What’s next for Keith Powers? The Assembly, he hopes

New York City Council Member Keith Powers is making moves as he searches for his next gig: He has filed to run for Assembly District 74 next year, state campaign finance records show. The seat on Manhattan’s East Side will likely be open come January, as incumbent Assembly Member Harvey Epstein is poised to be elected to the council in just over two weeks. 

Powers confirmed to City & State that he’s committed to running. “This is what I've been spending my life doing, is fighting for a more affordable community, and I think that work is still high-priority,” he said of his decision to run. 

Powers’ entrance into the race has been rumored for some time. The East Side lawmaker will be term-limited from the City Council at the end of the year, and he came up short in his bid for borough president this summer, falling to state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the Democratic primary.  

While Powers has technically filed to run in next year’s June primary election, in all likelihood, there will also be a special election in the district – which spans the East Village, Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Gramarcy, Flatiron and Murray Hill – early next year, probably sometime in March. The Democratic county committee will select the party’s nominee for the special election – which could very well be Powers. Even if he isn’t selected as the Democratic nominee in the special election, though, he can still run in the June primary. 

“I anticipate I will be both the (party’s) nominee and the candidate in June, but I am planning to be on the ballot either way come June,” Powers told City & State. Asked whether he’s spoken with party leaders about his bid, he said, “I’ve talked to my fellow colleagues and the leaders of the community, I think there's a lot of excitement about continuing to do the work here.”

Powers joins what is shaping up to be a crowded field for the seat, which includes democratic socialist Josh Arnon, Manhattan Community Board 6 member Gabriel Turzo, Kevin O’Keefe of the Samuel L. Tilden Democratic Club and Sarah Batchu, who ran for New York City Council District 2 this summer and lost to Epstein. Batchu is reportedly seeking the Democratic Socialist of America’s endorsement in the race, and per two sources familiar with the matter, spoke at its endorsement forum last week. As a sitting City Council member, though, Powers is the most likely Democratic nominee in a special election and would likely be the front-runner in the primary.