State Sen. Adriano Espaillat

As the September primary date draws near, Sen. Adriano Espaillat is pushing full steam ahead in his second consecutive campaign, hoping to convince a whole new set of voters that he is the right man to represent the 31st District in the New York State Senate for another term.

Espaillat narrowly lost the congressional primary against incumbent Rep. Charles Rangel in June. The race went so far as a recount and showed that Espaillat, a relative newcomer up against an entrenched and embattled opponent, had come within hundreds of votes of winning and had rallied a lot of support in the district. When he lost, however, he turned his focus back to the state Legislature, and now he’s running to retain the seat that he’s only filled for a single term.

“I think I come out of this strengthened, and having touched base with voters on a regular basis from January until now is never a bad thing,” Espaillat said of his experience pivoting from a congressional race back to the state level. “It keeps your feet on the ground, it keeps your feet to the fire.”

He’s spent a lot of time in the past year talking to voters, though now his focus is shifted from a larger and majority Hispanic district to a newly drawn and smaller area. The 31st Senate District used to stretch up into a chunk of the South Bronx, cover Washington Heights and run down the westernmost side of Manhattan, but its boundaries have moved south and very slightly east, making a bigger part of the Upper West Side Espaillat’s territory.

“A greater portion of the West Side was brought in, in a funny sort of gerrymandered way. It’s called the spaghetti district,” Espaillat said, referring to a thin strip that snakes across 38th Street to Seventh Avenue, then down to 30th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, then back west across to 10th Avenue and down to West 24th Street. It gives the district a very tiny slice of several different neighborhoods, but Espaillat said that despite the head-scratching methodology involved in creating it (he pushed for independent redistricting), he is looking positively at this new district.

“Rather than having a whole area, you have different pieces of blocks. I’ve made my way over there, and I’ve gotten to meet people in the new part of the district,” he said. “It’s kind of exciting because it goes all the way down to the 20s. [There’s] all of Madison Square Garden, parts of Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea.”

While the racial demographics haven’t changed too much—the old district was 57 percent Hispanic, 30 percent white and 7 percent black, while the new district is 56 percent Hispanic, 29 percent white and 8 percent black—the race is different from the last time Espaillat ran for the seat in 2010. He’s vying for votes from wealthy Riverside Drive enclaves as well as working-class families in Washington Heights, but he said that many issues are similarly pressing to all of his potential constituents.

Some of the diversity of concerns within the district can be a good thing, he said.

“Hydrofracking, which I’m very much opposed to, has a very strong interest on the West Side. I’m trying to get the northern part of the district more aware of that.”

Espaillat will be on the Democratic primary ballot against State Assembly Member Guillermo Linares, who currently represents the 72nd District in Washington Heights. Mark Levine, who has planned to run for the seat with Espaillat’s endorsement, stepped down and is now running for City Council instead.

“At the end of the day, I think I have a very strong record and I’ve worked very hard on the minimum wage bill, rent regulations, hydrofracking, the DREAM Act—important progressive issues,” Espaillat said.

The Democratic primary is on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Julie Menin speaking at an event last year. Photo courtesy of PMC.

WINNERS

Charles Rangel - The octogenarian congressman can finally exhale after his primary challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, conceded for a second time amid ballot irregularities. It is unclear whether Rangel will consider running again in 2014, and Adam Clayton Powell IV is already calling dibs on the seat, but the veteran lawmaker will certainly relish his commute to the Beltway for another two years.

Michael Bloomberg – Word on the street is the mayor hopes his post-mayor role is one of activist philanthropy, and we got another glimpse of what that would be like this week when he made a $50 million gift to support family planning in poorer countries. And we wonder if the mayor, as chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, had any hand in the decision this week to ban political speeches at the site on the attack anniversary. Both decisions, calmly and deftly managed, show good judgment.

Eliot Spitzer – Okay, so the former governor may never have a political career again, and he hasn’t been a raving success as a national pundit, but we are interested to see where his stint as a NY1 Wiseguy takes him. For his opening show, Spitzer took an opportunity to offer some advice to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which is just about the brazen-est thing we can think of. With so few people who have a chance at political office willing to go out on a limb to talk about Cuomo, Spitzer could serve an important function as a person willing to criticize the state’s executive, on the record and in the open. This could be a good look for the ex-gov.

Julie Menin – Fourteen months before the Democratic primary for Manhattan borough president, Julie Menin has already maxed out on fundraising, raising as much as she’s possibly allowed to spend under New York City’s matching funds program. That will allow Menin to simply focus on campaigning, while rivals like Gale Brewer, Robert Jackson and Jessica Lappin are still dialing for dollars. Of course, Menin’s early success makes us think that she might be wise just to opt out of the matching funds program and raise more, unlimited amounts of cash.

Dean Skelos - An early leak by the Senate Republicans indicated that the GOP will have something like five times as much cash on hand as the Senate Democrats — who aren’t even trying to pay off their remaining debt anymore. Add to that the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t ruling out backing Republicans for Senate seats, and it’s almost tempting to declare the 2012 battle for Senate supremacy over. Unless a lot more members of the Senate Republican conference decide to follow Marty Golden’s lead and throw events on feminine “deportment,” it’s going to be quite the uphill battle for the Senate Democrats.

LOSERS

Mark Levine – His time may be coming, but it’s not here quite yet. The upper Manhattan Democratic district leader latched onto the congressional campaign of a former foe, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, while looking to run for Espaillat’s seat if it came open. But now that Espaillat’s narrow loss to longtime Congressman Charlie Rangel is official, and Espaillat has officially decided to run for re-election to the Senate, Levine has little choice but to again take up his candidacy in a crowded field for a seat in the New York City Council.

Ed Cox – The last person you want to get into a public dispute with when you’re a state party chair is your party’s nominee for President, but that’s exactly what Ed Cox did this week by insisting that the Republican convention delegates he selected be seated, instead of assenting to the list of delegates the Romney campaign had expected him to rubber stamp. In the era of drama-free national conventions, the Romney campaign has made it loud and clear (off the record, of course) that they don’t appreciate the former First Son-in-Law’s dissent, threatening to strip Cox of the authority to introduce the New York delegation at the big show. While Cox’s staff hastened to emphasize that everyone was working in lock step to elect Romney, one wonders if for Cox an Obama victory might actually be better for his personal political prospects.

Rob Astorino – The Westchester County executive may simply be doing what’s best for his constituents in pushing for more details – and more transit – on the Tappan Zee Bridge, but now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has aggressively amped up his public relations campaign behind his plans for a new bridge, Astorino is feeling the governor’s wrath. Larry Schwartz, the secretary to the governor, got another critic of the governor’s plans, Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef, to side with Cuomo, and that isolates Astorino, the “Republican rising star” who’s lately been painted simply as a unrealistic flip-flopper driven by political ambitions.

Kevin Burke – No summer vacation for ConEdison chairman Kevin Burke, who’s entering another week of lockout with his utility workers over a union contract dispute, despite the fact the workers are the same people who’d help the city in the event of a heat-induced power outage. As if that weren’t bad enough, Crain’s reported yesterday ConEd is among the elusive secret donors to the Committee to Save New York, the group plugging for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget. Granted every company has its own interests to look out for, but to the public, at least for the time being, it looks like Burke’s interests are directly opposed to his workers and most of the rest of New Yorkers.

Dennis Walcott – The schools chancellor heard it from all sides this week. Newspaper editorial boards criticized his lenient penalties toward Stuvesant High School cheaters and the Bloomberg administration retreated from his plan to close 24 troubled schools. At least he’s getting outdoors on Friday to promote the city’s Free Lunch program at Orchard Beach. Soak up those rays!

To vote for this week’s top political winner and loser visit City & State by clicking here.

A week after Adriano Espaillat won his primary election for State Senate, he held a meeting with his former opponents to hear their ideas for the district.

Espaillat, an Assembly member from Washington Heights, held a breakfast meeting at Dyckman Express Restaurant Sept. 23 with candidates Mark Levine, Anna Lewis and Miosotis Muñoz.

Adriano Espaillat.

The group discussed their priorities and ideas for improving the diverse district. Represented for more than a decade by Eric Schneiderman, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, the State Senate seat covers parts of the Upper West Side, all of northern Manhattan and Riverdale in the Bronx.

“We had a very lively senatorial race,” said Espaillat, who took 51 percent of the vote in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.

Lewis offered her endorsement of Espaillat, which prompted Levine to say that he considered it “universal” among Espaillat’s past rivals.

“One thing about the campaign is that everyone agreed on the main issues,” Levine said. “We all care about the district and the community.”

During the campaign, each candidate tried to highlight their background to separate themselves from the pack, as each ran as progressive Democrats. Levine, who came in second, touted the credit union he founded in the area to help small businesses; Anna Lewis, the only Upper West Side resident in the campaign, emphasized her background as a lawyer who helped draft state laws; and Munoz focused on special education and senior services.

“I know their strengths,” Espaillat said. “I hope to talk to them for not just ideas but real-life solutions to problems.”

Lewis suggested that Espaillat tackle the spate of empty storefronts cropping up where small businesses once operated in the Upper West Side. She also proposed increasing the “dismal” Medicaid reimbursement rates for independently-owned pharmacies and studying ways to keep commercial rents low.

Espaillat proposed creating a “one-stop center” for small businesses that will assist with licensing issues and provide an attorney to help with leases.

After his primary victory, Espaillat only has nominal opposition in November’s general election from Green Party candidate Ann Roos.

Epaillat said his priority in the Senate is to pass pro-tenant legislation that the chamber has bottled up for years, such as repealing vacancy decontrol—the point at which a newly vacant unit is taken out of the rent regulation system and converted to market rate housing

“The conditions are there for it to be taken seriously,” Espaillat said.

New York Attorney General: Eric Schneiderman

New York has recently had top-notch attorneys general in Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo. The next attorney general must be able to match their stature, their skill in taking on complex issues of national importance, and their ability to extract reform. The next attorney general must also be adept at addressing Albany corruption and protecting consumers.

Of the five candidates seeking to be the state’s top cop, we endorse Eric Schneiderman, a state Senator from the Upper West Side.

As Albany disappointed New Yorkers for decades, Schneiderman has been a prime example of a smart, effective, reform-minded legislator. He has crafted legislation that promotes equal justice under the law and ended discriminatory practices. He led the fight to end the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws, which disproportionately targeted blacks and Latinos. He introduced the Fraud, Enforcement and Recovery Act, which closed loopholes in the state’s False Claim Act.

Although Gov. David Paterson vetoed Schneiderman’s ethics reform bill for being too weak, the legislation would have brought much-needed change to Albany. The fact that his legislation was introduced and passed by a nearly unanimous vote is a major accomplishment.

Each candidate is talking about cleaning up Albany. But Schneiderman actually did it when given the opportunity. Against the wishes of his chamber’s leadership, Schneiderman convened a bipartisan panel to expel his colleague and fellow Democrat Hiram Monserrate after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend. These accomplishments occurred after the Democrats took the Senate majority in 2009. He has spent the rest of his 12 years in the State Senate fighting Republican senators that blocked his progressive reform-minded legislation.

We are concerned that Schneiderman lacks an investigatory background, but we are confident he will hire an accomplished staff that can follow his vision for the attorney general’s office, which separates him from his competitors. Schneiderman’s core philosophy of equal justice will ensure that the interests of all New Yorkers are heard. He has a broad agenda that protects consumers, prevents the pollution of the environment and fights discrimination.

The other candidates in the race are well-qualified and have strong ideas for the office. Sean Coffey has an exemplary legal background as a federal prosecutor and lead lawyer in the WorldCom fraud case, in which he won more than $6 billion for burned investors. Coffey fashions himself as an outsider, but can speak on the issues passionately and eloquently with the knowledge of a seasoned elected official. If spending time in Albany is a disqualifier for voters, Coffey is a welcome alternative.

Eric Dinallo, former deputy to Spitzer in the attorney general’s office, has an accomplished government background. He also was head of the state’s Insurance Department. He knows the job and how to wield it for powerful results. But we feel Dinallo’s vision—that the attorney general should focus on kitchen table issues—is too limited.

We extend that feeling to Richard Brodsky, an Assembly member representing parts of Westchester. As attorney general, he said he would focus on unfair or hidden fees New Yorkers pay for energy. But his temperament makes him ill-suited for the attorney general’s office, evidenced by his stance on the Islamic cultural center in downtown Manhattan. He unnecessarily waded into the debate and, despite saying he would defend the center as attorney general, proposed a “compromise” in which the center moves for the sake of appeasing its detractors.

Kathleen Rice, the district attorney for Nassau County, Long Island, has been a superb local prosecutor. She has tackled a drunk driving scourge, sexual predators and fought Medicaid fraud. But many of these—save for Medicaid fraud—are quality-of-life issues. She is under-qualified to be the state’s highest law enforcement official.

We support Eric Schneiderman for attorney general in the Sept. 14. Democratic primary.

State Senate—30th District: Bill Perkins

Although many New Yorkers may be angry about political deadlock in Albany and calling for reform, that doesn’t mean that all incumbents need to be ousted in this election cycle. For example, Bill Perkins has been a positive force for reform in his district, which covers Harlem, Washington Heights and part of the Upper West Side. While Perkins has criticized the way charter schools operate within existing public schools—and suffered some backlash for questioning this fairly new practice—it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a strong force in the Legislature, addressing constituent concerns and, in fact, supporting a bill that would increase the number of charter schools.

His challenger, Basil Smikle, is an impressive candidate who has worked as a top aide for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention. Smikle has his own ideas for improving affordable housing and job creation in the district and will undoubtedly continue to be an imaginative and expressive politician who we hope to see continue his drive to better the city for everyday New Yorkers.

We are certain Perkins, however, will continue his progressive work concerning affordable housing issues and public education and therefore endorse him for re-election.

State Senate—31st District: Mark Levine

When State Senator Eric Schneiderman announced his candidacy for attorney general this year, it meant that his seat in the 31st District was wide open. There are four strong Democratic candidates in the primary, and the district—which covers parts of the Upper West Side, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood and Riverdale—calls for someone prepared to tackle the constituent concerns of a wide swath of New Yorkers in an area undergoing profound changes—especially in regards to housing and job creation. For this reason, we support Mark Levine in the Democratic primary.

Levine, a Washington Heights resident, represents the possibility of new leadership for the district and has a broad background of community building and activism. He has the fresh ideas and independent background that voters want when it comes to reform in Albany. He plans to support campaign finance reform as well as assist constituents in navigating state government hurdles in dealing with health, housing and transit issues.

Levine began his career as a bilingual science teacher and later served as executive director of Teach For America-New York. He understands, firsthand, the issues facing our public school system. Levine went on to found Upper Manhattan’s first and only community development credit union, Neighborhood Trust, which has helped many lower-income residents. In 2007, Levine won a Democratic district leader position, campaigned for Barack Obama’s presidential primary and created the Barack Obama Democratic club uptown.

Levine’s strongest competitor in the primary is Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, also from Washington Heights, who has served 14 years in the state legislature and possesses a stellar background when it comes to constituent concerns, and is a strong candidate.

On immigration reform, tenants rights, urban education and economic development, Espaillat has always been on the right side of progressive legislation and would most likely continue to be a strong advocate for the district’s constituents. Espaillat has strong support from other incumbent politicians, including Senator Schneiderman, but for voters looking for a new perspective at the state level, it’s difficult to make the argument for Espaillat.

A former Democratic district leader and the only Upper West Side resident in the race, Anna Lewis is an attorney with 25 years of experience; she knows the law. Lewis has a legacy of drafting legislation supporting constituent concerns, and she wants to continue her efforts in that direction, especially concerning health care and consumer rights. We also think her idea for housing reform—in particular to start a new housing initiative modeled after the Mitchell-Lama program—is the best we have heard and hope that she continues to advocate for such a program in the future and that others support similar ideas. The fact that there are so few elected women running for state political positions should change, and we hope that Lewis will run for a position in the future.

The other woman in the race, Miosotis Muñoz, has very heartfelt ambitions for the district, and her background in social work and grassroots organizing for various community causes should be applauded. Her compassion, leadership and enthusiasm for neighborhood concerns, however, seem better suited for on-the-ground community efforts, rather than the bureaucracy of state politics.

We endorse Mark Levine for the State Senate in the 31st District for his promise of reform, new ideas and a background that seems exceptionally suited to this vibrant and transforming district.

15th Congressional District: Charlie Rangel

Representative Charles B. Rangel is seeking his 21st term, and we endorse him in that effort. Despite the recent controversy surrounding his office due to the charges of ethics violations, Rangel still deserves the support, and votes, of his constituents after years of dedicated political service.

Although Rangel has relinquished the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, which he had waited since 1981 to take over and finally did in 2006, he still holds quite a bit of power after 40 years in Congress and letting that pass away at this point would be a mistake for New Yorkers. Although many have called for his retirement, Rangel continues to work with indefatigable strength and dedication for his constituents and the nation as a whole.

Even though Rangel will most likely win re-election to the House, we will still need a new generation of qualified and eager candidates to fill his estimable shoes. One of the more fascinating aspects this year was meeting the group that had the pluck to run against the incumbent. For those seeking a change, they will find an excellent candidate in Vince Morgan. The community banker is new to political campaigning, but we found that he had a winning personality and many ideas for where the district could position itself in the 21st-century. In particular, his involvement as the chairman of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and the chair of the 125th Street Business Improvement District will give him a valuable perspective as he continues his political career in the district.

Adam Clayton Powell IV may have many bona fides, most obviously sharing a name with the man who preceded Rangel as the Congressman for the district and serving as a New York City councilmember and in the State Assembly. But Powell’s record in the Assembly has been spotty, his attendance poor. Overall, we think if there is indeed going to be change in the district, we should be looking to the future, not the past.

The other two candidates, Joyce Johnson and Jonathan Tasini, should both be commended for entering the race. Johnson has dedicated many years to public service in various capacities, as well as being a pioneer for women of color in the corporate sector. We hope that she does continue in her unremitting efforts to create a world that supports the efforts of women and minorities to achieve their dreams on an equal playing field. Tasini’s career as a gadfly when it comes to labor and economic issues is needed in politics. Lending his ideas and energy to the race is much appreciated.

We look forward to the next primary for the district, which will undoubtedly have an even stronger and diverse pool of candidates, but in the meantime, we endorse Charlie Rangel for Congress.

Candidates running to replace Eric Schneiderman in the State Senate laid out their plans to bring reform to a dysfunctional legislative body and constituent services to a geographically large, diverse district.

Adriano Espaillat, Mark Levine, Anna Lewis and Miosotis Muñoz sat with the West Side Spirit to discuss their agenda and why they are the best candidate to represent a district that spans the Upper West Side, northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

Adriano Espaillat, Miosotis Muñoz, Anna Lewis and Mark Levine.

Espaillat is an Assembly member running in a year where the theme in Albany’s legislative races is “throw the bums out.” But Espaillat embraces the 14 years he has spent in the Assembly.

“I have a strong record, one that I’m very proud of,” Espaillat said.

He touts his legislative record in the Assembly and the constituent work he does in his district, which covers Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill.

In Albany, he supported congestion pricing and co-sponsored pro-tenant housing legislation. In his district, he takes credit for boosting enrollment in CUNY and assisting constituents with landlord problems.

In the State Senate, he wants to help West Siders with similar housing issues, ensure marriage equality is passed in New York and help designate West End Avenue as a landmark district.

For this State Senate race, Espaillat has tapped support from Upper West Side elected officials. Schneiderman endorsed him as his successor in the State Senate. Rosenthal and Borough President Scott Stringer, an Upper West Side resident, also support Espaillat. He also has labor endorsements, including most recently the teachers union endorsement.

Even though the support of incumbent politicians might turn off voters sick of Albany, Espaillat boasts of his reform credentials by co-sponsoring Schneiderman’s ethics legislation, supporting independent redistricting of legislative seats and an independent commission to police the Legislature.

He pushed back against claims from his opponents—chiefly Mark Levine—that he will not deliver on reforming the State Senate.

“If anybody sits here and tells you, ‘I’m Don Quixote, I will kill the windmill, and I will reform Albany single-handedly,’ they’re lying to you,” Espaillat said. “It’s going to take some consensus building and someone that really knows the institution and won’t walk around for two years looking for the bathroom.”

But Levine believes voters want a new perspective from their state senator, even if it means looking for the bathroom.

“I see this seat—the Schneiderman seat—as actually a part of a statewide strategy for bringing change,” Levine said. “This seat has to stay in the hands of someone who is independent, aggressive, progressive and reform minded.”

To Levine, there needs to be campaign finance reform before progressive legislation can pass. For example, without public financing of campaigns, state lawmakers are influenced by contributions from industry groups, which killed initiatives like the soda tax or gun control.

As for Espaillat’s support of reform measures as an Assembly member, Levine called them “fig leafs.”

“Very, very weak proposals for reform have won some traction in Assembly and people are running on them as proof of their credentials as reformers,” Levine said. “But they’re pretty easy to see through.”

He also criticized Espaillat after the New York Post reported that a nonprofit the Assembly member funds hired his political allies.

Levine, a Washington Heights resident, won a Democratic district leader position in 2007. In that unpaid party position, he supported and organized for Barack Obama’s presidential primary campaign against New York’s favorite daughter, Hillary Clinton. He turned that network of supporters into the Barack Obama Democratic Club uptown.

His campaign is backed by Democratic clubs and fellow district leaders in the Upper West Side. His campaign was also endorsed by Ronnie Eldridge, a former West Side Council member, and Ruth Messinger, also a former West Side Council member, borough president and 1997 Democratic nominee for mayor.

Outside of politics, Levine, a former educator, was the executive director of Teach For America and a nonprofit that trained staff for after-school programs. He also started a community credit union that gave loans to small businesses.

In the district, he wants to help constituents navigate a difficult state government, which has authority over health, housing and transit issues.

“The legislative battle in Albany, day to day, is incredibly important,” Levine said. “But it doesn’t always touch people’s lives in the way solving a landlord dispute or getting them resources they need from the state would.”

Anna Lewis, an attorney, is the only Upper West Side resident in the race. She is running on her state government experience but says she doesn’t have the baggage of being an incumbent legislator in Albany.

As former counsel to the Assembly’s oversight and investigation committee, she helped draft legislation and reports on abuses from trade schools and contractors that underpaid union workers.

Being a prosecutor in the state’s Health Department, Lewis wants to pass laws that inform consumers of their rights. She wants to make it mandatory for doctor’s offices to have a sign that tells patients they can file a claim online.

“Most people don’t know that exists,” she said. “Being an attorney means I know about the law. I’ve done regulatory law. I know how to read the law, draft the law and that’s a big part of being a legislator.”

Lewis is the only attorney in the race and believes she can be as effective a state senator as Schneiderman, who was a public interest lawyer before entering politics.

Lewis, a former Democratic district leader, said she has community organizing experience like Levine and a legislative background like Espaillat.

“I bring both those things together,” Lewis said. “And I include my experience as a lawyer for the past 25 years.”

Miosotis Muñoz, a former aide to Rep. Charles Rangel and former borough presidents C. Virginia Fields and Messinger, says that, as a parent, she wants to tackle identity theft and Internet predators.

She plans to improve transportation options for seniors and educate them on the rent increase exemption.

“I’d like to give an extra legislative push making sure that there’s enough senior housing,” she said.

Muñoz wants to help immigrants get on a path to citizenship.

For gay rights, she supports same sex marriage but believes there is a lack of attention on hate crimes and bias attacks.