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What was a six-person field of candidates for state Senate has been whittled to four as Francesca Castellanos, a perennial candidate for elected office, and Rafael Figuereo did not survive the petitioning process to get their names on the Sep. 14 Democratic primary ballot.
Castellanos, who ran for City Council in 2009, 2001 and 1993, Assembly in 2006 and state Senate in 1996, was officially knocked off the ballot on Fri., Aug. 6 after challenges to her petitions dropped the number of valid signatures to below the required 1,000. As of last month, she had not raised any money for her campaign.
That leaves four candidates to succeed outgoing Senator Eric Schneiderman: Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat, whose challenge knocked out Castellanos; community activist Mark Levine; attorney Anna Lewis; and former Charlie Rangel staffer Miosotis Muñoz. The district stretches from the Upper West Side to Riverdale.
In the two Assembly races where candidates must get 500 valid signatures to make the ballot, first-timer Ariel Ferreira squeaked by with fewer than 600 signatures, becoming a rare challenger to long-time Assembly Member Herman “Denny” Farrell in the horseshoe shaped 71st District, encompassing western Washington Heights and Inwood and eastern Washington Heights. Farrell, who has been visible at local subway stops in recent weeks, had over 4,000 signatures.
On Tue., Aug. 10, a court hearing upheld a challenge to Wyatt Johnson, knocking him out of the running to succeed Espaillat in the 72nd District. That leaves Miguel Estrella, Nelson Denis (who successfully challenged Johnson), Julissa Gomez, Guillermo Linares and Gabriela Rosa to battle it out for the open seat.
Candidates continue to amass endorsements
Guillermo Linares, a former City Council member and city commissioner of immigrant affairs, is the best known candidate in the 72nd Assembly District race and has racked up over a dozen endorsements from elected officials, as well as political clubs and parties. Last week he also picked up the nod from the New York League of Conservation Voters and, before last Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade, the support of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
Gabriela Rosa has garnered the backing of two notable elected officials who didn’t board the Linares bandwagon: Assembly Member Farrell, for whom she has worked as a legislative aide and policy analyst, and City Council Member Robert Jackson.
Julissa Gomez, an attorney and member of Community Board 12, was endorsed by Zenaida Méndez, director of external affairs at Manhattan Neighborhood Network, during a fiery speech at Doña Carmen Bakery on Jul. 30.
Nelson Denis is a former Assembly member in East Harlem and graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School.
In the Senate race, Espaillat has continued to add to his collection of endorsements from elected officials in recent weeks, including State Senator Jose Peralta and Council Member Julissa Ferreras, as well as the New York League of Conservation Voters.
On Aug. 4, Levine picked up the nods from former Borough President Ruth Messinger and former Upper West Side City Council Member Ronnie Eldridge, who is married to legendary reporter Jimmy Breslin.
The second filing deadline to report fundraising was this week; the amount each candidate raised will become public beginning Fri., Aug. 13.
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