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.

Charles Barron (Photo: Facebook)

With Congressman Ed Towns' sudden exit from his own reelection campaign last night, the primary field to replace him might very well only contain Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilman Charles Barron. And it's a match where, in terms of resources, Mr. Jeffries looks likely to dominate.

Indeed, Mr. Barron appears to have only raised $41,000 in the last month, with $40,000 coming from the Councilman himself. He also has another committee, which he used in 2011 and has not filed a 2012 report for yet, where he and his wife gave close to $15,000 out of a bit more than $17,500 raised in total.

Mr. Jeffries, on the other hand, has close to $400,000 on hand for the June 26th primary, leaving him a campaign war chest over six times the size of Mr. Barron's two committees combined.

For his part, Mr. Barron has always boasted that the dedication of his supporters is enough to blunt his opponents' financial advantage.

"They should call me Charles 'Broke' Barron," Mr. Barron said at his announcement rally. "I'm so glad that I don't have to have money because I've got the most precious, precious, valuable thing on Earth, and that's you the people. Because money doesn't vote, people vote."

Meanwhile, it is still feasible that a third notable candidate could leap into the race if Mr. Towns were to submit his petitions to get onto the ballot and then decline them, which would allow him to anoint a new person to campaign in his stead. However, it's not clear if Mr. Towns has even collected a sufficient number of signatures for tonight's midnight deadline or has any intentions of doing this sort of maneuver.

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.

"For over thirty years, Gary Ackerman has represented the people of Queens and Long Island, first as a New York State Senator, and then as a Member of Congress," Mr. Obama said in his statement. "Gary’s bipartisan efforts helped our nation confront significant challenges at home and abroad."

"Gary’s unique enthusiasm will be greatly missed in the halls of Congress, but I am confident he will continue to serve the people of New York for years to come. Michelle and I wish him and his family well in the future," he concluded.

Last night, Mayor Michael Bloomberg also paid tribute to Mr. Ackerman's service.

“When Gary Ackerman and I visited Israel at the start of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, rocket alarms went off as we visited the police station in Sderot. As everyone scrambled into the bomb shelter, Gary was cool and collected, which is exactly how he went about business in Congress for more than three decades," he sad.

Mr. Bloomberg added, "The borough of Queens – and the people of Israel, Africa and so many other areas of the world – have rarely had a stronger ally in Congress, and our entire nation will miss Gary's encyclopedic knowledge of foreign policy and so many other issues.

For his part, Mr. Ackerman thanked Mr. Obama and Mr. Bloomberg on Facebook, and said he was "overwhelmed by the outpouring of kind words I've received following my announcement that I would not run for a 16th term in Congress."

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"