SEPT. ELECTION TO FILL VACANT SEATS

Primary Day in New York State this September will also be the date of special elections to fill the Ninth Congressional Seat vacated by former Rep. Anthony Weiner and three vacant Assembly seats in Brooklyn and Queens, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last Friday, July 1.

Cuomo proclaimed that the special contest to fill the vacancy will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 13, the date of the Democratic and Republican primaries. Six other special elections will also be held that day to fill vacant Assembly seats statewide, including the 23rd Assembly District formerly held by Audrey Pheffer (now Queens County clerk), the 27th Assembly District formerly held by Nettie Mayersohn and the 54th Assembly District formerly held by Darryl Towns (now commissioner of the state Homes and Community Renewal department).

The special elections are open to all registered voters in their respective Assembly or House districts; the primary elections, however, are restricted only to members of a specific political party.

As a result of the proclamations, the district leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties will choose their respective nominees for each special election. Other candidates may make the ballot if they gather 1,500 signatures of valid voters in their district.

Weiner resigned from the Ninth Congressional District seat on June 16 over the scandal surrounding provocative photos he took of himself which he sent to women he associated with online. A host of potential successors have been rumored; The New York Times cited sources in the Democratic Party in identifying the three front-runners for the party’s nomination—Assemblymen Rory Lancman and David Weprin and former City Council Member Melinda Katz.

On the Republican side, City Council Member Eric Ulrich was considered to be a front-runner for the party’s nomination, but he announced on NY1 on Tuesday night, July 5, that he would not run for Weiner’s former seat.

Breezy Point’s Bob Turner, a former television executive who lost to Weiner in last year’s general election, is among a host of candidates being considered by the Queens and Brooklyn Republican parties, as noted in a joint press release. Other candidates include attorney Asher Taub, political activist Andy Sullivan, attorney Juan Reyes, businessman Tim Cochrane, Col. Fred Britton, attorney Steve Schiffman, Assemblyman Dov Hikin and Civil Court Judge Noach Dear.

The Ninth Congressional District seat covers neighborhoods in southern Brooklyn and central Queens, including areas of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Electchester, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, southern Bayside, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and the Rockaways west of the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The rumored candidates for the local Assembly district races, as noted in various published reports, are as follows:

 23rd Assembly District (parts of Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and the Rockaways)—Y. Philip Goldfeder, an aide to Sen. Charles Schumer, is believed to be the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to fill the seat vacated by Pheffer. District Leader Jane Deacy is the reported favorite for the Republican nomination.

 27th Assembly District (includes parts of Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens and eastern Queens)— Michael Simanowitz, who has served as Mayersohn’s aide for many years, is believed to be the Democratic favorite to take her place. Mayersohn retired from the Assembly in April.

 54th Assembly District (includes parts of Bushwick, Bedford- Stuyvesant, East New York and Cypress Hills)—Three Democrats have expressed interest in taking Towns’ place in the Assembly, including Rafael Espinal, chief-of-staff to City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan; community organizer Jesus Gonzalez and Deidra Towns, the former assemblyman’s sister.