Senate mess

Though there was still no official winner in the District 13 Congressional race by press time, if state Sen. Adriano Espaillat loses to Rep. Charles Rangel, the upcoming Senate race in upper Manhattan could get wild.

Because of redistricting, Senate District 31 — currently represented by Mr. Espaillat — no longer includes parts of Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. The only portion of the district in the mainland (and our coverage area) is Marble Hill.

Assemblyman Guillermo Linares announced in May that he planned to run for the seat. Mr. Linares supported Mr. Rangel for Congress, so he most likely will have Mr. Rangel, along with the Manhattan Democratic Party, supporting him in his bid for the State Senate seat. 

While Mr. Espaillat has said he would not run for state Senate during his bid for Congress, petitions have turned up with his name on them.  

Mr. Linares was the first Dominican-American elected to public office in the city in 1991. So if Mr. Rangel keeps his lead, instead of having the first Dominican-American congressman in the nation in Mr. Espaillat, Dominican-Americans may end up with two of the most prominent Dominican-American elected officials in a showdown for state Senate.

To make things even messier, there’s Mark Levine, a Manhattan District leader who is running Mr. Espaillat’s seat. Mr. Levine challenged Mr. Espaillat for the seat in 2010 but this time around has been campaigning for Mr. Espaillat for Congress. 

At a Harlem press conference held on June 28 in support of Mr. Espaillat — whose campaign is contesting the way the Board of Elections is counting votes in the still-undecided election — Mr. Levine said it’s premature to talk about the state Senate race.

“Right now, we’re focusing entirely on the final result,” he said.

But it’s not premature for Mr. Espaillat. The clock is ticking.

Petitioning for state legislature began in early June and the signatures are due to the state Board of Elections by Thursday, July 12.

Keywords