Seven City Council members are running for state or federal legislative positions in this fall’s primary or general elections. From left: Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Simcha Felder, James F. Gennaro, Miguel Martinez, Michael E. McMahon, Hiram Monserrate and Kendall Stewart.Read original...
One of the arguments most often waged these days against term limits is that two-thirds of the City Council’s 51 members will be new to that body after the 2009 election.
To be sure, there will be a great many new members — if the current term limit laws remain intact. But a handful of candidates might well get a nearly one-year head start on the class of 2009.
A number of council members — seven, in fact — are running for other offices this year. And if they are successful, their Council seats will become vacant at the end of this year. And by law, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg would be compelled to call a special election within 45 days of those vacancies.
As a result, there could be a number of new council members as early as February of next year.
Although not every council member seems assured of victory, one vacancy appears to be certain. And that is in Queens, where City Councilman Hiram Monserrate is running for the State Senate that was recently vacated by John D. Sabini, who resigned to take a position as chairman of the State Racing and Wagering Board.
In that race, Mr. Monserrate is the only candidate who filed petitions to run in the general election in November (there is no primary in this district). Mr. Monserrate is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines and there is no other candidate.
The other vacancies depend on victories in a string of contested elections. On Staten Island, City Councilman Michael E. McMahon is running for Congress in an effort to succeed United States Representative Vito J. Fossella, a Republican. And if he wins, there would have to be a special election to fill that Council vacancy.
However, for Mr. McMahon to prevail, he must first win the Sept. 9 Democratic primary against Stephen A. Harrison, a Brooklyn lawyer. And after that, he would face a Republican opponent in November, depending on the result of that primary. Two Republicans are also competing for the nomination to run for that seat in November: former Assemblyman Robert A. Straniere and Jamshad I. Wyne, the finance chairman of the Republican Party on Staten Island.
In another race, City Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., a Democrat, is running for the State Senate seat in Queens now held by State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, a Republican. (Last week, Albert J. Baldeo, Mr. Addabbo’s rival for the Democratic nomination, dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr. Addabbo.)
Another Republican incumbent state senator, Frank Padavan, is being challenged this November by a City Council member, James F. Gennaro, a Democrat.
In Manhattan, City Councilman Miguel Martinez is challenging Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat in the Democratic primary.
There is one race that a City Council member is certain to lose. That is in a Democratic primary in Brooklyn for the State Senate seat now held by Kevin S. Parker. The reason? Mr. Parker faces two City Council members: Kendall Stewart and Simcha Felder.
