For most of us, those outside NY-9, this year’s November was unusually quiet. This may well be the calm before the storm. All stars are aligned to make next year’s election season a hectic and heated, with a number of charged races in the Jewish Neighborhoods. Here are some recent developments laying the groundwork for an epic election year:
Super State Senate District: You probably heard it already. Simcha Felder is considering returning to represent us, mulling a run for a super-Jewish state senate district-to-be, if the State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos gets it his way in the redistricting process. Chaskel Bannet – an Agudah board member who played a leading role to rally the Jewish vote for Bob Turner – was previously considered as eying a state-senate run for Carl Kruger’s seat. With Felder in the game, it remains to be seen if Bannet will stay.
If he stays, this will be an interesting race. Hikind aligned with him in support of Turner and to endorse Rick Perry, and he’s not in good terms with Simcha, a former staffer of his. Councilman David Greenfield is a former Felder staffer, but is anything but beholden to him, since he was neutral in the former’s successful council bid. Will this shape out as a Hikind-Greenfield surrogate fight – kind a Lazar-Greenfield round 2?
Talking of Hikind, he might face a primary challenge himself, and some can’t wait this should happen. He already has a backup garden in the West Bank, in case he’s forced out, or maybe he will be rewarded with a position in a Gingrich administration, for his support.
Ed Towns Who stands a good chance to survive redistricting, is facing strong opposition. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries already have a sizable war chest for an expected primary challenge, and Qaddafi-eulogizer councilman Charles Baron officially announced on Sunday that he’s also in the race.
Towns is representing parts of Jewish Flatbush, Williamsburg and Canarsie, but Jeffries – who is seem as reformer and breath of fresh air - may make inroads with the Jewish voters. Vito Lopez is lately in a fierce battle with the Towns clan, and he will probably support Jeffries. This will make this an unpredictable primary.
Concern: The splitting of the moderate voters may open a path of victory for Barron, who enjoys a sizable base falling for his black extremism. In 2006 he pulled 37 percent of the votes in a 3-way race with Towns – enough to win if Towns and Jeffries split evenly with the rest.
Wild Speculation: A Barron Primary win, can propel a third party candidate to victory, by uniting the sane voters in the district. So, will NY-10 follow NY-9?
BTW: Towns already prepares for new district boundaries. His office is located outside his district, several blocks into Yvette Clark’s. Also, he wants to support robo-calls on cell phones, maybe to bombard us with political messages.
Redistricting: The redistricting process – which is very likely to be finalized by the courts - may pitch one incumbent against another. Two North Brooklyn – Williamsburg area – districts are poised to be strongly affected, according to Assembly woman Joe Millman. Those are represented by Party Boss Vito Lopez, and Joe Lentol.
And wait for 2013: This when we will have to pick from a crowded field for an open mayoral position, and the second batch of open Council seats due to term limits. Members Michael Chaim Nelson, Domenic Recchia and Lew Fidler, all representing sizable Jewish neighborhoods in South Brooklyn, and Diana Reyna, representative the edges of Jewish Williamsburg, will vacate their seats. In Wiliamsburg, Lincoln Restler, is said to be leaning toward a primary challenge against Steve Levin.
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