Voters wait in line to cast their ballots.

It's primary day in New York City! That means if you go to any polling site in the five boroughs, you're going to see bored workers and low turnout. That is, unless you are in Hasidic Williamsburg, where voters are turning out in throngs to decide who will represent them in an unpaid position in the Kings County Democratic Party. In that race, District Leader Lincoln Restler, a staunch critic of Brooklyn's scandal-tarred Democratic boss Vito Lopez, is trying to win re-election as the establishment moves to try and squash his political career in a battle Mr. Restler has dubbed "Vito's last stand."

We visited a heavily Hasidic polling site off Heyward Street, where indeed, long lines of Orthodox Jewish voters filled a school gymnasium, the atmosphere buzzing with activity. A couple dozen yards outside the entrance, signs in Yiddish urged locals to vote for Mr. Restler or his opponent, community board chairman Chris Olechowski, and young volunteers for Mr. Olechowski sat in a booth, routinely shouting, "Vote!"

Despite Mr. Lopez's woes stemming from serious sexual harassment claims, found credible by the State Assembly, members of the the local Jewish community argue the election is a way to demonstrate their electoral strength for the 2013 elections, where New York City will be electing its next mayor and other top government positions.

"The number of votes for Chris Olechowski in our neighborhood will clearly show the following and support that UJO and Satmar (zalis) have in Williamsburg," an pro-Olechowski email circulating around the neighborhood declared. "Right or wrong, this is precisely how the political world and the media will analyze it and this will form the basis as to how the new democratic party of Brooklyn will form their alliances and loyalty and this election turnout will guide the 2013 Citywide candidates in their quest for Williamsburg support."

It added, "Its a consequential election with the results affecting political calculations for years to come...."

And turn out they did. A poll worker told Politicker that turnout was on par with the June 26th primary election where the two Satmar sects showed up en masse to vote for and against a Lopez-backed challenge to Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. Because the larger sect supports Mr. Lopez's candidates, at least for now, Mr. Restler will need relatively strong turnout in the other parts of the district in order to have a chance at reelection.

Accordingly, Mr. Restler has parked himself outside of a senior center in Greenpoint for the entire 15 hour period that poll sites will be open today. Many of the passerby recognized Mr. Restler, who slipped in and out of Spanish--and, with a little more difficulty, Polish--to greet them and encourage them to take the time to vote.

"There is terrific energy and buzz in the neighborhood about the race, I think we have two hundred individuals who are volunteering for us today and I'm excited about our ability to turn out every independently-minded voter in the 50th Assembly District," he told us.

Of course, it's strange to see such passion and effort for a district leader's race, where both Mr. Restler and Mr. Olechowski have raised far more money and spent far more energy campaigning than one would typically see for such an election. We asked Mr. Restler if it ever dawned on him that despite the tension, he's still campaigning for a position most people aren't even aware of.

"People are aware of it here," he answered.

A map of New York City's State Senate districts.

It's Election Day in New York next Thursday! But instead of a titanic battle between ideologies--your Mitt Romneys vs. Barack Obamas, if you will--the options on the ballot will be little-noticed state legislative contests between candidates of the same party, often with few policy differences.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some exciting races happening. From "Who Gets Arrested for Raping a Grandmother?" to “Assemblywoman Caught Up in Sex Scandal with Two Young Men,” there's been no shortage of nasty drama and mud slinging as voters head to the polls.

Here's a breakdown of who's running and why it might matter who wins. The list below focuses on Democratic races because the few Republican primaries in this staunchly blue city tend to have clear favorites or are taking place in such Democratic territory that the victor is reasonably likely to be irrelevant.

So, without further ado...

Category #1: The End of the Rainbow

Four Republicans crossed the aisle to help pass gay marriage in New York last year, and three of them are running for re-election this year, Senators Mark Grisanti, Steve Saland and Roy McDonald, are all facing primary challengers that have come out on the opposite side of the marriage issue.

Advocates on both sides of the debate have invested heavily in these races, and regardless of the outcome, the results are sure to help set a national narrative about what happens to Republicans who support gay marriage. Can otherwise conservative lawmakers survive the backlash, or will their unorthodoxies topple their political careers? As state legislatures across this country consider passing gay marriage themselves, these three races could impact the discussion.

And with campaign literature like this, these races won't be short on fireworks.

Category #2: Indictment Excitement

There are a number of elected officials running for re-election with various criminal allegations hanging over their heads. If the more ethically challenged ones win and are eventually convicted of abusing their offices, the results of these races might send a depressing message about the state of the electorate. (They have all maintained their innocence.)

State Senator Shirley Huntley, who was arrested a couple weeks ago on charges that she used member items to line the pockets of her friends and family, is facing a very strong primary challenge from Councilman James Sanders. Even before Ms. Huntley's legal troubles, Mr. Sanders was mounting a credible primary challenge, as his base in Far Rockaway was drawn into her southeastern Queens district in this year's redistricting process. Mr. Sanders has also picked up support from a number of unions and the influential Rev. Floyd Flake, making this race seem like it's his to lose at this point.

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. currently stands accused of one of the more hilarious acts of alleged official impropriety in recent memory -- taking bribes to pay for his legal bills he ran up in a separate bribery case. It's not clear if Mr. Boyland intends to fight the federal charges again or accept a plea deal, but the indictment--with wiretap evidence--seems pretty damning. Damning enough that he'd have a much harder re-election bid ahead of him if it weren't for the fact that he's facing eight (!) challengers who will split the anti-Boyland vote. With such a large field, it's difficult to get a clear read on this Brownsville and Ocean Hill-based district, but activist Tony Herbert and campaign operative Anthony Jones seems to be running some of the stronger non-Boyland campaigns.

Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera is being investigated by a small army of agencies on whether she may have illegally provided jobs to her boyfriends and used a nonprofit's funds for personal and political purposes. She faces a field of three opponents, but businessman Mark Gjonaj is running the most serious campaign of the bunch, with over $200,000 in his war chest and substantial investments in advertising and field operations. Ms. Rivera won't go down without a fight, however, and the Bronx Democratic establishment is pulling out all the stops to ensure she pulls out a victory. Will she be able to survive the barrage of bad headlines that have dogged her for the last few weeks and make it through Election Day?

Category #3: Rage Against the Machine

While Ms. Rivera's race features a classic establishment vs. insurgent dynamic, it's hardly the only one. Candidates across every borough except Staten Island are running against the folks who are currently in charge. Nowhere is this dynamic more pronounced than Brooklyn, where scandal-scarred Kings County Democratic boss Vito Lopez is still ostensibly in control and has yet to formally relinquish power. If anti-County candidates succeed, it will weaken the organizations' ability to convince mayoral contenders and other candidates they are still top dogs in this city.

District Leader Lincoln Restler is considered a rising star in Democratic politics, but before he can continue rising, he's going to have to win a tough reelection battle. Mr. Restler, a prominent critic of Mr. Lopez, would be cruising to reelection but for the fact his opponent, Chris Olechowski, is destined to receive the majority of the ballots in vote-heavy Hasidic Williamsburg. It seems like all the winds are blowing in Mr. Restler's favor, but given the bloc of votes against him, this will be a race that plenty of political observers will be following Thursday night.

Senator Martin Dilan may or may not be vulnerable, but given his close alliance with Mr. Lopez and the fact that his senate district overlaps with Mr. Lopez's assembly seat, his reelection race will serve as a test for the machine in Brooklyn's new political world. While Mr. Dilan would appear to have the edge, attorney Jason Otaño is mounting a vigorous campaign. If Mr. Otaño can make a strong showing, he could be a strong candidate in the future, at the very least.

Open Seat to replace outgoing Assemblywoman Grace Meng: A crowded field of candidates is vying to replace Ms. Meng--who left the her diverse seat based in Asian-majority Flushing to pursue a congressional campaign. The County's Democratic Party has backed Ron Kim, a former government aide and political operative, but his electoral prospects are far from clear. Ms. Meng has stayed out of the race and a number of other hopefuls, notably former City Council candidate Yen Chou, are in Mr. Kim's way. The other entrants in this unpredictable race are; Ethel Chen, Myungsuk Lee and Martha Flores-Vasquez.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Rory Lancman: Mr. Lancman lost to Ms. Meng in her congressional race's Democratic primary and isn't pursuing reelection. His seat, like Ms. Meng's, is an Asian-majority district in northeastern Queens, but the field couldn't be more different as it features just two non-Asian candidates: community board chairman Jerry Iannece and former assembly chief of staff Nily Rozic. Queens Democrats are pushing hard for Mr. Iannece, and he would seem to be favored as a result. However, Ms. Rozic has picked up a number of notable endorsements, including The New York Times and various unions, creating a genuine horse race between the two.

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, who's also running for reelection in a Queens district that has been reconfigured to be Asian-majority, shouldn't really be that vulnerable without any major blunders in office and a reliably Democratic voting record. However, she only won 45 percent of the vote  in 2010 against two challengers. With a district that now includes new areas, she's facing a rematch against one of her 2010 foes, John Messer. Mr. Messer, a businessman and attorney, has his placed his personal wealth in the campaign too, to the tune of $500,000. Ms. Stavisky, with close ties to her senate colleagues and Queens County, has been doing plenty of her own fundraising and running an aggressive campaign, however.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries: Mr. Jeffries is on his way to become Brooklyn's next congressman and he's leaving a vacant Fort Greene and Clinton Hill-based district behind him. Three contenders are hoping to replace him; Walter Mosley, Ola Alabi and Martine Guerrier. Mr. Mosley has the support of Mr. Jeffries, who has a strong base in the district, but Ms. Alabi has been racking up endorsements and doesn't appear to be someone who can be easily counted out. Ms. Guerrier recently earned the endorsement of The Times and could potentially make an electoral mark of her own come Election Day.

Open seat: Pretty much everyone and their mother has endorsed community board chairman Brad Hoylman to replace retiring Senator Tom Duane in his Midtown-based district, but businessman Tommy Greco is hoping he can make a dent with the help of the storied McManus Club. It wold be a pretty surprising upset for Mr. Greco to pull off a victory, however.
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Category #4: Demographic Pressures

Like it or not, voting patterns often correspond with with ethnicity and political candidates often seek to take advantage of this fact. Some incumbents hold on year after year in districts that don't exactly look like them, while others have seen their districts change beneath their feet since they were first elected. Sometimes it all comes down to the political talents of the incumbents, while in other cases, there just might not be a path to victory anymore.

Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz is facing a challenge from Ben Akselrod in a race that could demonstrate electoral power of southeastern Brooklyn's Russian-speaking community. Mr. Akselrod, who started off with a strong campaign, stumbled a bit lately when he release a campaign mailer that referred to crime going up in the "negrohood," a mistake that generated local and national coverage. Whoever wins will be one of the more vulnerable Democratic candidates in the city, as the district's Russian and Orthodox Jews communities are increasingly trending conservative at the ballot box.

In a race that will test demographic realities to their very limit, veteran Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs is hoping she can be successfully reelected again in a district that is only 15% white. She is facing a serious challenge from District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte, who is of Caribbean descent. Ms. Jacobs, a high-ranking member of the State Assembly, is hoping for high turnout in the district's observant Jewish community.

Assemblyman Mike Miller is running for reelection in a district that contains Woodhaven and is plurality Latino. He faces off against Etienne David Adorno, who seems to be mounting a spirited campaign. If Mr. Miller's fundraising were just a tad stronger, this might not be a race to watch, but his campaign war chest is fairly weak for an incumbent.
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Category #5: Odds & Ends

There are some races to keep your thumb on that might not fit into an overarching narrative, but could still be well-worth watching for various reasons. More details below.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who narrowly lost a campaign against veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel earlier this year, is now running for reelection and facing a Rangel-backed challenger in Guillermo Linares. Mr. Linares, who's been endorsed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and The New York Times, hasn't been holding his own in fundraising, but Mr. Espaillat has been spending lots of money and would appear to have the edge in this Washington Heights and West Side-based district. Mr. Espaillat is a leading contender for Mr. Rangel's seat in 2014, but his political career could be nipped in the bud if Mr. Linares is able to pull off an upset.

Open seat: With Mr. Linares' challenge to Mr. Espaillat, there's a new vacant Assembly district on the northern tip of Manhattan, and several contenders, including Mr. Linares' daughter Mayra Linares, are hoping to replace him. The other candidates include Assembly aide Gabriela Rosa and former candidate Ruben Vargas. Ms. Rosa, who is backed by Mr. Espaillat, and Ms. Linares, who is obviously being supported by her father, would appear to be the frontrunners. How much Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Linares can impact this race is unknown, however, as both may be focused on their own rivalry.

Councilman Charles Barron has made headlines in recent years with provocative campaigns for governor and congress, both of which he lost badly. However, Mr. Barron is not ready to exit stage right just yet. Insiders believe Mr, Barron and his wife, Assemblywoman Inez Barron, may intend to switch offices  and keep their respective seats in the family when he is term-limited in 2013. First, Ms. Barron will have to succeed in her own re-election bid against Chris Banks.

Moshe and Avraham Tischler, brothers who are 20 and 21 years old respectively, are challenging incumbent Assemblyman Dov Hikind and frontrunner State Senate candidate Simcha Felder for two overlapping Brooklyn seats. While neither is especially likely to win, should they post strong showings, it could be taken as a sign of weakness for the two establishment pols they're opposing, as well as the Orthodox Jewish political establishment at-large. Mr. Hikind doesn't have a GOP opponent but Mr. Felder is running against incumbent Republican Senator David Storobin, and he'll need Democrats on his side in the general election.

Assemblywoman Barbara Clark's ethical issues aren't quite enough to land her in the "Indictment Excitement" category, but attorney Clyde Vanel is running an active campaign and is hoping that voter dissatisfaction could lead to an upset in her eastern Queens district.
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Veteran Assemblyman Nick Perry shouldn't necessarily be vulnerable, but his opponent, attorney and community board chairman Terry Hinds, has a relatively strong profile.
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Well, there you have it. For those who really want to get into the weeds, there are also a number of competitive court races across the city. Otherwise, this list should be more than enough to keep you busy on Election Day. Politicker, of course, will be up late into the night following the results.

(Photo: Facebook)

Earlier this week, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a likely candidate for mayor next year, waded all the way down into a district leader's race to endorse Lincoln Restler for reelection. Well, add another fellow contender for Gracie Mansion to the Restler column as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer figuratively went across the East River to do the same this afternoon. Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Stringer don't necessarily endorse in competitive races for more notable elected positions, so the fact that Mr. Restler continues to garner high-level support for his unpaid, little-known position is testament to his ability to raise the district leader post to a bizarrely high level.

"Lincoln is a tireless advocate for his community with a record of delivering real results," Mr. Stringer said in a statement. "From fighting for more green space and better public schools, to expanding transportation options, Lincoln is a proven leader on the issues Brooklynites care about. Lincoln is the right choice for reform minded voters and I am proud to endorse his re-election."

Mr. Restler, of course, isn't in a bad position politically. His political brand is closely aligned with being a fierce critic of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the outgoing chair of the county's Democratic organization, and Mr. Lopez is as close to being toxic as one can get thanks to his sexual harassment scandal. Nevertheless, Mr. Restler's opponent, community board chairman Chris Olechowski, is likely to be the preferred candidate of Mr. Lopez's eventual successor. On the other hand, Mr. Stringer is probably not the frontrunner to receive the Brooklyn Democratic establishment's support in 2013, so the move is unlikely to cause him much backlash in his political fortunes.

Despite Mr. Lopez's scandal, he still has sway over a huge bloc of Democratic ballots in Mr. Restler's district due to his alliance with Rabbi David Niederman in Williamsburg, who can deliver thousands of Hasidic voters to any candidate that he prefers.

Mr. Restler hopes to blunt that vote with the support of the smaller Satmar faction and high turnout in the other parts of this northern Brooklyn district. As his obscure position will be the most notable race in much of his district on September 13th, it'll be no easy task.

(Photo: Facebook)

District Leader Lincoln Restler, who's still locked in a tight, high-profile race against the Brooklyn Democratic establishment despite the implosion of county boss Vito Lopez, is seizing upon a New York Post report that Mr. Lopez's last aim as county leader is eliminating him on September 13th.

"Dear Friends and Neighbors, Even in the midst of a shameful and potentially criminal sexual harassment scandal, disgraced Boss Vito Lopez is desperately clinging to power for one reason: to halt our campaign to reform the Brooklyn Democratic Party. Vito seems to be obsessed with defeating us," he wrote in an email to his supporters, entitled "Vito's Last Stand."

He then quoted the Post reporting, "A Brooklyn party source said Lopez doesn't want to give up his Assembly seat because he is still hoping to get rid of Lincoln Restler...."

Beyond the ellipsis in the original article is, "...who could challenge Lopez’s protégé, City Councilman Steve Levin," a speculated political path for Mr. Restler in 2013. He insists he's completely focused on his reelection race, however, which is understandable as Mr. Lopez wields a huge percentage of the vote in his district's Democratic electorate in Hasidic Williamsburg.

"The election is two weeks from today and we need your support," Mr. Restler continued, calling for contributions and volunteers. "In spite of Vito's recent troubles, this election will be extremely close."

While there isn't necessarily a direct connection between Mr. Lopez's Assembly seat and his ability to defeat Mr. Restler, the theory could be that  Mr. Lopez hopes to maintain as much political power as possible in order to influence key elections. Indeed, the evidence suggests the race is a priority for him on September 13th. The day before Mr. Lopez's sexual harassment allegation scandal emerged, the Wall Street Journal profiled the race, writing at one point, "Mr. Lopez proceeded to discuss the race that he cares little about for about 30 minutes before hanging up."

For his part, Mr. Lopez declared his innocence and vowed to remain in the State Assembly and clear his name of what he feels is a politically-motivated conspiracy against him.

Mr. Restler faces off against local community board chairman Chris Olechowski, who's working closely with Mr. Levin, in a race that has drawn an incredible amount of attention and fundraising on both sides considering it's all for an unpaid county position few voters have heard of.

Lincoln Restler at his campaign launch.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, a rising star in the Democratic Party after winning his June 26th congressional primary, has notably straddled the line between the notoriously factious sides of Brooklyn's Democratic Party. On one side, there is the county's Democratic leader Vito Lopez, and on the other, self-styled reformers who strongly oppose his leadership. And earlier this afternoon, Mr. Jeffries offered his endorsement to one of the biggest thorns in Mr. Lopez's side, District Leader Lincoln Restler, who's locked in a tough battle for reelection in a district he won only by a handful of votes in 2010.

"Over the last two years, Lincoln has demonstrated remarkable drive, energy and creativity in helping to improve the quality of life of people throughout the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill communities," he said in a statement. "We have worked closely together on behalf of public housing residents and he has demonstrated the significant impact a talented, progressive and engaged elected official can have in Brooklyn. I am proud to endorse him for re-election."

Of course, that doesn't mean that Mr. Jeffries is suddenly no longer with Mr. Lopez. He recently offered his endorsement to State Senator Martin Dilan, whose opponent is strongly backed not only by Mr. Restler, but also Lopez foe Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

Lincoln Restler at his campaign launch

District Leader Lincoln Restler, set to have one of the most high profile reelection campaigns in the city this September, has raised an impressive $55,000 for his campaign in the first six months of the year. This is despite the fact that the race's victor will hold one of the lowest profile elected positions available: an unpaid seat in the Kings County and state Democratic parties.

The total places him on a path to potentially double the relatively astronomical $60,000 he raised for his 2010 campaign, which he won by a mere 121 votes. Unlike those for legislative elected offices, district leader races often attract no money, but Mr. Restler has gained stature through continuously sprinting from one event to the next, as well as his public opposition to Brooklyn's Democratic leader Vito Lopez.

For his part, Chris Olechowski, Mr. Lopez's candidate running against Mr. Restler this year, hasn't been slouching in his own fundraising either. Mr. Olechowski has raised a very solid $21,000 so far.

No matter how much money Mr. Restler can raise, he's destined to have yet another close race, however. A large percentage of the Democratic primary electorate is a sect in Hasidic Williamsburg loyal to Mr. Lopez's political interests, and Mr. Olechowski may attract additional support from Greenpoint's Polish community.

"He's going to need every penny," one source close to Mr. Restler said when asked about the total, pointing to the fact that Mr. Lopez's candidate in a recent congressional race received most of his votes from the Hasidic community in Mr. Restler's district. "Vito is throwing the full force of the Democratic machine into this district leader race."

Mr. Restler currently has $58,000 on hand in his account.

Lincoln Restler at his campaign launch.

“Look, this election is a whole lot bigger than just one person, especially a little guy like me who needs to stand on this chair,” 28-year-old Lincoln Restler declared as he artificially towered over a packed room at the Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago. “The machine has their candidate, they’re going to pour all of the resources they’ve got into this district leader race. But, for every hack elected official that they’ve got on payroll, we’re going to have to reach out to 10 of our neighbors.”

The “machine” in this case is the Kings County Democratic Party and its chair, Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Mr. Restler sees his re-election campaign as a critical aspect of the effort to topple what he describes as the corrupt status quo in Mr. Lopez’s organization.

Mr. Restler, who has the honor of holding the obscure position of district leader, is very aware of the fact that despite the lofty rhetoric of his campaign, he’s talking about an unpaid office with few official responsibilities.

“Any elected office, even an elected position you’ve probably never heard of, is a platform to advocate for one’s community,” Mr. Restler said in his speech, still standing on the chair. The crowd rightfully laughed after “you’ve probably never heard of.”

New Yorkers have a hard enough time remembering who represents them at the City Council, State Assembly, State Senate and congressional levels, so the idea of caring about who represents your district on the executive board of the county Democratic organization indeed seems a little laughable on the face of it.

However, Mr. Restler has managed to elevate his position and is often mentioned as a potential challenger for the City Council seat held by Lopez ally and onetime-staffer Steve Levin—and the district leader job is a potential stepping stone. In what some of Mr. Restler's supporters see as an effort to head off such a possibility, Mr. Levin has recruited Community Board 1 chairman Chris Olechowski to run against Mr. Restler for district leader.

“Lincoln challenged somebody else, and now somebody challenged him, and he’s crying all over the place, and I guess you have a right. He’s shooting from the hip at everybody, including me,” Mr. Lopez put it bluntly. “That’s the name of politics. If I didn’t do anything, people would say that’s not an active political organization.”

Before he was elected by the barest of margins in 2010, Mr. Restler was simply an activist who organized on behalf of the Obama campaign in 2008. After the presidential election, Mr. Restler’s allies approached Mr. Lopez about getting involved in his organization.

“He brushed off our interest in getting involved and eventually told us joining the community board was the only way for us to get active in our neighborhoods,” Mr. Restler said of their efforts when we talked last weekend over huevos rancheros on a patio near McCarren Park.

“We decided we wanted to recruit emerging leaders in this borough to run for state committee,” Mr. Restler continued. “And I promise you, we asked smarter, better looking, more dynamic people in the 50th Assembly District to run before me, and when they said no, I eventually stepped up to the plate.”

In that race, he ran against Warren Cohn, the son of the man who held the post for almost three decades prior. The election, which Mr. Restler described as “seriously intense,” had a rather intense conclusion as well: he won by only 121 votes despite raising more than $60,000, a gigantic sum for a district leader race.

The closeness of the race can be attributed to Mr. Lopez’s significant political sway in northern Brooklyn. One of the largest constituencies in the district is Williamsburg’s Hasidic community, where the largest sect consistently delivers a huge bloc of votes to Mr. Lopez’s candidates. Additionally, Mr. Lopez chairs the housing committee in the State Assembly and has a significant amount of electoral influence in public housing projects, creating a favorable environment for allies like Mr. Cohn in 2010, or an unfavorable one for ongoing opponents like Mr. Restler.

Mr. Lopez actually occupies a Bushwick-based district that neighbors Mr. Restler’s current one, but the similarities between the two end there. Mr. Restler fashions himself as Mr. Lopez’s chief antagonist, and he frequently points out that three of the last four heads of the Brooklyn Democratic Party have been indicted for corruption and hints the same may be eventually true for the current leader, thanks to investigations into a large nonprofit Mr. Lopez founded.

And outwardly, the two could hardly be more different. Mr. Lopez—a gruff, 70-year-old man whose large frame can dominate a small room, strikes a marked contrast with horned-rimmed glasses-wearing, brownstone Brooklyn-raised Mr. Restler, whom The New York Times once wrote “looks as if he could play Harry Potter.”

And, of course, in terms of power, they are miles apart. Mr. Restler is one of just a few district leaders who passionately oppose Mr. Lopez’s leadership, and Mr. Lopez is working to defeat several of them, including Mr. Restler, in the voting booth this year.

“I do know that more people respect where Brooklyn is now than they ever did,” Mr. Lopez said, defending his party from criticism. After ticking off a list of additional African-American, Haitian, Russian and Dominican officials elected in the borough during his tenure, Mr. Lopez exclaimed, “Brooklyn is back!”

When it came to Mr. Restler’s faults, Mr. Lopez focused primarily on his fundraising abilities and the wealth of his parents, which he felt had an undemocratic impact in the race. Indeed, Mr. Restler’s father works in private equity and contributed just over $10,000 to his efforts in 2010, a significant portion of his overall sum (Mr. Restler counters this argument by pointing to a plethora of small donations to his campaign).

“Say it’s disgusting,” Mr. Lopez suggested for this story’s focus. “The headline should be: ‘Can Lincoln Restler Buy Another Election?’”

Mr. Restler will undoubtedly need every penny he can get, however, as he faces what all observers think will be an incredibly tight re-election battle. His former apartment and part of his electoral base in Fort Greene were cut out of the seat in this year’s redistricting process, and the Hasidic voting bloc will be an even higher percentage of the overall vote than it was in 2010. And, complicating matters further for the incumbent, he faces a very credible opponent in Mr. Olechowski, who has an impressively deep résumé for a district leader candidate.

“He’s an eminently qualified candidate, he’s been in the neighborhood for many years, over 40 years,” said Councilman Steve Levin, who asked Mr. Olechowski to run. “He has a professional track record in the community.”

And, as supporters of Mr. Olechowski are quick to point out, he has deep ties to the large Polish-American community in Greenpoint in particular.

“The Polish community—you’re not going to write about it—are working to elect the first Polish community leader,” Mr. Lopez said of the race, suggesting Polish political empowerment should be the focus of this article instead of Mr. Restler’s re-election efforts. “They’re really caught up in his candidacy.”

Mr. Olechowski also heavily framed the election as a way to encourage the typically apolitical Polish community to participate more in civic life, citing the cause as his campaign’s raison d’etre.

“I found it as an opportunity to energize and empower ... the Greenpoint community, which really doesn’t have a very good track record of voting in local elections,” he explained. “I thought that there’s a constituency that I’ve been involved with for many, many years, people in the Polish community especially, that I would really like to challenge myself to get them to vote—and not only vote for me because I’m running, after all, for an unpaid political position.”

He declined to overly criticize the incumbent, simply saying he hasn’t heard much from Mr. Restler during his short tenure in office.

“I don’t know what Lincoln has really done,” he opined. “I know he’d like to do a lot of things, but I know a lot of people who would like to do a lot of things. I think the question is: what have you done?”

Mr. Lopez described Mr. Restler’s record in less charitable terms, suggesting Mr. Restler’s primary role is that of an acolyte of another one of his rivals, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez.

“Tell me what he’s done,” he said. “Nydia doesn’t represent much of that area, and he’s up her butt—and that’s fine. He’s right next to me as a leader, and we’ve never met, and he doesn’t want to meet.”

For his part, Mr. Restler and his supporters ticked off a long list of tangible things he’s played a role in, including helping to bring a new supermarket into Fort Greene and organizing the initial petition efforts for maintaining the G-Train service on the southern extension of its route.

The irony, of course, is that despite all the talk of accomplishment, district leaders aren’t really supposed to be doing things. Indeed, Mr. Restler’s touted record largely consists of things unrelated to his office’s perfunctory duties. Nevertheless, he insists that the platform of the position is not only important to deliver results but central to his efforts to eventually expand his reform coalition beyond its current base in gentrifying and upscale neighborhoods in northern Brooklyn.

“I can help lead that effort, as an elected leader, as I would never be able to contribute to from the outside,” Mr. Restler said. “Moreover, every day that I’m sitting there at an executive committee meeting, I demonstrate to people, to Brooklynites, this man who is so feared can be beat.”

Mr. Lopez, unsurprisingly, was less than impressed with Mr. Restler’s desire to fundamentally change the course for the local Democratic Party.

“Does that help build the Democratic organization, does that give energy to Democratic candidates throughout the borough?” he asked. “Infighting does no one any good.”

ccampbell@observer.com

Lincoln Restle, standing on a chair, prepares to give his speech

At the Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg last night, Democratic District Leader Lincoln Restler packed a room full of supporters and announced his reelection campaign. Mr. Restler has carved out a higher profile of an office he admitted is "an elected position that you've probably never heard of" by being a public thorn in Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez's side, which he continued doing in his kick-off speech.

"Here in Brooklyn, we have had an old-school political machine that's controlled politics in this borough longer than any of us have been around," he said. "Three of the four last ... leaders of the Brooklyn Democratic Party have been indicted on charges of corruption, the current boss is under multiple federal investigations."

And, while stressing issues like the need to preserve affordable housing in a rapidly gentrifying, northern Brooklyn district, Mr. Restler embraced his own vulnerability.

"Last time we won by the narrowest of margins, 121 votes, a margin less than the number of people in this room right now, and this time, it's going to be just as close," he said. "They're doing everything they can to take us out."

Indeed, it looks like Mr. Restler will be directly challenged this year. His main opponent will probably be a well-connected community board chair, Chris Olechowski, with ties to Greenpoint's Polish community and the firm backing of the local City Councilman, Steve Levin.

Another thing that will work in "their" favor, Mr. Restler said (rhetorically making his opponent the Democratic establishment rather than Mr. Olechowski), is Mr. Lopez's ties to the larger sect of Hasidic voters in Williamsburg, who constitute a large portion of the Democratic primary electorate in this district.

"They've got a big bloc of votes down in Williamsburg that we can't touch," he said. "Last time around, we won 79% of the vote outside of the Jewish community in Williamsburg. And this time, we're going to have to win by a bigger margin. We'll have to bring out even more voters."

"But standing up to entrenched political power is never easy," he said, clearly ready to make his election a referendum on the powers that be.

Lincoln Restler (Photo: Facebook)

Chris Olechowski, the chair of Community Board 1 in Brooklyn, has registered a campaign committee to challenge progressive activist Lincoln Restler as he seeks reelection to his second term as district leader.

Mr. Olechowski's interest running against Mr. Restler was already established, but the new committee firmly sets the stage for another match between supporters and opponents of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the head of Brooklyn's Democratic organization.

While district leader races are normally low-profile affairs, Mr. Lincoln has developed some prominence by being one of the most prominent critics of Mr. Lopez and the status quo of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and this race is undoubtedly one many will be watching when voters head to the polls September 11th.

And, with the district's sizable Polish community and Mr. Lopez's influence in Hasidic Williamsburg, Mr. Olechowski would appear to have some advantages he brings to the table, especially against an incumbent who won his first term in 2010 by only 121 votes.

However, as one of the most active district leaders in Brooklyn, Mr. Restler has developed a passionate base of supporters and brings his own advantages to the race.