A tranquil view of the district where Thomas Lopez-Pierre is attacking Mark Levine. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre’s email to developer Brian Benjamin began innocently enough. The New York City Council candidate even wished him a happy New Year.

But a few paragraphs later, Mr. Lopez-Pierre called the recipient an “uncle Tom Nigger bitch.” He berated Mr. Benjamin for being a black man fund-raising for one of Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s political rivals, Democratic district leader Mark Levine, in what has emerged as the most racially charged City Council race in the city.

“What good does it do our community (by this I mean Black and Hispanic people) to have uncle Tom Nigger bitches like you graduate from Ivy League schools if all you do is suck the cock of guys like Mark Levine?”

After Politicker and other outlets reported on the email, it was condemned by officials from around the city, including party bigwigs and mayoral candidates. The district’s current representative, Councilman Robert Jackson, who is term-limited, has also repudiated Mr. Lopez-Pierre.

But Mr. Levine himself, sitting with Politicker over lunch last week, was not shaken.

“You can’t get into politics in New York City if you’re not prepared for a rough fight,” he explained. “This is an ethnically diverse town, and sometimes tough fights have ethnic overtones.”

Mr. Levine also said he was “heartened” by the condemnation, across racial and ethnic lines, of Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s rhetoric. “It’s unfortunate for our society, for our political culture that someone espousing those views has a megaphone.”

Mr. Lopez-Pierre has been known to rant against gays, recently telling an uptown gay rights activist that he supports gay marriage, but “would be greatly disappointed if any of my kids were born gay (in the same way I would be unhappy if my kids were born mentally ill).” However, the candidate, who claims Puerto Rican, Dominican and Haitian descent, more often rants against Jews.

“Jewish people never ask the question is it morally wrong to take limited resources at the expense of others such as from poor Black and Hispanic people in order to promote, protect and service the needs of Jewish people?” he wrote in a letter to reporters and operatives last month. “Jewish people just do it! And could care less about who the FUCK complains about it!”

Mr. Levine, a Harvard-educated nonprofit executive and former public school math teacher, described these sorts of comments as a “wake-up.”

“I have to say that overt anti-Semitism in that form is not something I expected to see in political discourse in the 21st century,” he said as he chewed on the stewed codfish at El Presidente, a restaurant on 165th Street in Washington Heights, just barely inside the northern tip of the district. “What we’ve witnessed in this race is far, far beyond what I consider the bounds of acceptable political discourse. And it’s certainly been a wake-up to see this kind of rhetoric expressed in a modern political campaign.”

Despite the demographics of the district, which stand at 47 percent Latino and 19 percent black, almost every institutional force—from State Senator Adriano Espaillat, an influential Dominican power broker, to the labor-backed Working Families Party—has thrown its support behind Mr. Levine.

“He was a teacher for many years, so education has been a passion for him. And housing, of course, is a critical need,” Mr. Espaillat said in an interview, also touting Mr. Levine’s trilingualism (he speaks English, Spanish and Hebrew). “I don’t know anybody who can beat that, but if they can, let them come forward,” Mr. Espaillat said.

The backdrop to Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s diatribes is gentrification, as well as the district’s soaring white population, a result of a recent redistricting that changed its borders to include parts of Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley. When Mr. Levine first ran for office in 2001 against Mr. Jackson—he managed to finish second in a crowded field—the district was only 13 percent white. More than a decade later that percentage has doubled, and the world beyond Columbia is now seen as a land of opportunity for developers.

If Mr. Levine is elected, will be reversing a prevalent trend in New York City politics. Typically, longtime elected white officials have given way to minority representatives as the city’s newer communities multiply, assimilate and wield their electoral muscle. (Mr. Jackson, the current officeholder, is both African-American and Muslim.) Based on recent electoral history, pundits would project that Mr. Jackson’s successor would be Latino.

But the race for Mr. Jackson’s seat has been anything but normal. Mr. Levine’s main opponent, according to several neutral observers, is Zead Ramadan, who is of Palestinian descent. Mr. Ramadan, the chairman of the board for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is backed by a few influential power brokers himself, including Bill Lynch, a senior adviser to Congressman Charlie Rangel.

“I hear a lot of anger, obviously, and clearly I don’t think we should focus on the identity of an individual—I really think we should be focusing on the issues, number one, and the experience and leadership qualities ... all the other stuff is just fuzzy background noise and just muddies the waters and poisons the minds of the voters,” Mr. Ramadan said when asked about Mr. Lopez-Pierre.

Yet it is Mr. Lopez-Pierre, a fringe candidate perhaps previously best known for opening a racy singles club, who has managed to suck up all of the oxygen, even as he’s raised less than $10,000—compared with nearly $100,000 by Messrs. Levine and Ramadan. The attention could make it harder for opposing candidates like Mr. Ramadan to get their own traction, especially with Mr. Lopez-Pierre promising a “political reality show” on his campaign website.

He recently posted a YouTube video of himself confronting Mr. Levine at a Democratic club forum. In the clip, Mr. Lopez-Pierre corners the mild-mannered Mr. Levine in the lobby of Bank Street College, hammering him with the question, “Why do you take money from landlords?”

Adjusting his glasses and grinning painfully, Mr. Levine eventually shoots back, “I don’t take as much as you do.”

“Why do you take thousands of dollars from landlords?” Mr. Lopez-Pierre reiterates, circling Mr. Levine. The race’s front-runner slips through a pair of double-doors, away from his taunting antagonist.

“Did you get it?” Mr. Lopez-Pierre says to the cameraman as the video cuts out. “Okay, good.”

(Photo: Facebook)

Over the weekend, the influential Working Families Party announced their support in a number of key races across the city, sending a signal of labor support as candidates vie for a seat in the City Council next year.

“New Yorkers have a huge opportunity to decide the direction of our city. It’s time to choose whether we’ll be a city that caters to the rich and powerful 1%, or whether New York City can work for all of us,” Bill Lipton, the party's deputy director, said in a statement. “Every day New Yorkers can count on WFP-endorsed candidates to stand up for all of us.”

Six endorsements were for open seats, going to Mark Levine, Ritchie Torres, Rory Lancman, Daneek Miller, Antonio Reynoso and Kirsten John Foy. The rest of the endorsements, which can be viewed below, went to incumbents who are generally not facing serious re-election challenges.

As a great number of council members are term-limited out of office this year, organizations like the WFP are hoping to impact enough races so the next City Council Speaker is one sympathetic to their interests.

Incumbents:

City Council District 2: Rosie Mendez
City Council District 8: Melissa Mark-Viverito
City Council District 10: Ydanis Rodriguez
City Council District 12: Andy King
City Council District 21: Julissa Ferreras
City Council District 25: Danny Dromm
City Council District 26: Jimmy Van Bramer
City Council District 30: Elizabeth Crowley
City Council District 31: Donovan Richards
City Council District 39: Brad Lander
City Council District 45: Jumaane Williams
City Council District 49: Debi Rose

Robert Jackson

Over the weekend, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, an uptown activist who has been running a Council campaign characterized by a series of angry, racially charged emails sent another missive endorsing Robert Jackson, the man he's trying to replace. Mr. Jackson is prevented by term limits from running for re-election to his council seat and is instead pursuing the Manhattan borough presidency. However, Mr. Jackson is clearly not eager to have Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement.

“We totally reject Thomas Lopez-Pierre. Throughout his life, Robert Jackson has been a leader fighting for justice and understanding and against bigotry and intolerance," Richard Fife, Mr. Jackson's spokesman, said in a statement. "He has condemned the racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic rants of Lopez-Pierre in the strongest way possible."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's earlier emails have targeted Mark Levine, one of his rivals in the race to replace Mr. Jackson, as a "a White/Jewish candidate" who, if elected, would potentially damage "the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community" in the Upper Manhattan council district. He has also blasted Brian Benjamin, an uptown realtor, as an "Uncle Tom" who "sold out the Black people of Harlem" by supporting Mr. Levine. Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest message came after Mr. Jackson responded to his initial missives by joining with other area politicians by signing onto a "Say No To Hate" petition condemning "the use of discriminatory language and rhetoric in all 2013 New York City political races" and issuing a joint statement "condemning the hateful language used by Thomas Lopez-Pierre" that referred to his emails as "despicable" and "shameful."

In spite of Mr. Jackson's harsh criticism of him, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he is eager to support Mr. Jackson's bid for the Manhattan borough presidency in his latest email.

"I plan to vote for you and encourage my Black and Hispanic supporters to vote for you (and encourage my contributors to give to your campaign, please advise me on who I should speak with about contributing to your campaign) as the next Manhattan Borough President," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "Yes, you can consider this email an official endorsement from Thomas Lopez-Pierre for your campaign for Manhattan Borough President."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement email also addressed Mr. Jackson's joint statement against him. While he said he agreed in principle with the statement's sentiment that the Upper Manhattan council district draws "strength" from being "one of the most diverse in the city," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said Mr. Jackson's statement did not recognize that, in practice, "White/Jewish" and "Asian residents" pose a threat to black and Latino members of the community.

"For Black and Hispanic tenants in the 7^th Council District, the so called diversity you speak of in your 'Joint Statement' means that Black and Hispanic tenants get pushed out of their apartments to make way for White/Jewish people and other high income people," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "What you failed to mention in your 'Joint Statement' was that the White/Jewish people moving to Upper Manhattan are NOT moving here to live in social-economic peace, in brotherhood with low income Black and Hispanic people–but they are here to push out low income Black and Hispanic people out of their own community."

Along with his critique of the joint statement and his endorsement of Mr. Jackson, Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest email contained more harsh words for Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin. The joint statement and petition were among many negative reactions to Mr. Lopez-Pierre's first messages about Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin, but Mr. Lopez-Pierre claimed the situation had help him raise money for his council campaign [sic throughout].

"My public comments about Brain Benjamin has been very good for fundraising–you be surprised by how many people know Brain Benjamin and do NOT like him (for the rest this campaign, I plan to use Brain Benjamin as my very own campaign ATM machine - and Mark Levine, I am saving the best for Mark Levine)," wrote Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "To be fair to Brain Benjamin more people dislike Thomas Lopez-Pierre than they dislike Brain Benjamin – but give me time, I am sure that I can close the gap to within 40 points by Primary Day. If I may add, Brain Benjamin dates some of the best looking women in NYC – and he does NOT discriminate base on race: Black, White, Asian and Hispanic, he has sex with them all! For a short little man, he does have great taste in women–please make it a point to check out anyone of the many hot women he has on his arm and that share his bed–they all have two things in common – they are hot looking and they tower over him like the Harlem State Office Building on 125^th Street and 7^th Avenue."

According to the latest data from the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Mr. Lopez-Pierre has raised $8,239 for his council bid in the past six months.

(Photo: Facebook)

Mark Levine, a Democratic district leader campaigning for the seat held by outgoing Councilman Robert Jackson, is flexing his political muscles even as attention in the race has shifted to the racially-charged epithets used against him and his supporters. Indeed, this morning Mr. Levine announced he has received the formal endorsements of three notable elected officials on the northern side of Manhattan: Congressman Jerry Nadler, State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito.

"In a district as diverse as the 7th, it is critical that we elect a leader with a proven track record of bringing people together--a leader like Mark Levine," Mr. Espaillat said in the statement. "From speaking fluent Spanish, to founding a diverse Democratic club, to fighting tirelessly for progressive causes, Mark has the skills and experience to be a great council member for ALL residents of this district."

Mr. Espaillat touting Mr. Levine's diversity credentials is no accident of course; the district he's campaigning for is only about 24 percent white in the latest redistricting rendition, although that's subject to change in the final draft. Further highlighting the demographic issues, one of the candidates in the crowded field of contenders, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, has taken to writing controversial missives attacking Mr. Levine's "White/Jewish" candidacy and calling his supporters names like "Uncle Tom."

While the endorsements don't come as a massive surprise--Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Levine are close allies, after all--they reflect a growing base of establishment support for Mr. Levine. Past endorsers include Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblyman Denny Farrell.

View today's full list of statements below:

"Now more than ever, the progressive movement needs activists like Mark who combine a passion for social justice with the skills and experience to make real change.” said Congressman Jerrold "Jerry" Nadler. “He is exactly the kind of leader I want as a partner in government."

State Senator Adriano Espaillat said, "In a district as diverse as the 7th, it is critical that we elect a leader with a proven track record of bringing people together--a leader like Mark Levine. From speaking fluent Spanish, to founding a diverse Democratic club, to fighting tirelessly for progressive causes, Mark has the skills and experience to be a great council member for ALL residents of this district."

New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito said, "Whether the issue is affordable housing, education, or economic justice, Mark is a proven fighter who knows how to get results. I know he would be an incredibly effective council member and I look forward to serving with him."

Reacting to the endorsements Mark D. Levine said, “I am honored to have the backing of these three outstanding public servants,” adding, “I look forward to working with them as a team to advance progressive values and improve the lives of the families of the 7th District."

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a candidate for an Uptown City Council seat who has been making a series of racially-charged arguments against one of his rivals in the race, Mark Levine, has taken things to a whole other level. In an email filled with racial slurs, expletives and violent rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre blasted Brian Benjamin, a real estate developer, for deciding "to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre went on to call Mr. Benjamin an "Uncle Tom" who by joining Mr. Levine's campaign, "sold out the Black people of Harlem."

The email was addressed to Mr. Benjamin and over 30 Uptown political figures, including Mr. Levine. Politicker has confirmed the email was sent from Mr. Lopez-Pierre's address.

We've reproduced Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email to Mr. Benjamin in full below, but be warned, it is decidedly not safe for work.

"January 3, 2013

Brain [sic] Benjamin:

First I would like to say Happy New Year!

Now that bullshit is out of the way, I wanted to say this to your face but I did not want my words to be misunderstood.

So I am sending it to you in writing and sharing it with others.

I see that you are on the host committee for Mark Levine for City Council.

I would hope that one day you would give me the legal grounds to bitch slap you.

You are an uncle Tom Nigger bitch.

Its Nigger bitches like you that have sold out the Black people of Harlem.

To think there are about eight other candidates in this race that are Black and Hispanic and you decided to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for.

What good does it do our community (by this I mean Black and Hispanic people) to have uncle Tom Nigger bitches like you graduate from Ivy League schools if all you do is suck the cock of guys like Mark Levine.

All the best,

Thomas Lopez-Pierre

PS, The reason why you got your Nigger ass kicked (politically) by Jamaal Nelson when you ran for district leader is because Black people in Harlem can smell the Bitch in you.

They know that you are a weak, little short man who sucks White/Jewish cock."

Additional Reporting by Hunter Walker

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a Harlem activist with a controversial past who is running for term-limited Councilman Robert Jackson's seat, circulated an email late last night in an attempt to plan a "private meeting" to "discuss the potential damage to the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community if Mark Levine, a White/Jewish candidate was elected to the 7th Council District in 2013." This morning, Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker he isn't organizing the meeting himself and is working on behalf of a larger group who became concerned when they read a report on the political blog The Perez Notes that the Upper Manhattan political machine headed by State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez has been working to "clear" the crowded field of candidates running for the seat to help Mr. Levine win.

"Now that he actually has a chance to win it's scaring people," said Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "So, what started first as a discussion of the blog post has now mushroomed among candidates and community leaders into basically a 'Stop Levine' campaign."

The race to replace Mr. Jackson in the 7th District is shaping up to be one of next year's most hotly-contested Council campaigns. In addition to Mr. Levine, who is a local district leader and founder of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, and Mr. Lopez-Pierre, there have been at least eight other candidates eyeing the seat. These hopefuls include local power broker and district leader Maria Luna, Socrates Solano, an aide to Congressman Charlie Rangel, Cheryl Pahaham, the outgoing vice chair of Community Board 12, and another district leader, Marisol Alcantara.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre registered to run for the seat last month. He is also running to be a district leader in the 69th Assembly District, which includes parts of the Upper West Side and Harlem. In June, Mr. Lopez-Pierre launched a political club in the district called the Douglass Grant Democratic Club. Earlier this year, Mr. Lopez-Pierre, who operates several real estate businesses in Harlem, also formed a political action committee dedicated to backing candidates who would support more charter schools in the area.

In his email announcing the meeting about Mr. Levine, Mr. Lopez-Pierre identifies himself as the chair of the Douglass Grant club and said he has spoken to "a number of Black and Hispanic candidates and Black and Hispanic community leaders" who share concerns that Mr. Levine could win without the support of the area's predominantly African-American and Latino voters because there are so many candidates running for the seat.

"The purpose of the private meeting would be to rally support behind one Black candidate and one Hispanic candidate in order to provide Black and Hispanic voters with a less confusing selection of candidates to consider," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "A number of community leaders have expressed the dire concern that with so many Black and Hispanic candidates planning to run for the 7th Council District that Mark Levine would sneak into office (like a thief in the night)."

According to his website, Mr. Lopez-Pierre is "of Puerto Rican, Dominican and Haitian descent." Despite his strongly racial rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he thinks Mr. Levine could be "an excellent candidate" for a number of other offices. However, he doesn't want to see a white candidate take a Council seat in a community that is predominantly made up of minorities and was previously occupied by an African-American.

"It's about progress....How can the Latino community explode in population and then we get a non-Person of Color as a Council person?" Mr. Lopez-Pierre asked. "The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus at the City Council will be negative one if something isn't done next year."

Under the current redistricting proposal for next year, the 7th Council District would be 47 percent Hispanic and 20 percent African-American. Despite the area's demographics, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes the number of likely voters in the community is largely caucasian. Because of this, he said he is concerned Mr. Levine could dominate a crowded field "while blacks and Latinos are fighting among themselves." Mr. Levine, who speaks fluent Spanish, has in the past garnered considerable support in the community. In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Mr. Espaillat in the State Senate race to replace Eric Schneiderman and received about 39 percent of the vote.

"The reality is that white people, even if they're in black neighborhoods, do not share the same values in terms of what is important to low income black and Latino families," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "He cannot come and pimp--and I hope you quote me on this--he cannot come and pimp the black and Latino community to be his foundation for his political empowerment."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email about Mr. Levine isn't his first foray into heated email identity politics. In July, he sent another email criticizing "dumb" African-American politicians for allowing Dominican "control" of Harlem. That message wasn't the first time Mr. Lopez-Pierre stirred up controversy. Last year, he was arrested for stalking, though the case was later dismissed by a judge and the Harlem Club, a private singles club he founded in 2004 provoked the outrage of many in the community who saw it as sexist and trashy.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker his arrest was caused by a "business partner" who "cheated" him. He said the case was "laughed" out of court by the judge. Comparing himself to the rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes people will not hold his controversial past against him as he increases his involvement in local politics.

"I serve an awesome god. I live in a great nation. I live in a nation where a former drug dealer can host a fundraiser for the President of the United States," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "Our community has embraced him and my community has embraced me over this stupid Harlem Club....This is not the stuff that black and Latino people in the hood care about. They care about education, public housing, healthcare. They care about the issues."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre declined to reveal the names of any of the other local political leaders he claims share his "concern" about Mr. Levine's candidacy because he said his conversations with them occurred "in confidence." Though he is currently standing alone in his effort, race has been an undercurrent in other recent campaigns in Upper Manhattan and Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email is an early indication one of the City's most crowded campaigns of 2013 may be even more racially charged. Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he hasn't set a date for the meeting because he wants the field for the race to be fully formed before he begins his push to whittle the hopefuls down to a single African-American and Latino candidate. When the meeting does occur, Mr. Lopez-Pierre believes he is one of the contenders who should merit consideration.

"I am one of the serious candidates," he said. "I have a history of being able to raise money from what I call bourgeois negroes, like middle class."

Update: (4:18 p.m.) We reached out to Mr. Levine who responded by talking more broadly about the nature of the district.

"The 7th Council District is incredibly diverse, one of the most diverse in the city actually, which is a wonderful thing. Whoever is going to represent the 7th in the Council has to be someone who brings people together, it can't be someone who divides us," he told Politicker this evening. "What I've done my entire life, whether it was in the nonprofit arena or progressive activism on the campaign trail, has been about bringing people together."

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.

Phone bank desks set up for the telethon. (Photo: Adriano Espaillat/Twitter)

Northern Manhattan, the highest point of the island, largely escaped the kind of devastation Hurricane Sandy caused elsewhere in the five boroughs, however residents and politicians from the area are pitching in with a storm relief telethon this afternoon that will be broadcast on La Mega radio station and at least three Spanish-language cable television outlets. The telethon includes planned appearances by the New York Yankees' star second baseman Robinson Cano, several of the likely 2013 mayoral candidates and a slew of area politicos.

"Although Upper Manhattan has been spared by the storm, we recognize our responsibility to help fellow New Yorkers," State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who organized the event, said in a statement. "The Uptown Cares Telethon will directly help raise funds for victims on Staten Island and around the City."

Proceeds from the telethon, which is airing from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. today, will got to hurricane relief efforts in Staten Island and other parts of the city that were hard-hit by the storm. The donations will be administered by the not-for-profit Hispanic Federation Inc.

In addition to Mr. Espaillat, Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, Assemblymen Herman "Denny" Farrell and Guillermo Linares, Assemblywoman-elect Gabriela Rosa and Democratic District Leader Mark Levine. The event is bringing together a group of politicians that found themselves at odds after the hard-fought congressional primary between Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Rangel last June.

To dial in to the telethon call 1-800-776-4096.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat announcing his intention to run for re-election.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat officially moved on to a new race at a meeting of the Northern Manhattan Democrats for Change and the Friends of Adriano Espaillat in Fort George Presbyterian Church tonight, but he still had a lot to say about the close and controversial congressional campaign he just lost to longtime incumbent Charlie Rangel. Mr. Espaillat, who conceded to Mr. Rangel on Monday announced his intention to run for re-election to the State Senate, something he repeatedly said he didn't plan to do “at this time" during his congressional race.

"Do you want me to run for the Senate? Do you want me to run for the Senate? Do you want me to run for the Senate?" Mr. Espaillat shouted to the cheering crowd in the church before switching languages to officially announce his re-election bid.

"The fire has not been put out. The hope you had has to persist," Mr. Espaillat said in Spanish. "The unity has to always survive."

Mr. Espaillat said he believed he and his supporters "came out stronger" from his unsuccessful attempt to unseat Mr. Rangel.

"You know, I'm still at fighting weight. It was just a couple weeks ago," he said.

Mr. Espaillat also said he believed "Northern Manhattan came together" and began a "summer of unity" during his congressional campaign. He asked his supporters to build on that unity for his re-election bid.

"Let's build that coalition that we know we're able to build, where everybody comes and votes, a big tent approach to politics where the Asian, the black, the Latino, no matter wherever country they come from, the African American, the young, the senior, the man and the woman, everybody could be under that same tent," said Mr. Espaillat. "Let's not allow the treachery of politics to divide this community."

Mr. Espaillat's race pits him against another prominent leader in Upper Manhattan's Dominican community, Assemblyman Guillermo Linares. Mr. Linares was initially expected to support Mr. Espaillat's congressional campaign, but he switched to Mr. Rangel's side in May. In exchange, Mr. Rangel and his allies have pledged to support Mr. Linares and the efforts of his daughter, Mayra Linares, in her effort to run for the Assembly seat he is vacating.

At the church tonight, Mr. Espaillat was joined by Mark Levine, a local district leader who was previously planning to make his own run at the State Senate seat if Mr. Espaillat was elected to Congress. Mr. Espaillat also received an endorsement from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who gave his support to Mr. Rangel in the congressional race. Afterwards, Mr. Stringer explained his reasons for backing Mr. Espaillat this time around.

"I think it's a different race, a different set of circumstances. Sometimes you can choose between two very good candidates as was the case between Congressman Rangel and Senator Espaillat," Mr. Stringer said. "But make no mistake, and I said it during the course of the congressional race, I believe very strongly that Adriano Espaillat has been a very effective State Senator representing a very diverse district and I think we need to send him back."

Mr. Espaillat's race against Mr. Rangel came down to the wire. The Board of Elections claimed Mr. Rangel won by more than six percent on election night, but they subsequently admitted they left votes uncounted in several precincts. Mr. Rangel's margin of victory eventually shrank as the results were re-examined. During this time, Mr. Espaillat's supporters made allegations of voter fraud and voter suppression and lawyers for Mr. Espaillat took the Board of Elections to State Supreme Court to address the "irregularities" in the vote count “possible voter suppression." Mr. Espaillat's attorneys dropped the case this week because the Court requires evidence of "find five or six or seven times the number of irregularities as the margin" and with Mr. Rangel leading by over 1,000 votes that did not seem possible for Mr. Espaillat's legal team. Though he's no longer pursuing the matter in court, Mr. Espaillat made it clear he still unhappy with the Board of Elections.

"The Latino Justice group has asked the federal Department of Justice to step in and take a look at what occurred here with regards to language access. They are very concerned about the fact that hundreds of inspectors were switched, previous bilingual inspectors were switched to non bilingual personnel," said Mr. Espaillat. "But, I leave that up to them, you know, we already crossed that bridge. I withdrew my lawsuit, you know, I'm asking voters to be confident in the electoral system. Whatever's broken, w'ere going to fix."

Earlier this evening, J.C. Polanco a Republican Board of Elections Commissioner for the Bronx wrote the Daily News saying he'd like Mr. Espaillat to apologize for the "tons of false, malicious and downright rotten allegations of voter suppression, fraud, and claims of sinister plots of collusion to hand a victory to Congressman Rangel" he made against the BOE. Mr. Polanco went as far as drafting a letter for Mr. Espaillat to sign thanking BOE staffers for their "hard work" and apologizing for accusing them of "terrible things." The Politicker asked Mr. Espaillat his thoughts on Mr. Polanco's letter.

"J.C. likes to go on NY1, you know, I've seen him. He's a nice guy, I like J.C. but, you know, I will not apologize to a dysfunctional institution that has not completed their job the way they should have," Mr. Espaillat said.

Mr. Espaillat also pointed to criticisms of the BOE made by others.

"I'm not the only one to say this. Mayor Bloomberg, take it to the mayor, he has been saying it consistently, consistently and consistently. You know, Bill de Blasio said it. NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials sent a letter to Department of Justice officials asking them to step in," said Mr. Espaillat. "I'm not talking about that because the experts, the lawyers got that in their hands right now. We're talking about the future, we're talking about the Senate."

During his congressional race as he denied having plans to run for re-election if he lost, the Rangel campaign made repeated allegations Mr. Espaillat was circulating petitions for a potential State Senate campaign. At the time, Mr. Espaillat disavowed any knowledge of efforts to circulate petitions on his behalf and said, "Congressman Rangel whipped one out that looked like a fake subpoena." The Politicker asked Mr. Espaillat how he was able to get the necessary petitions for his re-election bid if he wasn't involved in collecting signatures during his congressional campaign. Mr. Espaillat answered by saying he only began circulating petitions after election day.

"If you go to the Board of Elections tomorrow, you will see that no signature was gathered for this campaign until after the 26th," Mr. Espaillat said. "I project that we will submit tomorrow 5,000 signatures that were collected from the 27th forward."

Mr. Espaillat isn't just confident about the number of signatures he's going to collect. He also predicted he will defeat Mr. Linares handily.

"I think that they're going to re-elect me in a huge way," Mr. Espaillat said. "I think this is going to be a huge landslide."

Mark Levine (Photo: Facebook)

Mark Levine, a district leader who ran against now-State Senator Adriano Espaillat in 2010 for the seat Eric Schneiderman left behind to become Attorney General, is running for the same seat again this year, and he's picking up a little steam even as some confusion remains as to whether he'd have pull the plug on his campaign. This is due to the unique circumstances that would allow Mr. Espaillat, now a close ally of Mr. Levine's, to run for reelection should he fall short in his primary challenge against veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel. Nevertheless, it seems Mr. Levine is plowing ahead.

At a candidate forum in Mr. Espaillat's congressional race last night, Mr. Levine told us he's already received the backing of all six Democratic clubs that have endorsed so far: the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, the Upper West Side’s Ansonia and Park River Democratic Clubs, the Barack Obama Democratic Club in Washington Heights and the Three Parks and Broadway Democratic Clubs on the Upper West Side.

(The Barack Obama Democratic Club isn't too surprising, it should be added, as it's Mr. Levine's own club.)

Currently, Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, who has declared for the seat himself and has given signals he'd be willing to run against Mr. Espaillat or Mr. Levine, whatever the circumstances may be, looks to be Mr. Levine's main opponent but his campaign for the September 13th election has been relatively quiet so far.

“I am truly honored by the support of the grassroots, progressive activists who make up the Democratic clubs in our district. These victories are a major boost to my campaign to build on the great work of Sen. Adriano Espaillat in representing our district in Albany,” Mr. Levine added in a subsequent statement he passed along. “I’m running to be an independent, reform-minded, progressive fighter for our community at a time when the Republican dominated State Senate remains a deeply dysfunctional body.”

Interestingly, Mr. Levine's statement also directly insinuated he is be the lone candidate in the race who would be completely committed to caucusing with the Democratic Party, unlike, say, the "Four Amigos" or the Independent Democratic Caucus.

“It is critical that our district continue to be represented by a strong progressive who is committed to caucusing with the Senate Democrats," he said. "It’s not an exaggeration to say that this election may help determine control of the New York State Senate.”

Adriano Espaillat speaking to the Barack Obama Democratic Club. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

The Barack Obama Democratic Club endorsed Adriano Espaillat in his bid for the Congressional seat currently occupied by Charlie Rangel at a candidates forum at the Church of the Intercession on W. 155th Street that featured (almost) all five people running in the race. Mr. Rangel, who has been in and out of the hospital after suffering a back injury last month, was represented by Councilwoman Inez Dickens. The club also endorsed its founder, Mark Levine, for the State Senate seat being vacated by Mr. Espaillat and longtime Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell in his re-election bid.

Mr. Rangel has represented the area of Upper Manhattan, which was placed into the 13th district as part of the recent redistricting process, for over four decades. He is seen as increasingly vulnerable in this campaign due to the growing Latino majority in his district and his 2010 censure by the House for multiple ethics violations and has attracted four challengers in this race; Mr. Espaillat, former Democratic National, onetime Democratic District Leader Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley, a local activist and former model who previously ran for the seat as an independent.

In his speech to the crowd, Mr. Williams, who has served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, emphasized his experience working in Washington.

"I'm the only person who is running as a challenger to Charlie Rangel who has worked for two presidents," Mr. Williams said.

Mr. Espaillat emphasized his roots in the neighborhood and said, if elected, he wants to focus on three main issues; housing, jobs and immigration.

"I'm an immigrant, I came here with no papers. Imagine that? What a country, I came here with no papers and now I'm a state senator and I'm running for Congress," Mr. Espaillat said. "Great story and a real American story."

Mr. Schley, who's campaign slogan is "Evolve," emphasized the need for new represenatation after Mr. Rangel's more than forty years of representation by Mr. Rangel.

"We've only had one representation since man walked on the moon and we have to change that," he said.

Ms. Dickens addressed sought to dismiss worries about Mr. Rangel's health. The congressman has not been seen publicly in his district or on the House floor since February 9.

"I just wanted to align anyone's fears that he is seeking re-election and he indeed is going to come out, probably after Easter," Ms. Dickens said. "I spoke with him maybe two hours ago and he will be out next week to campaign. A lot of the leaders, a lot of the electeds have heard from him directly, because he's been making phone calls while he was incapacitated with the back."

Mr. Rangel has received the endorsement of other local clubs including the Arturo Schomburg Democratic Club, the Broadway Democrats, El Nuevo El Caribe Democratic Club of East Harlem and the Three Parks Independent Democrats. Mr. Espaillat also does not have the backing of several leaders in the area including Councilman Robert Jackson, State Senator Jose Serrano, District Leader Maria Luna and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Mr. Levine is following his club's lead and backing Mr. Espaillat as is Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblyman Nelson Castro.

With Mr. Espaillat running for Congress, Mr. Levine, the Barack Obama Club's founder and District Leader, is seeking to replace him. At the forum last night, Assemblyman Guillermo Linares announced he's also "seriously considering" that seat. Mr. Levine, who invited his challenger to speak at the forum, unsurprisingly won his club's endorsement 38 votes to two with three blank ballots.