
Up-and-coming Long Island Dem running for county seat vanishes: ‘We are heartbroken'
An up-and-coming Long Island Democrat running for a seat on the Nassau County Legislature has been missing for nearly a week, according to cops.
Petros Krommidas — a 29-year-old graduate of prestigious local Chaminade High School and a former student-athlete at Columbia University — was last seen Wednesday night in Baldwin wearing a camouflage shirt and gray sweats.
The financial worker-turned-party hopeful was reported missing Thursday evening by his mother, and police believe he may have gone to the Long Beach area — where his family told police he loves to spend time on the boardwalk.
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3 Petros Krommidas, 29, has been missing for five days.
'We are heartbroken over the disappearance of Petros Krommidas,' Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said in a statement.
'Petros is a bright, driven young man who has been a strong voice for Democratic values. He is well respected by the community and represents the very best of our next generation of leaders. We are keeping Petros and his family in our prayers and remain hopeful for his safe return.'
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Just two days before his disappearance, Krommidas spoke at a monthly meeting for the Nassau County Young Democrats alongside Joe Scianablo, who is running for Town of Hempstead supervisor, according to a post from his Facebook account.
3 Two days before his disappearance, Krommidas spoke at a monthly meeting for the Nassau County Young Democrats.
Facebook/Petros Krommidas for Nassau County Legislator
Krommidas' sister, Eleni, pleaded in a message on social media for anyone who has information to come forward.
'My brother is missing, and we are deeply worried,' his sister wrote.
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Krommidas is a Long Island native who graduated from Chaminade in 2013 and later from the Ivy League university as a member of the rowing team and with multiple degrees in American history and business management, according to his LinkedIn.
3 The missing man poses during a birthday with family.
Instagram / @petroskrommidas
He worked in finance, including at Morgan Stanley and Sageview Capital, before jumping to politics in 2024 with a job as a Democratic Party field organizer, his account shows.
His election primary is about two months away, on June 24, with the general election Nov. 4.
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Politico
18 minutes ago
- Politico
Kweisi Mfume is pitching an old-school approach to one of House Democrats' highest-profile jobs
Frustrated by Democrats' seniority system, Kweisi Mfume fled the House three decades ago, saying he could do more to advance civil rights from the outside. Now he's back and trying to reap the benefits of seniority at a moment when many in his party are starting to openly question it. The Baltimore native last month surprised many House colleagues by entering the wide-open race to lead Democrats on the high-profile Oversight Committee, seeking to fill the spot vacated by the sudden death of Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly. Into the void jumped a pair of young, ambitious members — Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Robert Garcia of California — as well as a close Connolly ally, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. And then there's Mfume, who at 76 is making no bones about this being the capstone of a long career that included stints leading the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP — jobs he took back in the 1990s. 'I started a long time ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth,' Mfume joked in an interview, before describing his old-school approach to legislative relations: 'The first thing you learn is how to count votes, which has never failed me yet,' he said, adding that he would be careful not to alienate colleagues 'by doing something that causes problems for them in their district.' Rather than detail a point-by-point agenda for taking on President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, Mfume said if elected he'd convene the committee's Democrats to decide a course of action. The party, he said, can only move forward with a 'consensus.' That style stands in sharp contrast to a Democratic base that's itching for more aggressive leadership and a more visible fight with Trump — something the other candidates are clearly heeding: Garcia has tangled with the Justice Department over his criticism of Elon Musk; Crockett has broached the prospect of a Trump impeachment inquiry; and Lynch, as the panel's interim top Democrat, attempted last week to subpoena Musk during a panel hearing. The race also threatens to become a proxy fight for broader questions about age and seniority inside the Democratic Party. House Democrats ousted several aging committee leaders at the end of last Congress as they girded for a fight with the Trump administration — and many in the base were disappointed when Connolly triumphed over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. The winner is poised to lead efforts to investigate and thwart the Trump administration if Democrats can retake the House majority next year — and ride herd on a chaotic panel that in recent months has featured intense personal attacks between lawmakers and the display of nude photos. 'It's a street fight every day,' said Rep. Lateefah Simon of California when asked about the panel and what it takes to lead it. 'It's every single day being able to expose the hypocrisy of this administration and to tell the truth.' There was a time when Mfume would have been a natural choice for such a moment. First elected to Baltimore's City Council at the age of 30, he quickly butted heads with legendary Mayor William Donald Schaefer. After longtime Rep. Parren Mitchell retired, Mfume easily won the seat in 1986 and within a few years become a national figure due to his chairmanship of the CBC. Ascending to that role just as Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency, he became an important power broker, forcing key concessions in Clinton's 1993 budget and pushing the White House to restore ousted Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power. He also clashed with Clinton at times, including over his decision to pull the nomination of prominent Black legal scholar Lani Guinier to a top Justice Department post. But after Democrats lost their House majority in 1994 — and Mfume lost a quixotic bid to enter the party leadership — he decided two years later to forgo a long climb up the seniority ladder. He instead took the helm at the Baltimore-based NAACP, a job thought to better harness his skills at organizing and oratory. Former Maryland state Sen. Jill Carter said Mfume has long had the 'it factor' and 'charisma' that matters in politics. When Carter ran against Mfume in his 2020 House comeback bid, she got a reminder of how well her rival was known in the district and beyond: 'When some of my people did exit polling, they got the response, 'Oh, we love Jill but, come on, this is Kweisi.'' What's less clear is whether Mfume's reputation in Baltimore, burnished over 45 years in the public eye, makes him the man for the moment as far as his contemporary House colleagues are concerned. He's not known as a partisan brawler, and he said in the interview he doesn't intend to become one. 'There are always going to be fights and disagreements,' he said. 'It's kind of escalated in the last few years to a level that we haven't seen before. I think the main thing is to moderate and to manage the disagreements, because you're not going to cause any of them to go away. How you manage them and how they are perceived by the overall public is what makes a difference.' Mfume is leaning heavily, in fact, on the style and reputation of the man who filled the 7th District seat for the 24 years in between his House stints — the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who served as top Democrat and then chair of Oversight during Trump's first term and is still spoken of in reverent terms inside the caucus. Mfume concedes that Cummings might have been the better communicator — he 'had a little more preacher in him than I do' — but said they share a similar lofty approach to politics. Like Cummings, he suggested prescription drug prices might be a committee priority. What Mfume is unlikely to have is the official support of the Congressional Black Caucus, a powerful force in intracaucus politics. With two members in the race — Crockett also belongs — Mfume said he does not expect a formal CBC endorsement after an interview process Wednesday. But he still expected to draw support from the bloc — especially its more senior members. Other factors complicate Mfume's candidacy. One is age: He is a year older than Connolly was when he was elected to lead Oversight Democrats last year. For those who prize seniority, Lynch has actually spent more time on the panel. And his 2004 departure from the NAACP was marred by controversy: The Baltimore Sun reported the executive committee of the group voted not to extend his contract under threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit; the NAACP later paid the woman who complained a $100,000 settlement. Mfume strenuously denied any wrongdoing, but while the episode has not emerged as a major issue in the Oversight race, some Democrats have privately expressed reservations about elevating a leader with personal baggage to potentially lead investigations of Trump. 'There's never been one person to corroborate that one allegation — not one,' Mfume said. About the payment, he said, 'I found out about it, quite frankly, after it happened.' Much of the Democratic Caucus remains undecided ahead of the June 24 secret-ballot vote. Candidates will first go before Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee, which will make a recommendation to the full caucus. 'I think that you have a situation where Mfume and Steve Lynch are getting support from folks who put seniority at top, and maybe the other two candidates would probably lean toward members who are newer, and then you got a whole host of folks that's in the middle. And I think that's where the battle is to see where they fall,' said Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.). One younger member said he was swayed by Mfume's experience. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is 48 and had weighed his own bid, said that while other candidates were compelling, the Baltimorean had a 'leg up.' 'Kweisi shows me pictures of him with Nelson Mandela,' he said. 'I was like, I'm not going to run against Nelson Mandela's best friend.'
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Democracy Forward' Compilation Features Tracks From Michael Stipe, Wilco, Brandi Carlile, John Prine and Tyler Childers
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USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump isn't destroying our 'democratic norms.' Progressives are.
Trump isn't destroying our 'democratic norms.' Progressives are. | Opinion I see Democrats, much of the mainstream media and other progressives downplaying and even excusing violent protests, illegal immigration and other actions that threaten Americans' security. Show Caption Hide Caption Trump on the return of deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia President Trump spoke with reporters on Air Force One on the return of deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. When Donald Trump ran for president a second time, Democrats repeatedly cried that he would dismantle and disrupt "democratic norms." Trump certainly is an unconventional president. But I've found no evidence that he is, as charged, destroying democracy. Instead, I see Democrats, much of the mainstream media and other progressives downplaying and even excusing violent protests, illegal immigration and other actions that threaten Americans' security. Take, for example, the storylines involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who entered the United States illegally and who is accused of affiliation with a violent gang. The Trump administration was harshly criticized for wrongly deporting Abrego Garcia without due process. He is now back in the United States and faces human trafficking charges. Opinion: ICE is enforcing the law. Trump is right to send National Guard to protect them. Abrego Garcia faces human smuggling charges Where are the acknowledgments from progressives and the news media that perhaps this isn't a person we want to remain in the United States, after all? If turning an alleged human smuggler into a cause célèbre isn't a disruption of norms, what is? Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, protesters are setting fire to vehicles, hurling rocks at law enforcement officers and looting businesses. All because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained people who are in the country illegally. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, incapable of restoring order in his state's largest city, has attacked Trump and others for sending in the National Guard and Marines to stop the violence. If excusing violence in the name of protecting illegal migrants, and at the expense of law and order, is not a disruption of norms, what is? Opinion: Former Biden press secretary is ready to tell Americans the truth? Give me a break. Democrats are selective in upholding the rule of law When the Trump administration wrongly deported Abrego Garcia, Democratic leaders were quick to embrace him. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen even traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia. What Van Hollen and many others ignored were the criminal accusations against Abrego Garcia. Recently, a federal grand jury indictment was made public, accusing Abrego Garcia of 'conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain' and 'unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.' Prosecutors say Abrego Garcia 'knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens' for profit between 2016 and 2025. Progressives seem to have a selective bias on when to ignore or champion the law. That has been the case since violent protests have erupted in Los Angeles. Progressives have portrayed efforts to enforce immigration laws in California as the "first stages of a Trump police state." Yet, most Americans support enforcing the law. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in May found that "55% of Americans support increasing deportations of immigrants without legal status." Only 42% oppose increased deportations. Progressives' excuses for illegal immigration and violent protests are more damaging than anything Trump has done in his second term. They want us to ignore not only what we are seeing with our own eyes but the rule of law as well. What we truly must not ignore is how dangerously wrong they are. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.