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The field that will greet Bronx voters on primary and election day started to take shape this week with petition filings, challenges and campaign finance disclosures. In one hotly contested race, accusations about the petitioning process flew.
Oliver Koppell claimed on Tuesday that Sen Jeff Klein is attempting to force him off the ballot, citing a general objection filed by a Klein supporter with the state board of elections after Koppell filed five times the signatures necessary to qualify for the September 9 primary.
But Klein’s campaign says it has no intention of actually challenging Koppell’s signatures. The filing of an objection merely gives its filer a chance to prepare a set of specifications to send the state board, and Klein’s campaign insists it will not take that second step.
That means Klein and Koppell will indeed face each other in the race for the Democratic nomination in the 34th state Senate district, which traces an arc from Riverdale down to the south and the east Bronx and up into Pelham in Westchester County.
Because of Klein’s statewide power, that race could be the main event in the Bronx on September 9, but the undercard includes several other contests. All told, pending challenges to ballot status, there will be primary contests in four of the Bronx’s five state Senate seats, including the Klein-Koppell race. In other districts, Elliot Quinones and Lanita Jones are trying to unseat Ruben Diaz, Sr, while Fernando Cabrera, a city councilmember, and Jose Padilla, Jr. are challenging Sen. Gustavo Rivera. Crystal Collins has filed to run against incumdent Ruth Hassell-Thompson.
Only Sen. Jose Serrano, Jr. is running unopposed in the primary. But Serrano, who also has the Working Families Party line, will face general election opposition from Republican/Conservative/Independent Kevin Barrett. There are general-election challengers in other Bronx Senate races, too (see the chart below).
Along with Koppell, Cabrera, Collins, Diaz, Hassell-Thompson, Jones, Padilla and Quinones have all had objections filed to their ballot status, with specifications due in coming days.
There are also potential primaries—pending any successful petition challenges—in seven of the 11 Assembly districts in the Bronx. And, at the moment at least, it appears as though there’ll be a contested general election in all 11.
However, objections have been filed in 10 of those districts; some of those challenges, if successful, would affect the primary field and others the general election lineup.
The 2014 Elections
in the Bronx
as of July 16, 2014
District 29
(Upper West Side, East Harlem, Roosevelt Island, Port Morris,
Mott Haven, Concourse Village, Morris Heights)
Democrat: Jose Serrano, Jr. (incumbent)
Republican: Kevin Barrett
Conservative: Barrett
Working Families: Serrano, Jr.
Independence: Barrett
* * *
(Morissania, Hunts Point, Soundview, Parkchester)
Republican: Diaz, Sr.
Conservative: Jasmine Marte
Independence: David Johnson
* * *
(Kingsbridge, Bedford Park, Fordham, Belmont,
Crotona, University Heights, Van Nest)
Republican: Steven Stern
Conservative: Stern
Independence: Padilla
Working Families: Rivera
* * *
(Riverdale, Kingsbridge Heights, Woodlawn, Pelham Parkway,
Hunts Point, Soundview, Throgs Neck, Country Club, Pelham)
Republican: Aleksander Mici
Conservative: Frank Delavalle
Green: Carl Lundgren
* * *
(Norwood, Williamsbridge, Wakefield, Baychester, Mount Vernon)
Republican: Diamond
Conservative: Diamond
Independence: Collins
* * *
State Assembly
This seat is currently empty, having been vacated
when Vanessa Gibson won election to the City Council last fall.
Verdell Mack, Sherrise Palomino
Republican: Esperanza Reyes Acosta
Conservative: Benjamin Eggleston
Working Families: Joyner
* * *
Republican: Tirado
Conservative: William Sullivan
Independence: Tirado
* * *
This seat is currently empty, having been vacated
when Eric Stevenson was convicted of corruption charges earlier this year.
Marsha Michael, Frederick Ricks, Paul Rodriguez
Republican: Selsia Evans
Conservative: Evans
Working Families: Michael
* * *
Republican: Robert Goldman
Conservative: Goldman
* * *
Republican: James Lapin
Conservative: Alan Reed
Working Families: Dinowitz
* * *
Republican: Michael Eginton
Conservative: William Britt, Jr.
* * *
Republican: Benjamin Holloway
Conservative: Holloway
Working Families: Heastie
Green: Trevor Archer
* * *
Republican: Molina
Conservative: Franklin Chidi Oleh
* * *
Republican: Janelle King
Conservative: Barbara Santander
Green: Daniel Zugar
* * *
Republican: Rene Santos
Conservative: Jose Marte
Working Families: Pichardo
* * *
Republican: Michael Dennis
Conservative: Dennis
Working Families: Sepulveda
* * *