District Leader Josue Pierre endorses slate of judges in Democratic primary races

Josué (Josh) Pierre, the Democratic District Leader for New York’s 42nd Assembly District, community advocate, and co-founder of the Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club in Brooklyn, has endorsed Brooklyn Candidates for Civil Court judge ahead of the June 23 Democratic Primary Election, with early voting running from June 13-21, 2026.

“The average Brooklyn resident, especially in Black and immigrant communities, often never interacts with a judge until they find themselves standing in a courtroom, which can be an intimidating experience,” Pierre said. “Bringing judicial candidates directly into the community changes the perception that our courts are distant institutions disconnected from everyday people.”

Among the candidates endorsed by Pierre include Guyanese-born Attorney Michelle DeSouza Forte, a candidate for Civil Court whose platform states that she is dedicated to fairness, integrity, and equal justice for all. Throughout her career in public service and within the court system, she said she has consistently shown a strong commitment to the rule of law and to the individuals the system is meant to serve. Her candidacy is rooted in the belief that every person should be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.

Pierre is counting on the people of the community to come out in support of DeSouza-Forte, as she is a testament of the American Dream and will bring diversity to a legal system where people of color are disproportionately criminalized and under-represented on the bench. 

Pierre’s other endorsed candidates are below:

Celeste Felix is a well experienced attorney with decades of experience serving the public in New York City Courts. She assists in matters involving vehicle and traffic law, labor law disputes, personal injury, wrongful death, contract law, and other duties. 

Linda Lo Cascio is a court attorney serving the Brooklyn judiciary with 27 years of experience in the legal field. Linda manages complex litigation and is committed to protecting the rights of families, seniors, and vulnerable New Yorkers.

Christine Ortiz has decades of experience in the legal judicial system that centered on fairness, equity, and respect for the people of Brooklyn. She currently serves as Principal Law Clerk in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, Civil Term, where she supports a high-volume, trial-ready docket and helps ensure that the court operates efficiently and fairly for litigants, attorneys, and the public.

Danielle Noel serves in the Matrimonial Division of the Kings County Supreme Court and is a court attorney referee. Throughout her 27 years practicing law, she has worked in progressively senior roles within the New York State Unified Court System, advancing from Assistant Law Clerk and Principal Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justices in Brooklyn to Support Magistrate, where responsibilities included legal research and drafting, advising judges on complex matters, managing court proceedings, and independently presiding over family law and child support cases.

The role of the Civil Court judges in Kings County handle some of the most direct and everyday legal matters affecting Brooklyn residents, including housing disputes, consumer debt, small claims, landlord-tenant cases, and other civil matters. Unlike many judges across the country who are appointed, New York City Civil Court judges are elected by voters, making voter participation in the judicial elections extremely important. 

Pierre and the Shirley Chisholm Democratic club are putting a particular focus on Guyanese-American Michelle DeSouza Fortes’ candidacy, whose stance Pierre described as especially significant for Flatbush and Crown Heights’Caribbean-American Community. 

“Michelle DeSouza Forte brings both legal experience and lived experience to the bench,” Pierre said in an exclusive interview with Caribbean Life. “As a Caribbean-American woman running in one of the most diverse judicial districts in Brooklyn, her candidacy represents the kind of professional excellence and community understanding that many residents want to see reflected in our courts. In communities like Flatbush, where so many families are first- and second-generation immigrants, representation matters particularly in institutions that often feel distant or intimidating to everyday people.”

Pierre added: “Flatbush residents will see us out on the streets speaking to voters about Michelle DeSouza Forte.”

A district leader is an elected, unpaid leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, also known as State committee members. The role and responsibilities of a district leader is to elect the chair of the Executive Committee, commonly called the “Party Boss”; nominate judges for Kings County Supreme Court judgeships at the Judicial Convention; and nominate one of 10 commissioners to the Board of Elections to City Council for a vote. Moreover, a district leader can organize poll sites, participate as members of the State Democratic Party and help select Democratic National Committee Members, among other duties. 

“Our endorsements process is centered around voter education, and ensuring Brooklyn’s courts have qualified judges who also reflect the communities they serve,” said Pierre, whose district encompasses the 42nd Assembly District.

As a co-founder of the Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club, established in 2011, Pierre said one of the club’s goals has always been to increase civic participation and encourage Democratic voters to go all the way down the ballot, including judicial races that are too often overlooked. In addition to a particular focus on increasing voter participation in sections of Flatbush such as Ditmas Park, South Midwood, East Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.