Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz considered supporting his son Eric Dinowitz — a teacher at Bronx Theatre High School — in a primary bid for City Council against Cliff Stanton.
Mr. Dinowitz, who as a leader of the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club will have a major influence in the race to replace Councilman Oliver Koppell, ended up encouraging Community Board 8 member Andrew Cohen to file. But it seems Mr. Cohen may have been his third choice.
Apart from his son, it’s no secret that Mr. Dinowitz also liked the idea of his chief-of-staff Randi Martos making a go of it, but that she has no desire to run for office.
Mr. Dinowitz denied that he urged his son to run but confirms that “people” and “groups” raised the prospect.
“There was certainly talk and some people thought it was a great idea, some people thought it was not a great idea,” Mr. Dinowitz said.
“If I wanted to push it, believe me I would have pushed it,” he added.
Mr. Dinowitz, however, said Mr. Cohen was not his third choice. He said his son Eric and Ms. Martos would both be terrific at the job but that if either were to run, it would put him in a bind.
Whatever happened to Community Board 8 member Dan Padernacht being in the running for Mr. Dinowitz’s blessing is a mystery.
He looked to be next in line for an endorsement after he agreed to drop out of the Pedro Espada/Gustavo Rivera race in 2010 to help knock the now-convicted Mr. Espada out of office.
But you never know, Mr. Padernacht could file and make a run for the seat on his own.
Red light scam
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz announced last week that he will introduce new legislation to address the “red light camera scam.” But Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not a fan of the idea.
According to a recent study by the American Automobile Association of New York, some intersections with red light cameras that photograph drivers who breeze through them have shorter yellow lights than regular traffic lights.
According to AAA’s study, traffic lights equipped with red light cameras change from green to red 15 percent faster.
