Attorney Jeffrey Kurzon announces his candidacy for Congress in downtown district

By Adam Janos

Attorney Jeffrey Kurzon, 36, announced his candidacy for New York’s 7th Congressional district early Thursday morning, setting himself up as an early challenger to incumbent Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez in the Democratic primary of 2014. Valazquez represents parts of the Lower East Side and the East Village.

Velazquez faced a contentious battle against Councilman and fellow Democrat Erik Dilan during her 2012 race, then cruised to victory in the general election. Unlike Dilan in 2012, Kurzon poses a challenge from outside the New York City Democratic Party machine. Kurzon holds no public office, and first became a player in the New York political world as a fundraiser and big bundler for then – Senator Barack Obama in 2008. During that time, he raised over $150,000 for the candidate throughout the primary and general election season by tapping into a network of young urban professionals living within the five boroughs.

“I’m a little frightened to stick my neck out,” said Kurzon, in reference to his candidacy. “But I’m encouraged by the support of my friends, and I’m motivated by my anger.”

Candor at the expense of tact seems typical for Kurzon, who speaks as if he’s got no one to impress, even as he embarks on a journey to unseat Velazquez, who will be a 22-year incumbent by the time the election rolls around, and is the first Puerto Rican Congresswoman in U.S. history. When asked why he’s running, Kurzon glibly replied, “It’d be a good job. Good pay, good benefits. $180,000, that’d be a raise for me. And I could use the benefits.”

And yet, despite saying out loud what would undoubtedly be the inner monologue of yet-another-cynical-empty-suit, Kurzon has made his career out of blind, idealistic bravery standing up to the powers that be. In 2011, he represented social activist Jonathan Tasini and 9,000 other bloggers in a civil suit against AOL. After AOL purchased the Huffington Post for $315 million, the bloggers got no more than “a thank you email from Arianna Huffington.” Kurzon fought, unsuccessfully, to bring some of that money to the writers of the website’s content.

“Asking people to volunteer for a for-profit company is offensive,” said Kurzon, adding that, “all work is valuable.”

Kurzon LLP (his firm) also sued the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the New York Law School, (two separates suits, filed on the same day), for providing what he claims is misleading information to prospective students regarding their job placement rates.

“They say that there’s 80 to 90 percent job placement within nine months of graduating their schools, but what they don’t say is a lot of those students are working at their admissions offices, at Starbucks, or at JCPenney,” he said.

According to Kurzon, the answer is better regulation from the ABA (American Bar Association) and a warning label on bank loans for law school.

“They put a warning label on cigarettes. Why not on loans?”

In general, Kurzon speaks most passionately when discussing the exploitation of labor and the unchecked growth of the financial sector, which is also one of his main gripes with Velazquez. “She’s getting contributions at $10,000 a pop from big banks. She’s been compromised by corporate PAC [political action committee] money.”

Kurzon, meanwhile, refuses to accept PAC money for his campaign, and hopes to raise at least $500,000 by tapping that same grassroots, small donor movement he shook down in 2008 for Obama. (By comparison, Velazquez spent $1.2 million last election cycle and currently has over $200,000 cash-on-hand, according to OpenSecrets.org).

“The party won’t like my candidacy,” Kurzon admitted. “But leadership is more valuable than seniority.”

He likens his candidacy to the anti-establishment ethos of recent grassroots protests.

“Occupy Wall Street was a warning. Bloomberg swept them out of the park, but they had good ideas,” he said. “Our country is one community. We have to look out for each other.”

Williams with his family. Photo by Jon Lentz.

Clyde Williams, a candidate for the new 13^th Congressional District who has been overshadowed by incumbent Rep. Charlie Rangel and another challenger, State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, cast his vote in the Democratic primary this morning in Harlem.

After voting, Williams said he was confident he could come from behind and win today’s primary, pointing to late endorsements from the New York Times and the Daily News, a well-funded get-out-the-vote operation, and voters who want change.

“We’ve gotten many more volunteers of the last few weeks,” he said. “We’ve also had more people who have showed an overall interest in my candidacy, and more than anything else I think we are resonating because people realize we talk about issues.”

He said his campaign has “hundreds of people” out today at polls, driving vehicles, making calls and boosting his visibility. He said he didn’t have any target numbers for turnout, but that his campaign already knocked on more than 38,000 doors and reached at least 188,000 people.

“We’re going to continue what we’ve been doing, which is running a race based on actual numbers and making sure we get these people out to vote,” he said. “There’s definitely a desire for change. We hear that everywhere we go. … I think the only person who offers real change in this race is me.”

But he said it would be a challenge facing two strong candidates who are already in elected office – Rangel and Espaillat – even with a fundraising advantage in the race.

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Scott Stringer, Manhattan’s borough president and Upper West Sider, is backing his neighborhood’s favorite son for attorney general. Stringer endorsed Eric Schneiderman Aug. 26, citing his reform credentials and fighting corruption in the State Senate.

“If I only had one reason behind my decision, it is that there is no better candidate who will restore confidence in the government more effectively, more forcefully and with greater independence than Eric Schneiderman,” Stringer said in a statement.

Former Borough President Ruth Messinger, also an Upper West Sider, and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal endorsed Schneiderman Aug. 30.

On the heels of his New York Times endorsement, Schneiderman also received the support of Citizens Union, a good government group.

In the current New York State Senate, there are few lawmakers truly fighting for a better environmental future for New Yorkers. Bill Perkins is one such legislator. He has a proven record of fighting for New Yorkers and getting results.

As State Senator for the 30th District, Bill Perkins has fought for cleaner air in a district where nearly one in four children suffer from asthma. He has worked with local organizations to fix problems at the North River Sewage Treatment Plant and has fought against the siting of additional bus depots in Northern Manhattan, a huge source of air pollution. And while he was serving in the City Council, Bill led efforts to pass The Childhood Lead Paint Poisoning Act of 2004. This crucial legislation led to a sharp decrease in lead poisoning cases, particularly among people of color and in low-income neighborhoods.

It is for these reasons that my organization has endorsed Senator Bill Perkins in the upcoming September 14 Democratic Primary. Senator Perkins’ demonstrated commitment to the environmental health of New Yorkers makes him the right choice for voters of the 30th District. For the environmental health of New York, we urge Democratic voters in Washington Heights, Harlem and on the Upper East Side to support Senator Bill Perkins this September 14.

Marcia Bystryn
President, New York League of Conservation Voters

State Sen. Bill Perkins’ campaign for a third term started with him being named public enemy number one for criticizing charter schools. Yet almost two weeks before the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, he got an endorsement from the New York Charter Parents Association.

The organization announced their endorsement for Perkins Aug. 23, arguing that the senator held the first hearings on charter schools in their 10 year existence and exposed “many of the questionable practices of charter school administrators that were violating the rights of NYC children and their parents.”

“We support Senator Bill Perkins because he is not anti-charter, but for protecting the rights of parents wherever they choose to enroll their children, whether at district or charter schools,” Mona Davids, founder and president of the association.

Basil Smikle, a political consultant, jumped into the race against Perkins after he refused to back legislation that raised the cap on charter schools in the state. But Perkins has since voted for a bill to allow more charters in New York that also contained a provision blocking for-profit companies from running these schools.

Attorney General

Richard Brodsky
RichardBrodsky.com
Recent Position: State Assembly member, 1982 to 2010

Assembleyman Richard Brodsky was elected to represent the 92nd Assembly District in 1982 and has served as Chairman of the Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, as well as Chairman on the Committee on Environmental Conservation. In 2002, Brodsky was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. As an investigator, he looked into the use of public funds to build the new Yankee Stadium as well as MTA financing. He also authored the state’s Environmental Protection Fund and the Clean Air Compliance Act. He was first elected to public office in 1975 as a County Legislator from Westchester and spent four terms focused on health care, transportation and tax fairness issues. Brodsky would continue his environmental advocacy in the office of Attorney General as well as “use his vast experience as a reformer to crack down on unfair practices by government agencies.”

Sean Coffey
Coffey2010.com
Recent Position: Partner, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, 1998 to 2009

At Bernstein Litowitz, Sean Coffey was the lead attorney on the infamous WorldCom case, in which he secured more than $6 billion for investors burned by the long-distance telephone company. Now, in his race to be “the people’s attorney,” he says that the victory shows he can take on Wall Street corruption. Coffey was born in the Bronx and entered the Naval Academy at 17. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, he returned to New York and became a litigation associate. In 1991, he was sworn in as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan. Coffey said he would use his position as attorney general to get nonpartisan redistricting of legislative seats, public financing of campaigns and an independent ethics panel. As attorney general, Coffey said he would file amicus briefs to advance progressive ideals.

Eric Dinallo
EricDinallo.com
Recent Position: State Superintendent of Insurance

As an assistant attorney general under Eliot Spitzer, Eric Dinallo is credited with resurrecting the Martin Act to investigate financial fraud. He led the Investor Protection Bureau and prosecuted abuse on Wall Street. According to him, his deep knowledge of the office’s powers makes him more qualified to enact reform and public integ rity. Dinallo started his career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan under Robert Morgenthau. Later, as managing director of Global Regulatory Affairs at Morgan Stanley, he led internal reviews and audits to certify that firms complied with regulations to protect customers. Despite handling complex cases, Dinallo wants to use the attorney general’s office to focus on consumer financial issues. He also wants to have a presence in each county to handle New Yorker’s complaints.

Kathleen Rice
KathleenRice.com
Recent position: Nassau County District Attorney, 2005 to present

Kathleen Rice says she can change Albany because she has done it as Nassau County’s district attorney. Elected in 2005 after beating a long-time incumbent, she focused on the drunk-driving “epidemic” in Long Island, which she said led to statewide changes in the DWI law. She also got Wal-Mart and other retailers to change their policy in the wake of the fatal stampede at the Long Island store. Despite prosecuting quality-of-life crimes, she started an economic crime unit to combat predatory lending, mortgage and insurance fraud and tried million-dollar Ponzi schemes. Rice started as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She handled domestic violence and gang activity cases. After that she served as a homicide prosecutor in Brooklyn. As attorney general, Rice wants to focus “revenue raising” bureaus, such as the one that detects Medicaid fraud.

Eric Schneiderman
EricSchneiderman.com
Recent position: State Senator, Manhattan/Bronx, 1998 to 2010

One of State Sen. Eric Schneiderman’s greatest achievements in Albany was taking control of the upper chamber from the Republicans, who had stymied progressive legislation for decades. Since taking the majority, Schneiderman, who was first elected in 1998, headed the Codes Committee, which deals with sentencing and justice issues. In that position, he shepherded through the repeal of the onerous Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Schneiderman led the bipartisan panel to expel State Sen. Hiram Monserrate after he was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. Legislatively, he introduced gun-control measures and an ethics bill. Schneiderman’s guiding philosophy for the office is equal justice. Schneiderman started his career as a public interest lawyer, and served for more than 10 years as counsel to the West Side Crime Prevention Program. He also acted as lead attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign in a series of lawsuits against the MTA.

15th Congressional District

Joyce Johnson
JoyceJohnsonForCongress2010.com
Recent Position: CEO of the Black Equity Alliance

Joyce Johnson says that a life steeped in public service makes her the perfect fit to replace Rep. Charlie Rangel. She has served in a number of capacities, including as the NYS Petition Coordinator and Field Director for the Obama NYC 2008 Presidential Primary Campaign and has worked for Charlie King, Geraldine Ferraro and C. Virginia Field. She spent 17 years working for the beverage giant Seagram’s as national director of equal opportunity. She said that two former runs for office—an Assembly seat in 2002 and City Council in 2005—makes her seasoned and ready to take on the Charlie Rangel “machine.” If elected to Congress, Johnson said she would focus on legislation that makes it easier for women and minorities to start small businesses. Her other focus would be bringing new infrastructure, schools and affordable housing to her district.

Vince Morgan
Morgan4Congress.com
Recent Position: Community Banker, TD Bank

As a community banker who finances affordable housing for city residents and helps banks find areas to invest in communities, Vince Morgan says that he is the best choice to fuel development in the district. He was also a former aide to Charlie Rangel, and Morgan says he jumped into the race for Rangel’s seat because he believes the old guard is at the end of its run. “It may not happen this time around, but keep your eyes on what’s happening in the district,” he said. He also wants to focus on issues surrounding education in the district. Currently Morgan serves as chair of the 125th Street Business Improvement District and on the advisory board of Harlem Biennale, among other organizations. He was also chairman of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.

Adam Clayton Powell IV
PowellForCongress.com
Recent Position: Assemblyman, 68th District

Son of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who served as congressman in the 15th District from 1945 to 1971 before Charlie Rangel took over the office, Powell IV cut his political teeth serving as a New York City council member from 1992 to 1997. Since 2000, he has represented the 68th Assembly District, which includes parts of the Upper West Side, Harlem and East Harlem. While in the Assembly, he is best known for helping pass the SCRIE (Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption) law as well as suing Mayor Bloomberg over a waste transfer station that was supposed to be built next to Asphalt Green on 92nd Street and York Avenue. Powell says that, if elected, his focus would be on the high unemployment rate in his district, to advocate to bring the troops home and to work on sustaining affordable housing in the area.

Charlie Rangel
CharlieRangel.org
Recent Position: Congressman, 15th District

A lion in the House of Representatives, Charlie Rangel has served his district for 40 years, or 19 terms, as the representative from the 15th Congressional District, and has a laundry list of achievements, including being the former chairman on the Ways and Means committee and the author of the Federal Empowerment Zone project to revitalize urban neighborhoods in America as well as the author of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Rangel argues that his experience and seniority make him the best to serve the district and has beat back calls for him to step out of the current race while being investigated on 13 fraud charges. Rangel claims that missteps were the result of “sloppy” bookkeeping and has challenged his opponent to prove that he did anything criminally negligible.

Jonathan Tasini
JonathanTasini.com
Recent Position: President of the National Writers Union

Author and former head of the National Writers Union, Jonathan Tasini has made a career out of writing about labor and economic issues and was the lead plaintiff in the electronics rights case against the New York Times concerning how freelancers’ work was used on the Internet. In 2006, he ran an unsuccessful Senate campaign against Hillary Clinton, focusing on her vote regarding the Iraq War. Tasini says that, if elected, he wouldn’t vote for a single dime to fund the Afghanistan War; he would push to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act to strengthen unions; and he would vote against extending the Bush tax cuts.

State Senate–30th District

Bill Perkins
BillPerkins.org
Recent position: State Senator, 30th District, 2006 to present

Elected to the Senate in 2006 after a stint in the City Council, Bill Perkins now chairs the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee. He held hearings throughout the city on eminent domain and charter schools. In running for his third term, Perkins attracted an opponent after criticizing the way charter schools operate. He has since supported a bill that raised the number of charter schools allowed in the state. Perkins is standing behind his constituent work in his re-election campaign and cites support from parents of school children, tenants groups and elected officials throughout the district.

Basil Smikle
SmikleAssociates.com
Recent position: Political consultant, founder Basil Smikle Associates

Basil Smikle is the founder of Basil Smikle Associates, a political strategy firm. Before starting his own company, he worked as a top aide for Hillary Clinton and with the Democratic National Committee. Smikle decided to challenge Senator Bill Perkins over his views on charter schools, and Smikle feels Perkins is out of touch with his constituents. His other focus in the race is on jobs for the unemployed in his district and preserving affordable housing.

State Senate–31st District

Adriano Espaillat
AdrianoForStateSenate.com
Recent Position: State Assemblyman–72nd District, 1996 to 2010

During his 14 years in the Assembly, Adriano Espaillat has supported progressive bills such as marriage equality, congestion pricing and pro-tenant laws, including the repeal of vacancy decontrol. When elected in 1996, Espaillat was the first Dominican-American elected to a State House in the United States. The 31st District stretches along the West Side of Manhattan from the Upper West Side, through Washington Heights and up to Riverdale in the Bronx, and Espaillat has the support of West Side elected officials such as Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Espaillat has worked for his constituency in the district, pushing for landmarks protection and tenants’ rights.

Mark Levine
Levine2010.com
Recent Position: Founder, Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union

Mark Levine was elected in 2007 to serve as the Democratic District Leader in Northern Manhattan. In the 2008 presidential election, he ran on Barack Obama’s slate of delegate candidates and the following year founded the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan. Mark began his career as a bilingual science teacher at JHS 149 in the South Bronx, and he later served as executive director of Teach For America-New York.

He believes that his background as a public school teacher and founder of Neighborhood Trust, a credit union that helps low-income residents obtain loans, makes him the candidate with a finger on the pulse of the district. He said that if elected he would focus on affordable housing, education and strengthening mass transit, as well as non-partisan redistricting, campaign finance reform and creating a more transparent budget process. Levine has been endorsed by Ruth Messinger and Ronnie Eldridge, two former Upper West Side elected officials.

Anna Lewis
AnnaIn2010.com
Recent Position: Attorney, New York State’s Health Department

From 1989 to 1992, Upper West Side resident Anna Lewis served as counsel to the New York State Assembly’s Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, where she reviewed the implementation of state laws and investigated agencies for fraud. A few years later, she became the first woman to be appointed as assistant chief judge at the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. After working for the firm of Ginsberg and Broome, she became a court attorney in the State Supreme and Matrimonial Courts. She currently serves as an attorney with New York State’s Health Department, where she works in medical malpractice cases. Lewis says she wants to tackle several issues, including establishing a more active oversight committee, pushing for marriage equality, affordable housing and healthcare vans, where people would be screened for diabetes to save money for the state.

Miosotis Muñoz
MunozForSenate.com
Recent Position: Founder, M. Muñoz & Associates

Miosotis Muñoz is a community organizer and former staff member for Charlie Rangel and Manhattan Borough presidents C. Virginia Fields and Ruth Messinger. While she was at Alianza Dominicana, a community service organization in Washington Heights, she founded a teen-parenting program that helped adolescent parents return to school by providing them training. Muñoz has a degree in sociology, has focused in social work and has organized several health missions along with the association of local physicians in Upper Manhattan. If elected, she wants to focus on education, healthcare access and affordable housing, strengthen programs that provide tenants representation and improve transportation access for seniors.

State Sen. Tom Duane, a Chelsea Democrat who represents most of the Upper West Side, endorsed his colleague Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General.

“Since he came to Albany, Eric has set himself apart as a true reformer and a tireless advocate for all New Yorkers,” Duane said in a statement. “From hate crimes legislation to civil rights and anti-illegal gun laws, to his steadfast leadership in the fight for marriage equality, Eric has distinguished himself as the single best candidate to serve New Yorkers as their lawyer.”

Duane and Schneiderman, who has represented parts of the neighborhood since 1998, both introduced and sponsored legislation on anti-LGBT discrimination, marriage equality and tenant rights issues.

With Duane’s support, Schneiderman adds another West Side elected official to his endorsement list. Rep. Jerrold Nadler already threw his support to Schneiderman.

Speaking of Nadler, the Upper West Side Congressman backed Rep. Charles Rangel, his colleague to the north, at the Harlem Congressman’s 80th birthday bash.

Rangel is fighting 13 counts of ethics violations and four Democratic primary opponents.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying he read the charges and “if this were a court of law, most of this would be thrown out. It wouldn’t stand up.”

Rangel’s Harlem-based district also covers the Upper West Side north of West 89th Street. He faces four candidates in the Sept. 14 primary, including Joyce Johnson, a former aide to elected officials, Vince Morgan, a community banker, East Harlem Assembly Member Adam Clayton Powell IV and labor activist Jonathan Tasini.

The Upper West Side will participate in the city’s hottest races, such as embattled Rep. Charles Rangel’s re-election campaign and the six-candidate primary for an open State Senate seat.

But there is a three-way primary that will likely attract attention from the most die-hard Democratic voters.

That is the race for Democratic State Committee.

Officially, the Democratic State Committee member gets to cast votes at the convention to place candidates for statewide office on the ballot, nominate a slate and develop the party platform. In Manhattan, there is one state committee member from each Assembly district. The three candidates would represent Democrats in Daniel O’Donnell’s Assembly district. (One candidate, Rolando Rodriguez, could not be reached for comment.)

Larry Hirsch has only been a committee member for two years, but he is giving up his position to move his family across the Hudson River to New Jersey. In 2008, Hirsch narrowly beat Robert Ginsberg, a 30-year member of the Democratic Party State Committee.

In his three decades on the state committee, Ginsberg was known for trying to draft Al Gore for president in 2008 and supporting Ralph Nader in 2000.

Hirsch argued that the state committee member could be more active in the community. After being elected, Hirsch collected petition signatures to end the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws and assisted residents of Park West Village manage development near their apartments.

Hirsch is supporting Daniel Cohen, the former president of Three Parks Independent Democratic Club, to be his successor. Cohen also has the endorsement of Upper West Side elected officials and the three Democratic clubs in the area.

“He believes the state committee position should be active in the community as well,” Hirsch said.

The 39-year-old Cohen wants to continue in Hirsch’s footsteps. He says he already has been organizing opposition to natural gas drilling in upstate New York near the city’s water supply and was part of the group that tried to tamp the proliferation of chain drug stores in the neighborhood. He is also running to support independent, nonpartisan drawing of legislative districts.

“I want to continue Larry’s activism and injection of new energy into the position,” Cohen said. “Bob [Ginsberg] has served the community well for the last 30 years but it’s time for a change.”

Ginsberg, however, believes he has the appropriate vision for a state committee member: passing resolutions and shaping the party’s beliefs, rather than focusing on community issues.

“The state committee is not the place where this is done,” Ginsberg said.

During his time at the state committee, Ginsberg preferred to pass resolutions like criticizing those who voted for the Iraq War, or supporting single-payer healthcare. If elected again, he plans to propose a resolution to support eliminating the property tax in lieu of a tax on “rich people’s stocks and bonds.”

Though he personally likes Cohen, his opponent, he frames the campaign as a race between an “independent pain-in-the-ass radical”—referring to himself—“or a go-with-the-flow moderately liberal guy who will listen to orders.”

Clearly the author is either not familiar with or biased against Republican candidates (“Open State Senate Seat Draws Crowd of Candidates,” July 22). The article should have been titled “September Democratic Primaries.”

Susan Kone is opposing Nadler in November for the 8th Congressional district. A viable candidate with the intelligence, integrity and intensity to give Nadler a run for his money, Kone, an attorney, lives on Riverside Blvd. and managed to collect 2,000 signatures—not an easy feat for a republican on the Upper West Side.

Joe Mendola challenges Tom Duane for the 29th senatorial district. An attorney with experience in the financial sector is opposing Duane—who has shown a lack of consideration for the west side.

Joe Maffia
Co-district leader 67th AD, Republican Party

The Upper West Side is off to the races.

Candidates for Congress and two State Senate seats filed their petition signatures to get on the September primary ballot.

The districts only contain small chunks of the Upper West Side. But in a crowded primary, the loyal Democratic voters in the neighborhood could be a deciding factor.

The State Senate seat currently held by Eric Schneiderman covers northern Manhattan, parts of the Upper West Side and the Bronx.

To secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot, each candidate’s petition signature must be valid and meet the minimum threshold. New York’s onerous ballot laws frequently knock candidates off the ballot.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and State Sen. Tom Duane all skirted challengers this year. Francisco Spies, a perennial candidate, filed to run against Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell. But West Side voters are sure to play a role in some critical races this year.

The Upper West Side has a rare open State Senate seat that has attracted a crowd of six candidates who have filed to run for the seat by State Sen. Eric Schneiderman. Elected in 1998, Schneiderman is giving up his seat to run for Attorney General.

The seat is based in northern Manhattan and extends into the Bronx.

Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat from Washington Heights submitted 18,000 signatures. He is the choice of several Upper West Side elected officials. Schneiderman chose Espaillat as his preferred successor. He most recently got the endorsement of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

“I will show up on election day as the winner on the West Side,” Espaillat said. “I have been independent in the Assembly. I supported issues not popular with the leadership and I supported issues not popular with the mayor.”

He cited support for an independent commission to draw the districts in the state and public financing of campaigns.

“I’m not a rich guy. I don’t have Hollywood money like my opponent,” he said. “I have Inwood money.”

Mark Levine, his closest opponent, got contributions from people whose names are more often found in People magazine than campaign finance filings. Actor Ed Norton, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner and Matt Damon contributed to Levine.

The $15,000 Damon donation might earn Levine a Bronx cheer, Espaillat said.

“Last time I saw him was in Fenway Park rooting against the Yankees,” he said.

Levine, a Democratic district leader in Washington Heights, netted 12,000 signatures in his Senate bid. The founder of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, he is getting the support of party activists, district leaders and other Democratic clubs such as Three Parks, Broadway Democrats and the gay and lesbian club Stonewall.

Before running for district leader in 2006, Levine started a credit union in Washington Heights. He has been executive director for Teach for America and a nonprofit that trains staff of after-school programs.

“The West Side is a community with progressive values with activist instincts and a great hunger for reform,” Levine said. “There’s a demand for progressive activists who won’t just follow the crowd and go with the flow.”

He already criticized Espaillat’s ethics after a report in the New York Post showed that a nonprofit Espaillat funds with state money employs his sister-in-law and staffers. Levine wants the Attorney General’s office to investigate.

“I’m running to fight a culture in Albany that tolerates nepotism and insider dealings,” Levine said. “Our community demands an end to those tactics.”

In a statement, Espaillat said he was proud to fund nonprofits in Washington Heights, such as senior centers and citizenship classes.

“I don’t get involved in their hiring decisions. My opponent knows my record,” Espaillat said. “I am more interested in having a debate on the issues affecting the neighbors of the 31st District—the rising deficit, improving our education system, fighting for tenants’ rights and changing dysfunction in Albany.”

The only Upper West Side resident running for this seat is Anna Lewis, an attorney and former judge at the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. More notably, the New York Times endorsed her for a Civil Court seat last year only to see her bounced off the ballot when most of her signatures were ruled invalid.

Lewis said she nixed another shot at the Civil Court to get to Albany.

“We have lots of good judges but we don’t have lots of good state senators,” Lewis said.

For this race, Lewis submitted 11,000 signatures, which is more than 11 times the minimum needed.

She wants to reform state housing laws and require more affordable housing in developments that get tax breaks. As the only lawyer in the race, Lewis says she can go to Albany ready to write laws.

“I won’t need to go to someone else to draft legislature or help constituents,” Lewis said.

Other candidates that filed petitions include Francesca Castellanos, Rafael Figuereo and Miosotis Muñoz.

Meanwhile, in the other State Senate seat that covers the Upper West Side, Basil Smikle submitted 7,000 signatures to run against Bill Perkins. Perkins, a Harlem state senator whose district covers parts of the Upper West Side, has criticized charter schools and how these privately-operated schools function.

Smikle, a political consultant and former campaign aide to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, jumped into the race as a vocal charter school supporter.n