City & State’s Guide to the Primary Races, Sept. 13, 2012

State Senate Races to Watch: 

10th Senate District

Shirley Huntley vs. James Sanders (Democratic)

State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who has had the whiff of scandal hanging over her for months, was arrested last month and accused of being involved in a scheme to steal taxpayer funds from a nonprofit she had founded. Despite her legal troubles the incumbent still has plenty of backers, though her challenger, City Councilman James Sanders, had already landed a few key endorsements, including one from the influential Rev. Floyd Flake.

James Sanders’ after-party will be at Krystal Hall, 124-12 101st Ave., Richmond Hill.

8 p.m. - Shirley Huntley’s post-election event, 137^thAvenue and Guy Brewer Boulevard, Queens.

 

15th Senate District
Juan Reyes vs. Eric Ulrich (Republican) vs. Joseph Tiraco (Independence))
28-year-old Republican City Councilman Eric Ulrich is favored to win the race against Reyes, with a $250,000 cash infusion from the Senate Republicans’ campaign committee, and the support of Senate Republicans. Yesterday he was endorsed by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a fact more notable because Juan Reyes, the challenger, is a former Giuliani employee.

8:30 p.m. – Councilman Eric Ulrich joins friends and supporters at his victory party at Roma View, 160-05 Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach.

 

16th Senate District
Toby Ann Stavisky vs. John Messer (Democratic)
Stavisky, who’s held her Queens Senate seat since 1999, was forced to run in a newly created Asian-American Senate district after this year’s redistricting process, and Messer, who ran against Stavisky two years ago in a three-way race with lottery winner Isaac Sasson, is challenging her again. For both candidates in this race, the Asian-American vote will be the key to victory.

9 p.m. – Stavisky holds an election night party, Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, 7th Floor, 135-20 39th Ave., Flushing.

 

17th Senate District
Simcha Felder vs. Abraham Tischler (Democratic)
This is a wacky race. The winner of the primary in the newly-created “Super Jewish District” will face off against newly elected Republican state Sen. David Storobin, who took office after a protracted battle for the seat vacated by Carl Kruger, when he traded in his Senate seat for the orange prison jumpsuit after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges. (Whew.) Tischler is a 21-year-old recent college graduate and Felder is a former City Councilman who currently works as a deputy city comptroller.

 

18th Senate District
Martin Dilan vs. Jason Otano (Democratic)
This race is one of a handful that are receiving attention because they are proxy battles for embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez and those who oppose him. Dilan, a Lopez supporter, is facing off against a newcomer to elected office, Jason Otano. Otano previously occupied a position in Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz’s office as legal counsel. Despite the Lopez scandal, Dilan, who has been in the State Senate since 2002.

Jason Otano’s election night party will be at Brooklyn Stable, 487 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn.

 

27th Senate District

Brad Hoylman vs. Thomas Greco vs. Tanika Inlaw (Democratic)
In the contest for retiring state Sen. Tom Duane’s seat, Brad Hoylman appears to be the frontrunner. Duane and other party figures have praised Hoylman, the Community Board 2 chairman who like Duane is openly gay and has pledged to continue to focus on LGBT issues. His lesser known opponents, including bar owner Tom Greco, have attacked Hoylman for his work at the pro-business Partnership for New York City.

9 p.m. – Brad Hoylman’s  election night party will be at Mustang Harry’s, 352 7th Ave., Manhattan.

Tom Greco’s party will be at his Ritz Bar and Lounge, 369 W. 46th St, #2, Manhattan.

 

31st Senate District

Adriano Espaillat vs. Guillermo Linares (Democratic)
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, fresh off his run for Congress in which he came over a thousand votes short of toppling veteran Rep. Charles Rangel, now finds himself defending his own seat against Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, who pledged to run for the state Senate seat during Espaillat’s congressional run. Both Espaillat and Linares are Dominican American, yet Linares’ support for Rangel over Espaillat has made for a rancorous Senate race. Meanwhile, Linares’ daughter, Mayra, is running to take over her father’s vacant seat, while Espaillat is backing one of her opponents.

9 p.m. – Sen. Espaillat attends a victory party at Dyckman Express Restaurant, 101 Dyckman St., Manhattan.

 

60th Senate District
Mark Grisanti vs. Kevin Stocker (Republican)
Erie County Senator Mark Grisanti, who first took his seat in an upset victory against Democratic senator Antoine Thompson, is defending himself against Kenmore attorney Kevin Stocker from a primary challenge over his yes vote on same-sex marriage. At this point, the race is most famous for a pornographic mailer distributed by a secretive committee that seems intended to exploit homophobia to marshal support for Grisanti’s challenger.

 

60th Senate District
Charles Swanick vs. Michael Amodeo vs. Alfred Coppola (Democratic)
Another weird race, in Erie County. The Democratic primary’s most well-known player is Chuck Swanick, a Democrat who turned Republican before switching back to Democrat, whose primary campaign support is Steve Pigeon, one of the architects of the 2009 Senate coup. The winner goes on to face Sen. Mark Grisanti or, if the incumbent is upset in the Republican primary, Kevin Stocker.

 

41st Senate District
Neil DiCarlo vs. Steve Saland (Republican)
Saland is one of the four Republicans who voted in favor of same-sex marriage. He’s favored to win a primary race against Neil DiCarlo, who is challenging him in part because of his marriage vote.

From the early evening on, Saland will be watching the returns come in from his campaign headquarters at 1839 South Road, on Route 9, in Wappinger.

 

43rd Senate District

Roy McDonald vs. Kathy Marchione (Republican)
Incumbent Senator Roy McDonald is one of four Republicans who voted in favor of a 2011 bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, and gay rights advocates have sworn to protect him from being voted out of office. But he still drew a challenger in Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione, who is counting on conservative voter turnout in today’s primary to increase her chances of winning. McDonald has the clear cash advantage, and went into the final week of the primary with $164,997 on hand, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ad campaigns. Marchione, by contrast, had only $32,427 as of the most recent campaign filing.

8:30 p.m. – Roy McDonald hosts an event to view the election results, Holiday Inn, 232 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.

 

44th Senate District
Neil Breslin vs. Shawn Morse (Democratic)
Incumbent Sen. Neil Breslin is facing a challenge from the IDC-backed Shawn Morse, but Breslin has significant union support and was one of a handful of senators to receive an endorsement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

After polls close – Breslin joins a Democratic Party of Albany County gathering at the Polish American Citizens Club, 110 Commerce Ave., Albany.

9:10 p.m. – Shawn Morse holds his post-election party, Cohoes American Legion Hall, 93 Oneida St., Cohoes.

 

62nd Senate District
George Maziarz vs. Johnny Destino (Republican)
Destino’s race against the number 3-ranked Republican in the State Senate has been largely underwritten by Buffalo millionaire and former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, who’s made no secret of his distaste for the incumbent.

 

Assembly Races to Watch:

25th Assembly District

Jerry Iannece vs. Nily Rozic  (Democratic)
Assemblyman Rory Lancman stepped aside after losing his primary to run for Congress, leaving Jerry Iannece, a community board chair, and Nily Rozic, a former chief of staff for Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, to battle for his seat. The race also echoes Lancman’s congressional primary, in which he bucked the Queens Democratic Party, which had endorsed Assemblywoman Grace Meng. Iannece landed the county party organization’s nod, yet that hasn’t stopped Rozic’s upstart campaign, which will test the strength of Rep. Joe Crowley, the powerful Democratic chairman in Queens.

9 p.m. – 11 p.m. – Jerry Iannece’s primary night event is at C.J. Sullivan’s, 21310 41st Ave.,  Flushing, Queens.

After 9 p.m. – Nily Rozic and her campaign will gather at Sly Fox Inn, 177-23 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadow, Queens.

 

40th Assembly District
Ron Kim vs. Yen Chou vs. Myungsuk Lee vs. Martha Flores-Vazquez vs. Ethel Chen (Democratic)
The race to replace Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who’s running for Congress, is a crowded one, with five Democrats plus two Republicans, Phil Gim and Sunny Hahn. The group, which will be narrowed down to two today, is also a diverse one. The powerful Queens Democratic machine is backing Ron Kim, while Yen Chou has the experience of strong run against Councilman Peter Koo in 2009.

8:30 p.m. – Myungsuk Lee’s post-election gathering, Daedong Manor, 150-24 Northern Blvd., Queens.

9:30 p.m. – Yen Chou’s after party, Grand Restaurant, 40-21 Main St., 3rd Floor, New World Mall, Queens.

After polls close – Martha Flores-Vazquez holds her election night party at John’s Pizza & Restaurant, 147-09 45th Ave., Flushing.

 

45th Assembly District
Steven Cymbrowitz vs. Ben Akselrod (Democratic)
This southern Brooklyn Assembly district is trending conservative, which could potentially favor Ben Akselrod, the challenger to Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz. The incumbent won his last race by a slim margin and Akselrod is a Russian candidate in a neighborhood with a growing Russian population. Of course, Akselrod got some unwanted press attention and had to apologize for a campaign flyer that talked about crime in the “negrohood” — the neighborhood, that is.

 

55th Assembly District

William F. Boyland Jr. vs. Roy Antoine vs. Anthony Herbert vs. Anthony Jones vs. Nathan Bradley vs. David Miller vs. Christopher Durosinmi (Democratic)
A really classic Albany story is brewing here, which is that, Assemblyman Bill Boyland, despite his incredible absentee record, and having sponsored a handful of bills this year and zero the year before, on top of his second criminal corruption indictment, will still probably win this race. No one challenger has emerged who is strong enough to capture an opposition vote in toto, and so the Anthonys etc. will likely split the vote.

 

57th Assembly District
Olanike Alabi vs. Walter Mosley vs. Martine Guerrier (Democratic)
With Hakeem Jeffries likely on his way to the House of Representatives next year, a trio of candidates are vying to take his place in the Assembly. Olanike Alabi and Walter Mosley both have valuable experience as district leaders in Brooklyn, though Martine Guerrier, a former city Department of Education official, landed the coveted New York Times endorsement.

Walter Mosley’s post-election gathering will be at Chance 11 Bar and Grill, 895 Fulton St., Clinton Hill.

 

72nd Assembly District
Mayra Linares vs. Melanie Hidalgo vs. Gabriela Rosa vs. Ruben Vargas (Democratic)
This race has generated less news than the other race involving a Linares, but the battle lines are similar. Mayra Linares, a former Cuomo staffer, is running for the seat being vacated by her father, Guillermo Linares. Meanwhile, the elder Linares is trying to oust state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who’s backing Gabriela Rosa, a former Assembly staffer, against Mayra Linares.

9 p.m. – Gabriela Rosa will have her post-election gathering at 809 Restaurant, 112 Dyckman St., Manhattan.

 

80th Assembly District
Naomi Rivera vs. Mark Gjonaj vs. Irene Estrada Wukaj vs. Adam Bermudez (Democratic)
Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera has been laying low since embarrassing news reports about a past boyfriend who she put on her payroll for what appeared to be a no-show job. Her opponents have attacked her for her alleged corruption, which is why she may have decided to skip a debate this week. Perhaps the strongest challenger is Mark Gjonaj, a businessman and a strong fundraiser.

9 p.m. – Mark Gjonaj holds his election night party at Maestro’s Caterers, 1703 Bronxdale Ave., Bronx.

 

Other Races:

Albany County District Attorney
David Soares vs. Lee Kindlon (Democratic)
The Albany County D.A. doesn’t have the best reputation as a crime fighter in a district with plenty of potential crimes to pursue, and a series of investigations by the Times-Union into his affiliation with a local lifestyle organization and potential misuse of office resources hasn’t helped burnish his credentials either.

 

Brooklyn Democratic District Leader

Lincoln Restler vs. Chris Olechowski
The darling of the reform movement in Brooklyn, Lincoln Restler drew a surprisingly large collection of elected officials in late July to endorse his run to keep his unpaid Democratic district leader position. His David-and-Goliath fight against power broker Vito Lopez has taken a new turn with the sexual harassment allegations against the assemblyman, though it’s still far from clear whether Restler will win against the Lopez-linked candidate, Chris Olechowski, a community board chairman who is expected to have the support of a bloc of some 6,000 Orthodox Jews allied with Lopez.