(Photo: Mirocznik campaign)

For local races, New York City overwhelmingly tilts towards the Democratic Party and there are only a handful of Council campaigns with the potential to be competitive in this November. The race for outgoing GOP Councilman Jimmy Oddo's seat is likely to be one of them. And, according to a source active in local politics, the Democratic establishment is backing Mendy Mirocznik, a non-practing rabbi and lawyer, for the Staten Island district.

“We’re seeing fewer education dollars, less transportation options, deteriorating roads and there seems to be no relief in sight," Mr. Mirocznik said in a statement announcing his candidacy yesterday. "Meanwhile, our small-businesses, the economic engine, of our community are struggling to survive - that is not a recipe for recovery. We need an advocate who will reverse this trend and bring real results for Mid-Islanders, and I believe I can do that.”

Despite the establishment support, Mr. Mirocznik, who also serves as the President of the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island, is set to face primary opposition. John Mancuso, who waged an unsuccessful campaign against Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis last year, announced his own campaign over the weekend.

The Republican field is also heating up, with Mr. Oddo strongly supporting his chief of staff, Steve Matteo, for the job, as elements of the Staten Island GOP back party vice chair Lisa Giovinazzo.

A scene from The Tudors, an unrelated television show set in 16th century England.

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis doesn't have much to do with State Senator Marty Golden's decision to host a nationally mocked "Feminine Presence" seminar, but that didn't stop her Democratic rival from seeking to tie her to the infamous, now-canceled event.

“My opponent, who has been awfully silent throughout this matter, has the opportunity now to defend the women of her district by distancing herself from Senator Golden," John Mancuso declared in a statement sent this evening. "This is just a mailer, but it’s quite obvious how her Republican colleagues view the role of women in New York today."

Mr. Mancuso's argument is that Ms. Malliotakis, who is a closely political ally of Mr. Golden's, has a unique obligation to speak out against the event and the taxpayer-funded mailer promoting it.

“I believe it’s important for the Assemblywoman, who shares office space with Senator Golden, to publicly and forcefully denounce the despicable mailer which went out district wide last week," he posited. "It is simply unacceptable for this type of language to be used and distributed by an elected official in this day and age. The constituents of the 64th Assembly District deserve to know where their representative stands on this blatant attack on women."

Mr. Golden's own Democratic opponent wasted no time in pouncing on the issue, issuing a press release last Tuesday declaring it “discriminatory and offensive,” and “downright degrading to women,” but whether the canceled event has enough traction to expand into other races remains to be seen.

(Photo: Getty)

Yesterday evening, the Albany Times-Union reported that Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis was dropping fake dog testicles, or "neuticles," from her legislation banning unnecessary animal surgery, as, apparently, implanting them turned out to be far less invasive than originally thought. And late last night, John Mancuso, a Democrat challenging the freshman GOP lawmaker, declared neuticles to be an unnecessary distraction on Facebook.

"Neuticles? ......Really? How about worrying about the prescription pill epidemic, or the lack of funding for our public schools, or even the promises you made to expand the MTA and bus service," he wrote. "Let's start worrying about the real issues facing the 64th district and STOP chasing cameras and publishing non-sense."

"Smoke screens and mirrors! The waste of tax payer money on such non-sense is sickening!" he exclamatorily added.

However, Ms. Malliotakis preempted skeptics in her own argument for the bill, telling the Times-Union, “Government’s role is to help not only vulnerable citizens, but those without a voice, defend themselves. That includes animals.”

And, apparently, these implants are a real thing. Kim Kardashian's dog even has them.

If there are any further developments on this, we'll be sure to update you.

John Mancuso (Photo: Facebook)

John Mancuso, an owner of a Staten Island catering business active in Democratic politics, will kick off his race against freshman GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis tomorrow evening, his campaign announced. City & State had originally reported Mr. Mancuso was eyeing the race, but tomorrow marks the official firing off point for what will be one of the few competitive assembly races in New York City this year.

"I'm a fourth generation Staten Islander," Mr. Mancuso told The Politicker this evening, professing his love for Staten Island and Brooklyn. "Right now the 60th Assembly District is not getting what it deserves."

"I want to make sure whoever represents us this year, hopefully me, will bring back the bacon," and make sure programs are funded, he explained. Mr. Mancuso made sure to devote attention reigning in "out of control" tolls, an incredibly important local issue that Ms. Malliotakis (and pretty much every Staten Island politician) focus on as well.

Mr. Mancuso said, however, being a member of the Democratic Party, which dominates the State Assembly, will allow him to accomplish more.

"If you're a majority member, naturally you're going to be able to get bills passed and naturally you'll be able to get things done a lot easier," he said.

Ms. Malliotakis won't necessarily be an easy target as she is one of the most prodigious fundraisers in the entire New York State Assembly and considered a rising star in some Republican circles.

Mr. Mancuso, who's a former Deputy Chief of Staff for former State Senator Seymour Lachman and Chief of Staff for Councilman Vinnie Gentile, said he has plenty of contacts and Ms. Malliotakis' fundraising "doesn't intimidate me one bit."