Charlie Rangel (Photo: Getty)

Octogenarian Congressman Charlie Rangel staved off a vigorous primary challenge from State Sen. Adriano Espaillat last year, but he has yet to gear up his operations for what could be another tough re-election fight. According to his latest filings, Mr. Rangel spent more than he raised and has negative $4,800 cash on hand and $36,000 in debts and obligations.

Furthermore, Mr. Rangel only received a handful of individual contributions, oddly all from Puerto Rico-based donors, which, along with some political committee cash, amounted to just $34,000. Meanwhile, Mr. Rangel spent about $44,000, including $28,000, to his attorney Jay Goldberg.

Politicker reached out to Mr. Rangel's office to ask if this might be taken as a sign that Mr. Rangel is contemplating retirement. Hannah Kim, Mr. Rangel's spokeswoman, said Mr. Rangel was simply focused on his official duties.

"The Congressman has been just reelected and the 113th Congress started only four months ago. He has been extremely busy holding numerous events in the newly-drawn district," Ms. Kim said in a statement. "He is also focused on working to reform the tax code as well as helping to enact sensible legislation on immigration, guns and a balanced budget that will create jobs, strengthen the economy, and ensure that we keep moving our country in the right direction."

Mr. Espaillat, who has not signaled his own electoral intentions, raised only $2,000 during the same period. However, he reported having a little more than $67,000 cash on hand. Additionally, former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, who has said he would run if Mr. Rangel doesn't seek re-election, raised about $45,000.

(photo: nysenate.gov)

GOP State Senator Owen Johnson, who had previously vowed to seek reelection amid rumors that he might not seek reelection, surprisingly confirmed those rumors after submitting petitions to be on the ballot again, Newsday reported this morning. The octogenarian senator was first elected in 1972.

The move will allow Mr. Johnson to select a Republican replacement of his choosing to face off against Democratic county legislator Ricardo Montano.

"Suffolk GOP chairman John J. LaValle, Islip GOP leader Frank Cantone and Babylon GOP chair Anthony Pancella will meet over the weekend to decide on a replacement, according to a high-level party source," Newsday wrote, naming Assemblyman Philip Boyle and Suffolk County Legislator Thomas Cilmi as leading replacement candidates.

The exit of Mr. Johnson, an ally of the Suffolk County Democratic organization, will also mean that the local Democratic Party can consolidate around Mr. Montano.

"I'm pleased for him," Mr. Montano told the publication. "He's had a long distinguished career. He's done great service for the county. It's a good move for him and his family at this time."

Ed Towns

Retiring Congressman Ed Towns did not submit petitions to be on the ballot last night, closing the door on his ability to anoint an ally to run in his stead, according to one knowledgeable tipster. This sets up a direct head-to-head match between Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilman Charles Barron in the June 26th Democratic primary.

The process of selecting of switching out one's ballot placement with a successor is an uncommon one, and typically is only done when the incumbent is unopposed, so it would have been surprising had Mr. Towns opted for this path.

On the other hand, his exit from politics has been anything but usual, and with both Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Barron criticizing his 30 year record, there was a small chance Mr. Towns would prefer someone else.

Nevertheless, Mr. Towns has closed the door on the possibility and establishment forces that supported him previously, like the Queens County Democratic Party, are already announcing their intentions of getting behind Mr. Jeffries, while Mr. Jeffries himself declared last night he would seek the endorsement from the outgoing incumbent.

Hakeem Jeffries and Ed Towns (Photo: NY1)

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries had critical words to describe incumbent Congressman Ed Towns when the two were competing against one another, but now that Mr. Towns has bowed out, Mr. Jeffries is paying a healthy respect to his record and is seeking his endorsement.

"I commend him for his 30 years of service and the decision that he's made at this point to move on, and I wish him well at this next stage of his professional career," Mr. Jeffries told Errol Louis on Inside City Hall earlier tonight.

"Well I certainly hope to talk to him over the next couple days," Mr. Jeffries said in response as to whether he would like to have Mr. Towns' formal backing. "I would welcome his support, he has a lot of knowledge and information about the congressional district, the neighborhoods he's represented for the last 30 years."

"There's a significant number of challenges that people face," he added. "His knowledge, understanding, and wisdom as to how to go about solving some of those problems, would be something that I would welcome."

As recently as last Saturday, however, Mr. Jeffries was slightly more skeptical about Mr. Towns' record, calling him the "candidate of the Washington special interests."

"Well, we know what we've gotten over the last 30 years from the Congressperson, and again, I respect his service," he told reporters after his campaign headquarters opening. "You can't continue to do the same thing and expect different results."

Mr. Jeffries appears likely to be facing off directly against bombastic Councilman Charles Barron for the nomination, but we won't know the whole field until midnight tonight when all of the candidates have submitted their petitions to be on the ballot.

For his part, Mr. Towns told Inside City Hall he had not decided if he would back a candidate to replace him.

Congressman Towns

Congressman Ed Towns is not seeking reelection, Politico reported in an email tonight, citing “a source familiar with his decision." This news was subsequently confirmed by the New York Daily News' Alison Gendar, who reported that Mr. Towns is making calls to supporters saying he's not seeking reelection.

Mr. Towns' reported exit is both surprising and unsurprising. He had no reelection campaign to speak of, but had also recently hired Hank Sheinkopf to handle his communications and was ramping up his fundraising as recently as March.

His move would leave the overwhelmingly Democratic district's primary field with only two main challengers, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilman Charles Barron. Mr. Jeffries, who has been aggressively securing the endorsements of politically influential unions, clubs, and elected officials in the district, would appear to have the advantage.

Mr. Jeffries has also significantly outraised Mr. Barron and has more than ten times the cash on hand. However, Mr. Barron may benefit from his increased name recognition coming from his previous campaign for the seat, as well as his third party run for governor last year.

There is an added wrinkle in the possibility of Mr. Towns anointing a new candidate in his stead, via the committee to fill vacancies. If he were to file petitions to be on the ballot by tomorrow at midnight, that would be indicative of his intentions to do just that. However, nothing in the reports emerging so far has suggested he will seek a replacement candidate

The primary is June 26th.

Update: An NY1 reporter also tweeted confirmation that Mr. Towns is not running, as did one from FOX News.

(Photo: Wikimedia)

The Queens Tribune had some fun with Congressman Gary Ackerman this week.

"Gary Ackerman started the Tribune, has been my business partner since the late 70s and a close friend for 50 years, since 1962 – he was much older then; he’s much older now," Michael Schenkler wrote. "As a result of our relationship, I am able to share with you the truth about the season’s biggest political surprise; Gary’s retirement."

The real reason for Mr. Ackerman's bizarrely sudden retirement, according to Mr. Schenkler, was that he was about to take a management position at his beloved New York Mets.

"Ackerman will serve as Managing Partner and has promised me the Mets will soon return to greatness," he continued. "With opening day April 5, look for the big formal announcement on April 1. You’d be a fool to miss it."

As one can probably now guess, Mr. Schenkler's otherwise convincing article might fall just short of the truth.

On John Gambling's radio show this morning, Mr. Ackerman, who said even his relatives were convinced he was about to enter the business of baseball, confirmed the story was a joke.

"They do these April Fool's stories every year and he figured he'd jump the gun," he said about Mr. Schenkler.

As to the real reason Mr. Ackerman so abruptly retired after insisting for so long he would definitively seek reelection, the congressman hinted that perhaps he wanted to have his potential primary challenger, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, exit the race first so it wouldn't appear as if anyone forced him into early retirement.

"He's a fine young man. He's the local Assemblyman, rather ambitious, and he was thinking of running and actually had announced he was going to run," Mr. Ackerman explained. "He came over to tell me he wasn't going to run ... so he was out, the Republicans still hadn't put a candidate up, so I'm relatively home-free, nobody was nipping at my heels or pushing me, and I had a clear head to make a decision."

"I said to myself, 'Hey, I'm at the top of my game. Why don't I think of doing something else at this point?'"

Gary Ackerman (Photo: Facebook)

Only hours after Congressman Gary Ackerman indicated he was no longer seeking reelection, possible new candidates have already started showing interest in the Queens district he was previously running in.

In a statement sent out tonight, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who is the only Asian-American elected official in Albany, made sure to note the new district where Mr. Ackerman was campaigning is plurality Asian and indirectly suggested she would be inclined to run if she received the Democratic establishment's backing.

"This new congressional district is heavily Asian, and I will be sitting down with our Queens Democratic Organization Chairman, Congressman Joseph Crowley, our community leaders and activists to discuss how the coming months may shape out," she said, while praising Mr. Ackerman.

Meanwhile, State Senator Tony Avella, who was drawn into the same district with Senator Toby Stavisky and could possibly use an escape hatch to avoid a competitive primary, directly told City & State he was interested in the seat and aspired to be a Congressman.

“I’m honored that people are considering me, and I have always wanted to go to Congress,” he said to the publication. “It would be a dream come true.”

Assemblyman Rory Lancman, who exited the race today, was previously thought to be so interested in a Congressional campaign he was willing to challenge Mr. Ackerman in the Democratic primary, is undoubtedly contemplating jumping back in as well. His statement today even said he "would be seeking opportunities to assume greater public responsibilities in the near future.”

Other names thrown around by politicos musing haphazardly on the topic to The Politicker include Councilman Mark Weprin, Assemblyman and former Congressional candidate David Weprin, Councilwoman Liz Crowley, and on down the list of elected officials throughout the district.

All of the above candidates are Democratic, and a Republican would have an uphill battle for the seat, which gave Barack Obama 63% of the vote in his 2008 Presidential campaign. Nevertheless, it could be winnable under the right circumstances with the right candidate, and City & State reported GOP Councilman Dan Halloran is indeed interested.

Regardless of the eventual candidates, the entire sudden situation seems rather bizarre. Mr. Ackerman had personally reached out to The Politicker Tuesday night, out of the blue, to make a specific and detailed case for why he was the perfect candidate for the district he just declined to run in today.

Gary Ackerman (Photo: Facebook)

Whoah!

Less than two hours after Assemblyman Rory Lancman dropped his Congressional campaign to avoid challenging incumbent Representative Gary Ackerman in the Democratic primary, Mr. Ackerman himself pulled out of the race by releasing the following statement:

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.) today announced that he will not seek re-election to the United States Congress.

On the eve of the Federal Circuit Court’s approval of Congressional district lines that were seen to be extraordinarily favorable to Ackerman, and with the primary-free backing of the Democratic Party virtually assured, Ackerman has informed his family, staff, friends and party leaders that he will not seek a 16th term of office.

“The residents of Queens and Long Island have honored me with their trust and support for the past 34 years, first as a New York State Senator, and for the past 15 terms as a Member of Congress,” said Ackerman. “I’ve been truly privileged to have had the opportunity to fight for the beliefs of my neighbors in both the State Capital and in the halls of Congress. During my years in Congress, it has been my pleasure to address the needs of thousands of individual constituents and to influence domestic and global policy while serving on the Financial and Foreign Affairs Committees in the House. I am most thankful for the opportunity I’ve had to serve my country and my community.”

Congressman Ackerman went on to say that he remains extremely passionate about the causes related to his Congressional activities and expects that he will continue to be aggressively involved in many local and global issues as he moves into his role as a private citizen.

Ackerman’s term of office will end on January 2, 2013.

Gary Ackerman has insisted he's running for reelection. (Photo: Facebook)

Over the weekend rumors emerged that Democratic Congressman Gary Ackerman would not seek reelection in 2012. In response to these rumors, Mr. Ackerman tweeted, "Republican rumor mill is 100%, Absolutely Wrong. I'm running." In an interview with Capital New York, he emphatically and repeatedly rejected this speculation as well.

But that's not enough to convince the National Republican Congressional Committee. The organization sent out a statement this afternoon directly stating Mr. Ackerman will end up retiring.

"The question is not if but when Gary Ackerman is going to retire," Nathaniel Sillin, the group's regional press secretary, wrote.

"Rumors have been swirling around fueled by two key telltales," he continued. "Exhibit A) The possibility that his district and that of Carolyn McCarthy would be drawn together – potentially forcing a Member vs. Member primary matchup.  Exhibit B) His lackluster fundraising - $55k and a 275% burn rate in the 4th quarter of last year."

Mr. Sillin's analysis further compared Mr. Ackerman to Upstate Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who recently announced his intentions to not seek reelection himself:

Is this another NY Democrat doing the old “I’m running until I’m not running” routine?? Sounds AWFULLY familiar.

December 31st: Hinchey spokesman denies rampant retirement rumors: “It’s baseless inside Washington speculation…Congressman Hinchey has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of retiring and he will seek reelection.” (Hinchey denies considering retirement, Daily Freeman, 12/31/11)

January 18th: Hinchey Announces Retirement (Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey to retire, Washington Post, 1/18/12)

As Mr. Sillin alluded to, much of this discussion centers on redistricting. New York will have to lose two congressional districts this year, and it's unknown which districts those will be, or even who will be making that decision; the courts have recently begun to intervene in the process. If Congressman Bob Turner's Queens-based district survives, it's reasonably likely that Mr. Ackerman's Nassau County district would be combined with a neighboring Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's. Both have vowed to run for reelection no matter the circumstances.

Update: Characteristically, Mr. Ackerman responds via Twitter: "NRCC takes break from tryng 2 deny women access 2 contraception in order 2 lie about my future.Tomrw, back 2 attackng womn's rights"