The Manhattan Times

There are political battles brewing in Northern Manhattan's delegation to state and federal government that voters will decide during the Democratic Primary in September. It seems that the Congressional seat will experience a real primary election, after almost two decades a new Assembly person will be elected and a state Senate race is on the horizon. In this political atmosphere, even Assembly Member Herman “Denny” Farrell appears likely to face his first primary opponent since 1992. As of yet, no major Republican candidates have been announced to challenge any of the seats in these heavily Democratic communities.

Surrounded by over 100 friends and supporters, including District 7 City Council Member Robert Jackson, Democratic District Leader Mark Levine formally kicked off his candidacy for the 31st State Senate seat at a press conference held Sun., May 2 at Mitchell Square Park, on W. 168th Street between Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue. The 31st State Senate district seat became competitive when current State Senator Eric Schneiderman declared his campaign for New York State Attorney General.

Shhhh!

Even though the area around W. 168th Street is called the Columbia University Medical Campus it doesn’t feel very campus-like with its heavy traffic and crowded sidewalks. That discrepancy has been on the mind of Dr. Lee Goldman, the University’s executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences and dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine.

Community News

As the brouhaha over City Council Member Robert Jackson’s endorsement of district leader Mark Levine to replace State Senator Eric Schneiderman – should he decide to run for another office – enters a second week, the senator appealed to all sides to stop bickering until he decided whether or not to run for attorney general, a post now held by Andrew Cuomo.

Who would you vote for if State Senator Eric Schneiderman’s seat became open today?

That’s the question a manhattantimesnews.com poll is asking after news broke that District 7 Council Member Robert Jackson was filmed on YouTube endorsing District 7 Leader Mark Levine for the position – which is not yet vacant.

In the video Jackson also encouraged Senate hopeful Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat to not pursue the position. Click here to read the full story with results from the online poll.

A political grenade was lobbed onto YouTube yesterday although the size of the explosion won’t be measured for some time.

Democratic District Leader and Barack Obama Democratic Club founder Mark Levine posted a 4-minute, 22-second clip of City Council Member Robert Jackson throwing his support behind Levine in a possible run for the State Senate seat now occupied by Eric Schneiderman and coveted by Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat.

Shhhh!

While we enter the homestretch of the city’s mayoral campaign season, many Northern Manhattan locals are already talking about the various scenarios in the 2010 election season that feature some of our local leaders.