declined to comment, but a county committee operative told The Post the loans are used to “tide over” the group, so it can pay bills.
The operative added that the Friends of Frank Seddio committee “gets paid back” with proceeds from the county party’s annual fundraising dinner.
Seddio was elected chairperson in September 2012, replacing disgraced former state Assemblyman Vito Lopez.
Financial filings show the organization had $638,650 on hand in July of that year and $505,507 by January 2013. As of Jan. 15, it only had a balance of $40,327— and that amount is dwarfed by the outstanding debt.