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Local Pols Eye Tom Duane’s Seat

Chris Bragg — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:59:51 +0000

With Manhattan State Sen. Tom Duane announcing his retirement last night, rumors are already circulating about who will run for his coveted West Side seat — and petitioning begins on Tuesday. One name that has emerged already is that of Brad Hoylman, the senior vice president and general counsel for the Partnership for New York City, who had been planning to run for term-limited Council Speaker Christine Quinn‘s seat. Hoylman, who did not return a request for comment, is thought to have a strong chance at getting Duane’s backing. Meanwhile, Hoylman’s potential opponent in that Council race, Community Board 4 chairman Corey Johnson, is also getting some encouragement to run, sources said. Another person interested is said to be Joe Belluck, a prominent and affluent attorney who is a SUNY trustee. (Belluck heads a law firm for which Senate Minority Leader John Sampson serves “of counsel.”) And Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, who would not have to give up her seat to run, is another logical potential candidate, as are Assemblyman Brian Kavanaugh and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick. Other elected officials in the area include Councilwoman Gale Brewer, who has been planning to run for Manhattan borough president, and Councilman Dan Garodnick, who is running for New York City comptroller.

To read more from City & State click here.

As Living Wage Comes to a Head, CB2 Chair Registers for Quinn’s Seat

Chris Bragg — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:10:42 +0000

We wrote about this prospect in depth a few months ago, and now Brad Hoylman has take a step towards running for term-limited Speaker Christine Quinn’s seat, opening a campaign account to raise money for a run.

Hoylman, who narrowly lost a Lower Manhattan Council race in 2001, is the well-known chairman of Community Board 2. Others expected to run for the seat include Corey Johnson, the chairman of Community Board 4, and Yetta Kurland, a civil rights lawyer and radio host. All the candidates are LGBT identified.

Hoylman’s Council campaign committee popped up the very day that Quinn stormed out of a rally heralding the passage of the living wage bill, after an attendee criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg – a close Quinn ally who opposes the bill.

And in his Council race, Hoylman faces a similar balancing act as Quinn, as he runs in a liberal West Side district. The personal politics he espouses are liberal. Yet he has long served as the executive vice-president and general counsel of the Partnership for New York City, a pro-business group with close ties to Quinn and Bloomberg.

The situation has grown even more complex for Hoylman after Quinn decided to drop a contentious provision from the living wage bill three weeks ago. That led the the pro-business group, which had initially supported a compromise version of the bill, to drop its support.

To read the full piece at City and State click here.