A Brooklyn Democrat who is a frontrunner in next year’s comptroller race has been booted off the City Council’s Italian Caucus for refusing to pledge his devotion to Christopher Columbus.
Councilman Justin Brannan violated the group’s bylaws by saying he is “open” to renaming Columbus Day as Italian-American Heritage Day – doubling down on comments he made a year ago, caucus members said.
“The consensus among members is we wanted to be really adamant about the retention of Columbus Day with no room for negotiations,” Councilman and caucus chair David Carr (R-Staten Island) told The Post. “It’s unfortunate because I was hoping we could all remain together as a caucus, but his saying he’s still open to the idea . . . disqualifies him.”
The lefty pol’s initial Columbus Day dis in October 2023 spurred the caucus’ conservative leadership to rewrite its bylaws, so that members going forward must not only have some Italian ancestry — but also oppose all efforts to rename the federal holiday as a national movment to cancel the Italian explorer gains steam.
“The vast majority of Italian-Americans have been using this holiday to celebrate the countless contributions Italians have made to this country, not to venerate any one person, and particularly not to venerate violence towards Indigenous people,” said Brannan.
The pol also said he believes Indigenous people “deserve … their own holiday,” but opposed replacing Columbus Day with a holiday called “Indigenous Peoples Day” because it would only stir animosity between Italian-Americans and Indigenous people.
On Tuesday, the caucus’ six other members hosted a Council-sponsored “Italian Heritage Celebration” without asking Brannan to be part of it.
“The Republican Italian caucus’ bylaws doesn’t change the fact that I am Italian,” Brannan quipped when asked about the slight.
The other members are: Queens Republicans Joann Ariola and Vickie Paladino; Bronx Republican Kristy Marmorato; Staten Island Republican Joe Borelli; and Queens Democratic Councilman Robert Holden.
Holden said he believes kicking Brannan, who is roughly 70% of Italian descent, out of the caucus is a no-brainer.
“If Justin Brannan wants to engage in presentism, he can do it outside the caucus,” said Holden. “He should be more focused on preserving our rich heritage, not diluting it with the trendy flavors of wokeism.”
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