U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara explains the scheme.

Two days ago, when U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said New York State corruption cases were beginning to feel like the movie Groundhog Day, he was rather prescient. This afternoon, Mr. Bharara unsealed charges against Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, making him the third New York City lawmaker to be charged with corruption this week. Additionally, another Bronx Assemblyman, Nelson Castro, was the cooperating witness in the latest case and will resign today.

"So here we go again," Mr. Bharara began. "This has become something of a habit. For the second time in three days, we unsealed criminal charges against a sitting member of the State Legislature. And based on what is alleged in this complaint, it becomes more and more difficult to avoid the sad conclusion that political corruption in New York is indeed rampant and that the 'show me the money' culture in Albany is alive and well."

Among other things, Mr. Stevenson is accused of exchanging envelopes of cash for writing legislation to benefit the owners of a senior center in his district--the bill in question would place a moratorium on new centers to allegedly provide a local monopoly for the bribers. Mr. Bharara said this "breathtaking bit of corruption" was the ultimate political dishonor.

"Those allegations, if proven, represent an especially breathtaking bit of corruption even by Albany standards. Those allegations represent the corrupt sale of an elected representative's core duty: a legislator, selling legislation," he said. "As the recording show, Stevenson was brazen and blunt about putting his core function up for sale."

Mr. Bharara then pointed to Mr. Stevenson's alleged quotes obtained through wiretaps, including, “If half of the people up here in Albany was ever caught for what they do ... they .... would probably be in [jail] . . . so who are they bullshitting?”

Steve Katz (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Republican Assemblyman Steve Katz is due to appear in court later this month after he was arrested for marijuana possession following a traffic stop on the New York State Thruway yesterday morning. According to the New York State Police, who amusingly spell marijuana with an "H," when Mr. Katz was stopped for speeding the trooper smelled the drug in his car and subsequently found him to be in "possession of a small bag of marihuana."

Mr. Katz was not handcuffed and was immediately released after his arrest, but he is due back in court March 28. Mr. Katz represents parts of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties. Last year, he mounted a memorable, unsuccessful campaign for the state senate seat occupied by his former friend Greg Ball.

As of this writing, Mr. Katz has not responded to a request to comment on this story. However, his wife Nicole posted an intriguing update on her Facebook page after the news broke this morning.

"I need a vacation!" she wrote.

Update: Mr. Katz released a statement this afternoon acknowledging the situation.

"In light of the unfortunate incident that occurred, I am compelled to address it briefly. First, I will not let this incident impede my public service and my calls for real mandate relief, a better economic climate and better services for those in need in New York," said Mr. Katz. "This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency. I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest."

Dov Hikind and his family in their Purim costumes. (Photo: Facebook)

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind is standing by his decision to don a Purim costume that some people have described as offensive "blackface." The outfit, which consisted of brown face paint, an afro wig and sunglasses in what Mr. Hikind described as a representation of a "black basketball player"provoked widespread outrage after Politicker first wrote about it this morning. However, in a post on his personal website bluntly titled "It's Purim. People Dress Up," Mr. Hikind argued his critics don't understand the nature of the Purim holiday, a costume and wine-fueled reverie commemorating a time when Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

"Yes, I wore a costume on Purim and hosted a party," Mr. Hikind wrote. "Most of the people who attended also wore costumes. Everywhere that Purim was being celebrated, people wore costumes. It was Purim. People dress up."

Mr. Hikind went on to say he is not prejudiced against any ethnic group.

"I am intrigued that anyone who understands Purim—or for that matter understands me—would have a problem with this," wrote Mr. Hikind. "This is political correctness to the absurd. There is not a prejudiced bone in my body."

Mr. Lopez's Twitter account after the hacking. (photo: Twitter)

"We're trying to figure this out," a staffer in Mr. Lopez's district office said when Politicker called them to ask about the hacker a few moments ago.

Prior to the sexual harassment scandal, Mr. Lopez enjoyed a powerful perch as chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. He resigned from his party leader position in late August shortly after the sexual harassment allegations surfaced. As leader of the Brooklyn Democrats, Mr. Lopez developed a cadre of particularly vehement opponents fond of criticizing him as a corrupt party "boss."

Once the impostor gained control of Mr. Lopez's account today, they changed his name on the site to "Boss Vito" and modified his biography to read, "I proudly like to sexual harass my staff members." They also posted a message on the account.

"I'm Assemblyman Vito Gropez, I like to sexual harass my staff members, and to boss on the entire Brooklyn democratic party," one message read.

The hacker also posted a series of tweets cheering on Abe George, a candidate for Brooklyn District Attorney allied with the anti-Lopez faction. They also retweeted a post from Mr. George's account criticizing the current D.A. for not investigating Mr. Lopez and being unwilling "to go after political corruption."

As of this writing, the hacker has not responded to a Twitter message asking them to get in touch for comment on this story. The staffer in Mr. Lopez's office said they are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

Update (4:45 pm): Inimitable Crains reporter Chris Bragg spoke to Mr. Lopez about the hacking. The assemblyman said he didn't send the tweets in question and hasn't sent any other tweets ever, for that matter.

"I don’t use the Internet. I’ve never sent out a tweet or an email. I’ve never sent out a twit," Mr. Lopez said.

Dov Hikind (Photo: Getty)

Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who frequently crosses party lines to endorse Republican candidates for office, is taking his support for Mitt Romney's presidential bid to the next level. Indeed, later this week, Mr. Hikind will hit the campaign trail in the biggest swing state, Florida, in an attempt to help deliver the critical Sunshine State into Mr. Romney's column, according to the Jewish political blog Gestetner Updates.

Mr. Hikind, a prominent player in New York's Orthodox Jewish community, obviously hopes to convince Florida's sizable population of Jewish voters President Barack Obama isn't the wrong choice for them. If Mr. Hikind's past statements on the presidential race are any indication, this will likely involve a pitch based on foreign policy.

“Israel is under the gun. Israel is the target of Iran. Israel’s existence is being threatened. And Obama doesn’t have time to meet with the Israeli PM? It’s insulting. It’s degrading. This president scares me,” Mr. Hikind said last month to explain his support for Mr. Romney. “I’m a Democrat but not a knee-jerk Democrat. I’m only loyal to America and the survival of Israel.”

This close to Election Day, taking time off from the New York campaign trail would be a poor decision for most of New York's  elected officials. However, Mr. Hikind only faces nominal opposition from Moshe Tischler on an independently-created line. Mr. Hikind beat Mr. Tischler by 70% during the September 13th Democratic primary.

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.

David Paterson

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Politicker ran into former Governor David Paterson while he was working the room inside the CNN Grill at the DNC Wednesday and we asked him about all of the drama that surrounded the New York delegation at the convention. Mr. Paterson heaped praise upon Mr. Cuomo and the delegation's leader, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and he had harsh words for one of their critics,bat-wielding 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino.

"Carl Paladino should take that bat and hit himself in the head with it, it would do us all a favor," said Mr. Paterson.

Governor Andrew Cuomo arrived at the DNC yesterday after some confusion and speculation surrounding when and if he would make a convention appearance. Mr. Paterson said the Governor's decision not to reveal his convention plans earlier and to keep a low-profile at the DNC was part of a "brilliant strategy" of media avoidance that could propel Mr. Cuomo to higher office.

"I think that Governor Cuomo has learned a lesson from Governor Spitzer and myself, who showed up everywhere and were so transparent that it was self-destructive at times," Mr. Paterson said. "I think Governor Cuomo tries to be open, transparent and give out information, but he doesn't try to be part of the daily blog, 24 hour news cycle. And I think it's a brilliant strategy that might land him in the White House one day."

Mr. Paterson added that he doubted the recent drama in Albany, where Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing an investigation by a federal special prosecutor because he authorized $103,000 in public funds to be used for a settlement with one of the women who accused Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment.

"There's an investigation and the Governor knew about that. ... He's got nothing to do with that, he's made his feelings felt on the issue and he, unlike a lot of others who rush to judgement, very responsibly said, "Let's let the investigation tell us," said Mr. Paterson.

Since Mr. Paterson brought up the investigation, we asked him about an email regarding the settlement scandal that was sent out by the man who unsuccessfully ran to replace him in 2010, Carl Paladino. In his email, which was sent Wednesday morning, Mr. Paladino accused the press of being "spineless cowards" and said a special prosecutor was appointed because Albany politicians want "to bury" the issue.

"The press should be asking if it was quiet money to keep Vito's mouth shut about other topics? We'll probably never know the answer to that because the press will let the good old Albany establishment boys bury the issue with a Special Prosecutor investigation that will go on forever and result in nothing. Whenever politicians want to bury an issue they appoint a Special Committee or Prosecutor," Mr. Paladino wrote.

Mr. Paterson angrily dismissed Mr. Paladino's theory about the special prosecutor's investigation.

"Carl Paladino should take that bat and hit himself in the head with it. It would do us all a favor, because the federal prosecutor was because the King's County D.A. had a relationship with Vito Lopez," Mr. Paterson said. "If he had tried to prosecute that case, Carl Paladino would be the first to say, 'This is corruption.' So, Carl, shut up."

We also asked Mr. Paterson his take on the situation with Mr. Silver. He said the Assembly Speaker had earned his admiration by admitting he shouldn't have authorized the settlement without making it public.

"I did think he did something wrong. He should have publicized the settlement and he has admitted such, which gains a lot of my respect," said Mr. Paterson.