Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Months into his first term, his short time in Washington D.C. has Congressman Hakeem Jeffries convinced the Tea Party is out of control.

"Every day I'm in Washington D.C., I'm focused on two things: battling the Tea Party and standing up for President Obama," Mr. Jeffries, a Democrat, said last night at a Brooklyn fundraiser for his successor, Assemblyman Walter Mosley. "The Tea Party folks, they're off the chain. From my perspective, the right thing to do for the country is to make sure we invest in our economy and we stand up for programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid--and stand up for the most vulnerable people among us."

Mr. Jeffries added that he would take the fight to the whole "crew" of Republican leadership, drawing wild applause from his supporters at the Crown Heights restaurant.

"As opposed to what the other side wants to do, which is to basically balance the budget on the backs of children and seniors, working families and the middle class," he said. "And despite what John Boehner says, despite Paul Ryan, despite that whole crew, we're not going to let it happen."

Since replacing the retired Edolphus Towns, Mr. Jeffries has been appointed to the Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, one of the GOP's rising stars, chairs the Budget Committee and has aggressively pushed for spending cuts as a way to trigger economic growth.

Mr. Jeffries, needless to say, is no fan of that approach.

Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Now that he's arrived on Capitol Hill, freshman Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has been appointed to the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee is chaired by Paul Ryan and, in an email to supporters announcing the appointment, his campaign sounded rather excited about the possibility for Mr. Jeffries to directly tangle with the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

"I have some important news. Congressman Jeffries was recently appointed to the powerful Budget Committee. This committee will again be chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan, and therefore be the battleground in the fight to preserve social security, Medicare and Medicaid," the email said. "Congressman Jeffries will fight hard to save these programs."

Mr. Jeffries has also been appointed to the Judiciary Committee. In the email to supporters, his campaign said they expect he will be able to "address pressing issues such as gun violence prevention and comprehensive immigration reform" as part of the Judiciary Committee.

Charles Barron (Photo: Wayne Winston/Facebook)

Charles Barron, the bombastic Brooklyn councilman who lost a contentious congressional primary to Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries this summer, now has his eye on the city's second highest elected office--Public Advocate. Mr. Barron, who will be term-limited out of his current seat next year, is also, as has long been speculated, considering running for the assembly seat currently held by his wife, Inez, who may campaign to succeed her husband in the City Council. If Ms. Barron were successful in that effort, a special election would be held to replace her position in the State Legislature.

A tipster informed Politicker Mr. Barron has recently made a round of calls to test the waters for a potential Public Advocate run. When we reached the councilman today, he confirmed he has been discussing the possibility with members of his "inner circle."

"I've been talking to my inner circle about it, but I haven't been making calls outside of my inner circle," Mr. Barron said of a possible campaign for Public Advocate. "I'm definitely considering that and also considering, you know, my wife is considering a run for the City Council and I'm considering her seat as well. Those two things we definitely have open."

Current Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is widely expected to run for mayor, leaving a vacant office behind him, and a crowded field of contenders are campaigning for the job. Leading the pack are two Brooklyn lawmakers: State Senator Dan Squadron and Councilwoman Tish James. Should he indeed pull the trigger and campaign for Mr. de Blasio's position, Mr. Barron could help tilt the political winds in favor of Mr. Squadron, as Ms. James was previously on track to be the only African-American candidate in the race, which is often an electoral asset in citywide Democratic primaries. Also in the race are former congressional candidate Reshma Saujani, education advocate Noah Gotbaum and teacher Catherine Guerriero.

Though he lost his congressional bid, Mr. Barron said he was actually encouraged to seek another office by the strong opposition he faced in that campaign. The councilman's history of controversial comments including harsh criticisms of the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinian people and expressions of support for the African dictators Muammar Qaddafi and Robert Mugabe helped lead a broad coalition of political leaders to support his opponent, Mr. Jeffries.

"We think that it was really kind of a compliment in that whole congressional race to have an alignment that is unheard of, you know, never in the annals of New York State politics has there ever been a power alignment like that to stop an individual," said Mr. Barron. "I'm talking about the DNC, the entire Democratic Party, taking pictures with the president--Clinton and Obama and having the mayor, we've reduced him to robocalls, and the two U.S. Senators, Gillibrand and Schumer, and three borough Presidents, the Speaker [of the Council] sending people from the staff and an alignment of Council members."

Mr. Barron also pointed to the business community, Jewish leaders and newspaper editorial pages who backed Mr. Jeffries as an example of the complimentary level of negative attention he faced during his congressional run that is spurring him to continue seeking public office when his Council term concludes.

"All the white media serviced him. 'Stop Barron,' the Observer had the nerve to say that. The 'Stop Barron' movement, the Crains, the Times, Post, all of the white media, 'Stop Barron.' And then, Wall Street, and the insurance companies and the hysterical Jewish community--Koch and leadership," Mr. Barron said. "People from all over the nation. That has never happened in the history of New York State politics to stop one person."

Along with his opponents, Mr. Barron cited the support he received after his defeat in the congressional race when he and his wife were elected leaders of their respected districts as another factor encouraging him to run for another office. In that race, Mr. and Ms. Barron faced rivals backed by Mr. Jeffries and, according to Mr. Barron at least, Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez.

"We beat Vito Lopez and Hakeem Jeffries' team out in East New York and they were behind them trying to get the Jewish vote and all of that again," he said. "So, we're going to build on that momentum, keep building the Freedom Party, keep building our movement. And we're open definitely for Public Advocate, I would be a great Public Advocate. That's a real strength of mine, advocacy. And we're also looking at, if my wife goes for the Council, I'll go for her seat. So, those are our future options."

Mr. Barron also cited a lack of people of color in powerful elected positions as a reason for him to consider mounting another campaign.

"Brooklyn is the most populous borough, 2.5 million people. There's about 800,000 blacks, about 500,000 Latinos, about 260,000 Asians. About 1.5 million are people of color and about 900,000 whites, and yet, the people of color, we have no power positions, none. Not the mayor, not the speaker of the city, we don't have in Brooklyn--we don't have the borough presidency, we don't have the county leader," Mr. Barron explained. "I just think that, unless we get the positions and have the right people in those positions...we're dealing with a borough that's suffering from high rates of foreclosures, unemployment, the poverty rate in a lot of our community is extremely high, the crime rate is high in our communities."

One community activist in Brooklyn told us they'd heard Mr. Barron was also mulling a run for mayor. Despite his desire to see more people of color in high ranking elected offices in the city, Mr. Barron said any speculation he's running for mayor is "incorrect" and he's only looking at the Public Advocate's Office and his wife's State Assembly seat.

"I want the people to anoint me as mayor without a race," Mr. Barron said with a laugh. "Do you think I can manage that?"

Hakeem Jeffries and Walter Mosley campaigning outside P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Last Thursday, Walter Mosley was elected to succeed Hakeem Jeffries in Brooklyn's 57th Assembly District. Mr. Mosley was supported by Mr. Jeffries, who left the seat to run a successful congressional campaign, and the race was largely seen as a referendum on Mr. Jeffries' ability to deliver for another candidate in his Central Brooklyn base. Politicker sat down with Mr. Jeffries yesterday to get his post-game analysis on Mr. Mosley's campaign and the endorsements that didn't go their way. Mr. Jeffries also talked about his plans for moving to Washington, his thoughts on the future of the Brooklyn Democratic Party in the wake of the Vito Lopez scandal and discussed ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ on the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Mr. Jeffries said he was quite happy with the result of Thursday's election, which, according to unofficial results from the Board of Elections, Mr. Mosley won by a margin of about 33 percent over his closest competitor, Ola Alabi.

"We were extremely pleased that Walter Mosley prevailed," said Mr. Jeffries. "He's a great candidate and will continue to provide the people of the 57th Assembly District with the public service that they deserve moving forward. These remain very challenging times. There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved in the State Legislature. I'm confident that Walter Mosley is the right man for the job. I'm very pleased that an overwhelming majority of the public reached that conclusion as well."

Mr. Jeffries' margin of victory in his June congressional race against Councilman Charles Barron was about 42 percent, even bigger than Mr. Mosley's margin last week. We asked whether he thought their respective results indicated a new movement or base coalescing around him in Central Brooklyn.

"I'll leave the term movement to my good friends out in East New York," Mr. Jeffries said referring to Mr. Barron. "Good public service makes for good politics. Over the last six years, I've worked as hard as I can to be the best possible public servant and I'm thankful that it has translated into an ability to generate excitement and support amongst the electorate."

Despite his hesitation to use the word movement, Mr. Jeffries said he believes a "partnership" between himself, Mr. Mosley and Councilwoman Tish James in the area came out of the recent pair of races. Ms. James supported both Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley. Mr. Jeffries said this group will be ideally positioned to address the main challenges facing Central Brooklyn, which he identified as gun violence and the "foreclosure crisis."

"These problems will require intense intervention and relationships that will span city, state and federal offices," said Mr. Jeffries. "One of the wonderful things about this campaign is that the partnership that emerged between Walter, Council member James and myself will translate into our capacity to govern in a way that will improve the quality of life for the people that we serve."

Though Mr. Jeffries is optimistic about new alliances coming from this summer's campaigns, not everyone was on board with him and Mr. Mosley in their races. Notably, DC37, New York's largest municipal public employee union endorsed both Mr. Jeffries' erstwhile opponent, Mr. Barron, and Mr. Mosley's rival, Ms. Alabi. Mr. Jeffries was decidedly not complimentary about the union's picks. He also cited other labor unions who did back him and Mr. Mosley.

"DC37 supported a candidate in June and a candidate in September, those candidates lost by a combined 75 points and I think the results speak for themselves,"  Mr. Jeffries said. "We did receive an extraordinary level of support from labor organizations in June like 1199, 32BJ, CWA and the TWU. In the Assembly race, Walter received tremendous support from the UFT and we are both looking forward to continue our partnership with organized labor moving forward on behalf of working families all across New York City."

Another endorsement that didn't go to Mr. Mosley's was that of The New York Times, which backed Martine Guerrier, who came in a distant third behind Mr. Mosley and Ms. Alabi with just 6.93 percent of the vote in the unofficial results. Mr. Jeffries speculated the Times wanted to support someone unconnected to the political establishment given the recent scandal surrounding the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

"The New York Times is always a critical endorsement. In this particular race, they decided to support a candidate who was the most disconnected from the existing political infrastructure given all that is happening with the State Legislature and the County organization," said Mr. Jeffries. "I can understand the decision of the Times editorial board to support an outsider. In this particular case, Walter Mosley was the best candidate and, not withstanding some of the endorsements that went against him, we were able to convince a significant majority of the people that he would best represent their interests."

Since Mr. Jeffries alluded to the situation with Mr. Lopez, we asked who he believes will be chosen to replace the former party boss.

"It's still too early to speculate, even though the election for next County Leader will take place next Wednesday. There are so many different factors that come into play, particularly some of the results in this past primary election where at least two and possibly more incumbent District Leaders lost," Mr. Jeffries said. "The landscape is still undefined. Frank Seddio is a strong candidate and Karim Camara has been a tremendous legislator who's got the respect of many important institutions all across the State of New York. We'll see what unfolds over the next few days."

Many observers have counted Mr. Camara out of the race due to eligibility rules that bar those who have not served as District Leaders from running for County Leader. Mr. Jeffries said he believes these regulations should be changed "to provide for the selection of the best possible candidate." With the race for County Leader coming up so soon, it seems like a longshot that the rules would be changed in time for Mr. Camara to take the position, but Mr. Jeffries seems to think he has a chance.

"Anything can happen in politics, particularly in Brooklyn," said Mr. Jeffries of the possibility the regulations could be modified in time for Mr. Camara to run for the office.

As far as his own future, Mr. Jeffries is in the process of making arrangements for himself and his family when he has to travel to Washington to serve in the House of Representatives.

"I'm a Brooklynite, will always be a Brooklynite and look forward to aggressively representing the people in Brooklyn and in Queens in the 8th Congressional District. My family will remain here in Brooklyn and I'm going to spend as much time as I can here in the District," he said.

Because he wants to stay in New York as much as possible, aides to Mr. Jeffries told us he was considering sleeping in his House office rather than setting up a more permanent living situation in Washington. However, Mr. Jeffries told us he quickly abandoned that idea once he learned about the conditions in the House office buildings.

"It was a passing thought, but I quickly disabused myself of that notion when one of the current members of Congress who does sleep in his office warned the rest of us to be concerned about the growing rodent infestation problem," said Mr. Jeffries.

In the meantime, before he heads down to D.C., Mr. Jeffries still has plenty keeping him busy here in New York. This morning he rang the opening bell at NASDAQ. Today is the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests and protesters announced plans to disrupt the markets this morning. Mr. Jeffries wasn't worried about protests disrupting today's opening bell.

"I think the Occupy Wall Street movement was a very fruitful movement as it relates to shining a spotlight on income inequality and economic injustice," he said. "The one year anniversary will appropriately mark a movement that did contribute to an important public policy dialogue in America, but I'm otherwise unconcerned that it will be disruptive in a way that would cast the movement in a negative light."

Indeed, though the financial district was filled with protesters, police and arrests this morning, the markets opened without a hitch.

Hakeem Jeffries and Walter Mosley campaigning outside P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Hakeem Jeffries isn't officially a congressman yet, but the rising Democratic Party star is already facing the first major test of his political power since he won the Democratic primary for New York's 8th Congressional District June 26. With that victory, Mr. Jeffries virtually guaranteed himself a ticket to Washington to represent the overwhelmingly Democratic Brooklyn district following the general election in November. However, there is still the matter of who will replace Mr. Jeffries in the State Assembly seat he vacated to pursue his congressional campaign. Mr. Jeffries is backing District Leader Walter Mosley to succeed him in the 57th Assembly District, but Mr. Mosley has two tough opponents in that race today and insiders are keeping a close eye on the contest to see whether Mr. Jeffries can deliver his old district to his chosen heir.

"I know all three candidates, but I've worked closely with Walter over the last six years that I've been in the Legislature. We've worked on a wide variety of issues of significance," Mr. Jeffries told Politicker this afternoon. "He's been there as a close ally to help improve the quality of the public schools in the neighborhood, fight to stand up for senior citizens, to reform the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practices, fighting with me to create and preserve affordable housing. On every single issue of significance, Walter Mosley has been there. There are going to be some very important issues to be decided in the State Legislature moving forward and I have the greatest degree of confidence in Walter that he can continue the work that needs to be done on behalf of the people in this wonderful community.

Mr. Jeffries said he expected Mr. Mosley's race to be "close" due to "very low turnout," but he said he was "cautiously optimistic."

"We've brought a considerable number of people into this race who got to know Walter during my congressional campaign, and got to like him and appreciate the skills that he brings to the table as a pub servant," said Mr. Jeffries. "Every race is different and a congressional race is a high profile one that attracts people from all over the community, the borough and the city. This is a different type of race. It's much more localized, but we still have a tremendous organization that we've put out in the community. The UFT and a variety of other labor organizations have come in. They're doing tremendous work on behalf of Walter and I'm confident that, at the end of the day, we'll prevail."

In addition to Mr. Jeffries, Councilwoman Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and 2013 mayoral candidate Bill Thompson hit the streets today to campaign for Mr. Mosley. Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley focused most of their efforts on two locations their staffers described as the "battlegrounds" of the district--the polling places at P.S. 270 in Clinton Hill and P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. For much of the day, the two men switched back-and-forth between both schools greeting potential voters and handing out campaign literature.

We talked to Mr. Jeffries outside P.S. 375 at about two this afternoon. Shortly after our arrival, Mr. Mosley showed up to relieve him.

"We're very systematic in terms of where we position ourselves," Mr. Mosley said. "We understand that those two polling sites are bellwether sites for this district even though we anticipate low voter turnout. Even in spite of that, these two sites, 270 and Jackie Robinson are really sites that have always historically exceeded the State and City average."

Mr. Mosley said he was "very optimistic" about his chances. However, his opponents have some impressive backers of their own. Ola Alabi, who is also a District Leader, has earned endorsements from several major unions;  UFCW Local 1500, District Council 37, DC 1707, AFSCME, AFL-CIO and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Ms. Alabi also was endorsed by the New York Daily News and multiple political clubs including; the LAMBDA Independent Democrats, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and the 57th Assembly District Democratic Organization. The third candidate in the race, Martine Guerrier, picked up the influential endorsement of the New York Times.

For her part, Ms. Alabi seems unconcerned about Mr. Jeffries helping her rival.

"Where was that? Where was the large organization?" she asked when we asked her if she was confident of her ability to defeat Mr. Mosley given the support he received from Mr. Jeffries.

When we explained to Ms. Alabi that we were referring to the many elected officials and volunteers who were working with Mr. Mosley and Mr. Jeffries, she remained unconcerned.

"I don't know that that's organization. I know that that's electeds, but I don't know that that's organization. I saw Scott Stringer out here, I mean, they all spent a few minutes. I don't know that's a large organization," Ms. Alabi said. "I do know that we did the work beforehand, we knocked on a lot of doors and I do know that, ultimately, I think the hard work does matter in these types of races."

Ms. Guerrier told us she admires the organization put together by Mr. Mosley and Mr. Jeffries but also sees the strength of the area's political establishment as evidence of the need for a change.

"I respect the Assemblyman and I'm glad that he made it to Congress. That opens up an opportunity for the rest of us to … offer new leadership for the community," said Ms. Guerrier. "As for Mr. Mosley's operation, it's admirable. It's amazing to see what having county support and institutional support can do for someone and it's one of the things that I'd like to see balanced out by some campaign finance reform, you know, finding mechanisms for community people and folks that aren't connected in that deep way to make headway."

Ms. Guerrier also told us she thinks she has a "one in three chance" of winning.

Outside P.S. 375 this afternoon, we didn't see many voters headed to the polls, but we did see people handing out flyers for both Mr. Mosley and Mr. Alabi. Yves Sainnoval was wearing a green "Alabi" t-shirt and giving out the campaign's literature, but he said he had been paid to distribute the materials didn't know much about the candidate.

"I'm working for them," Mr. Sainnoval said. "Really, I don't know that much about it."

About a half-a-block away, a woman named Kim Wallace was distributing flyers for Mr. Mosley. She said she became aware of him after originally volunteering for Mr. Jeffries' congressional campaign. We asked her how many other supporters of Mr. Jeffries were volunteering for Mr. Mosley today.

"Quite a few. I can't even count, that's how many," said Ms. Wallace. "The same people I see from when I was doing Jeffries, I see the same people doing Mosley."

Polls close tonight at 9 p.m.

(Updated with comment from Ms. Guerrier 8:13 p.m.) 

Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Assemblyman and soon-to-be Congressman Hakeem Jeffries endorsed in a number of candidates the primaries happening on Thursday, including pols supported by the county organization, like Senator Martin Dilan and those opposed to it, such as District Leader Lincoln Restler. However, if there's any race Mr. Jeffries really cares about, it's surely the one to replace him in the State Assembly, where Mr. Jeffries will get a raw test if the political organization that propelled him to a congressional primary win earlier this year can be sustained and work for others.

In that race, Mr. Jeffries formally backed District Leader Walter Mosley, who hails from the same political club as himself, to take his old seat. However, Mr. Mosley has stiff competition in the form of his fellow district leader, Ola Alabi, as well as education advocate Martine Guerrier, in the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill assembly district.

To help boost Mr. Mosley, Mr. Jeffries recorded a robocall urging his current constituents turn out on Mr. Mosley's behalf.

"Hi this is your assemblyman, Hakeem Jeffries, urging you to vote for my good friend and colleague Walter Mosley for the New York State Assembly," Mr. Jeffries says in the call. "During my time in the Legislature, Walter has been a strong partner as we worked together on issues like improving the quality of public education, creating and preserving affordable housing, protecting our seniors and reforming the out-of-control NYPD stop-and-frisk practices."

He adds, "I look forward to representing you in the Congress and it's important that I have a partner like Walter Mosley fighting for us in Albany."

Click below to listen:

Hakeem robocall

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.

Will you protect this house? (Matt Chaban)

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries convened a press conference yesterday calling for a federal investigation of mismanagement of the New York City Housing Authority. Mr. Jeffries and about 50 of his constituents were lined up in front of the Farragut Houses, wedged between the BQE and the luxury lofts of DUMBO.

Throughout the half-hour event, while away from the podium, the would-be Congressman, dressed in a navy suit with subtle pinstripes and geometric red tie, would dip his hand into his pocket and withdraw a blue handkerchief that matched his shirt. He would duck his head and swiftly dab at his brow before returning the hankie, to do it all over again a few minutes later.

Assemblyman Jeffries looked as though he wanted to hide the fact that he, too, was human, and thus susceptible to the heat. But the thought that crossed our minds was imagine having to live in one of these brick-and-concrete monoliths on such an unbearable day. It turns out that is the unfortunate case year-round.

“They are suffering from rats, broken doors, mold, broken elevators, inadequate heat and criminal activity that is far too rampant,” Mr. Jeffries scolded, the crowd uh-huhing along. “These conditions are unsanitary, unsafe and unacceptable.”

On Friday, Mr. Jeffries sent a letter to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan—Mayor Bloomberg's Housing Preservation and Development commissioner until President Obama spirited him back to Washington four years ago. The assemblyman wanted a full accounting of nearly $1 billion in federal funds that the city's housing authority had failed to spend or misspent as public housing residents suffer through a maintenance backlog stretching for years. The Daily News revealed the problems on August 1 and has been hammering on the agency every day since, often with multiple articles and editorials per issue spanning a range of alleged infractions and misdeeds.

Whether the problems are as serious as the paper contends is a matter of debate—some housing watchers have said they are not, and that in fact the News is itself engaging in the sort of obfuscation the tab is accusing the city of. At the same time, these people say, the Housing Authority, which accommodates as many residents as the entire city of Atlanta, remains rife with problems, just not exactly the ones that are currently drawing headlines.

This is part of the reason Mr. Jeffries is calling for his investigation. “This mismanagement shocks the conscience and requires immediate federal intervention,” he said. “There are tens of thousands of hard-working, decent families who live in this community and throughout the city in public housing. Many of these families are subjected to conditions that are inhumane.”

He said that the housing authority was no better than “the boy who cried wolf” because for years the agency had pleaded poverty, only for it now to be revealed that it had hundreds of millions of dollars lying around unspent. (This is not necessarily an accurate assessment, since much of this was capital money, dedicated to large projects, rather than the maintenance accounts, which are effectively broke.)

Mr. Jeffries said he wanted three things from the federal investigation: “What happened, why did it happen and how do we prevent this type of massive financial mismanagement from ever happening again.” HUD had yet to respond to Friday's letter, and representatives could not be reached on Sunday.

(After the press conference, Politicker asked Mr. Jeffries if he had any specific solutions to offer himself, but he demurred. “We have to figure out what went wrong first,” was all he would say. When it was pointed out that a federal issue like this was a smart campaign move for someone running for Congress and trying to look the part, he said that had nothing to do with the decision to take on this cause. “The campaign is largely over, notwithstanding the fact there's a general election, but that's not why we're here,” he said. “We're here because there's an urgent need, and the most obvious way for it to be addressed is through an investigation by the federal oversight agency that provided the resources that are being wasted.”)

Following Mr. Jeffries was Mark V.C. Taylor, pastor of the nearby Church of the Open Door—many in the crowd actually came from the congregation, and following the press conference, they rushed off to services, leaving few behind. Reverend Taylor, who was wearing a yellow Men of God Ministry T-shirt, was the most eloquent of the speakers, but also the most incendiary, giving a sermon on the demerits of the public housing system and the city's development over the past decade.

“Our mayor is on record as being against gun violence; he's one of the loudest critics in the world,” Rev. Taylor intoned. “But what about economic violence? If you hold $950 million, that is the same as holding a gun to the heads of this community. If you hold up $1 billion while you build up skyscrapers for rich people, that is anti-democratic, it's paving the way for the development steamroller.”

He spoke out not only against bad conditions within the apartments but also those surrounding them. In the Whitman Houses, nearby in Fort Greene, there has been a fight for four years to have the community center reopened, and the Farragut Houses are about to lose its day-care center. “It was lumped in with DUMBO,” he said. “Now there's another question: how can you lump Farragut in with DUMBO?”

Mary Andrews, president of the Farragut Tenants Association, marveled at the changes and challenges she had experienced over more than half a century in public housing. “There have been a lot of things that Housing has told us they didn't have but did have,” she said, leaning against a walker for support. “I know Housing and their board are making $200,000-a-year salaries. They can't take some of that and help us repair our apartments? Every time we put in a ticket for a repair, it's not repaired.”

“We're not trying to bash this one or that,” she added. “We just want to know where the money is, and what it's used for. Because we need it.” This drew the loudest applause of the morning. Ms. Andrews then mentioned that this was her first time speaking at a press conference and thanked everyone for listening.

Dominique Bryant grew up in the Ingersoll Houses across from Fort Greene Park; now 27, she is president of the tenants association. She gave a speech peppered with the declaration “Accountabilty,” equal parts exclamation and question: “I walk around the playgrounds and the basketball courts. On one side, there are no nets. On the other, there is a basketball court that does not have the metal piece that creates the court itself. Accountability.

"We were told that everything that needs to be done in terms of the basketball courts and the playgrounds has to be placed on a wish list. And I stand before you and I stand before NYCHA, and I tell you, I wish you had the money. I wish the money can be found, I wish the money can be utilized to replace our playgrounds. Our kids have nowhere to play, so they are playing with guns. Accountability.”

If the community seems especially enraged by these transgressions, it is not that this is a new situation—as indeed, it has unfortunately been this way for a long time. Not that this is just the way it is would ever be an acceptable answer or excuse for the abysmal situation at many Housing Authority properties. The reason the public housing community appears to be so incensed about these latest revelations of mismanagement is not because it really comes as a surprise—it does, but only because the Bloomberg administration has been so successful in so many other areas. Now more than ever, these people feel cast off and dispossessed.

“There is a lot of distrust between tenant and landlord, NYCHA and its tenants,” Rev. Taylor said. “We have a lot of distrust because we live in a neighborhood that is heavily gentrified. We see that the city has helped to build new skyscrapers, we see that the city has helped to build new neighborhoods in the 22 years that I've been here, and since, our community has changed its hue, and we're seeing services that we never saw before. So we have to wonder, where is the priority of the city, particularly to its people of color? Does the city really have a democratic stance in terms of its economic resources, especially if $950 million is being withheld?”

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.

Walter Mosley gestures towards his supporters during his speech.

In the sweltering heat earlier today, District Leader Walter Mosley formally kicked off his campaign for the State Assembly seat currently held by Hakeem Jeffries. Mr. Jeffries, of course, is set to cruise into Washington D.C. after his dominating congressional primary win in the heavily Democratic area, leaving a vacant seat behind him.

"It's a referendum of the amount of support the assemblyman has built up during his time in the assembly, ... what he's been able to do both statewide and locally," Mr. Mosley said of Mr. Jeffries' victory last month. "I think it can only help me going forward given our relationship, given our working relationship, our personal relationship, and our ability to have worked together in  the four and a half years that we've both been elected officials."

Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley both belong to the same Democratic club, so most expect and endorsement from Mr. Jeffries to come landing down at some point in the campaign, although it hasn't been formally rolled out yet. Mr. Jeffries obviously won his own assembly district by a strong margin in his own race and his backing can only help as Mr. Mosley seeks to beat primary rivals Ola Alabi and Martine Guerrier.

Ms. Alabi's last race, running for reelection as Mr. Mosley's fellow district leader, turned into a fairly charged affair despite the fairly low profile of the unpaid position, but Mr. Mosley declined to weigh in.

"I really can't be concerned about all of my opponents," he said, ticking off things like housing that he is, in fact, concerned about.

And on the most charged and controversial issue in the district, the construction of Atlantic Yards, Mr. Mosley took a middle-of-the-road position of acknowledging his support but demanding more action on the chief complaints of the project's opponents.

"I supported the Atlantic Yards arena at the beginning, but obviously promises have been broken, with regards to affordable housing going forward, with regards to the full-time jobs that were going to be there," he said in response to a reporter's inquiry on the matter. "We're going to hold them to the task. "

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