FORMER WS POLS MAKE ENDORSEMENT

by dan rivoli

ruth messinger and ronnie eldridge, two former upper west side elected officials, endorsed mark levine for his state senate bid.

"mark is a person of unwavering integrity, with a long history of service to the community," messinger said in a statement.

messinger ran against rudy giuliani for mayor in 1997. before that, she served in the city council and was manhattan's borough president.

eldridge, who served in the city council representing the west side from 1989 to 2001, called levine a candidate with "new ideas."

"his spirit and record of creative solutions are what we need to revitalize the democratic party and the legislature of new york," eldridge said in a statement.

levine, a democratic district leader from washington heights, has mainly gotten support from upper west side democratic clubs and its district leaders.

"these two endorsements, along with my other endorsements, reflect the kind of independent, principled and substantive support that is the backbone of our campaign," levine said in a statement.

the district covers parts of the upper west side, all of northern manhattan and parts of the bronx.

levine's main rival, adriano espaillat, has the support of current upper west side elected officials such as assembly member linda rosenthal and borough president and upper west sider scott stringer.

espaillat, an assembly member from washington heights, also has the support of eric schneiderman, the out-going state senator who is running for attorney general.

other candidates include francesca castellanos, rafael figuereo, anna lewis and miosotis muñoz.