Share This Article
Dan Padernacht, the underdog Democratic challenger who is taking on incumbent Pedro Espada Jr. and Democratic establishment that wants to see him go aways in the 33rd Senate District race, says his meeting with Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., scheduled for today has been postponed. He’s currently working out a new meeting time with Diaz’s scheduler.
Diaz met with Padernacht’s fellow challenger, Gustavo Rivera, last week. He didn’t commit to supporting Rivera, but said he wanted to see Espada defeated. (In an odd twist, Diaz Jr.’s father, State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is supporting Espada.)
Padernacht (pictured), a lawyer and member of Community Board 8, and Rivera, a longtime Democratic operative and adjunct college professor, are both on the ballot after weathering petition challenges.
Yesterday, the New Roosevelt Institute, which has endorsed Rivera and is adamantly anti-Espada, released a poll it commissioned that said Espada would prevail in a three-way race that included Padernacht, but that Rivera and Espada were virtually in a dead heat if the two matched up one-one-one.
The message from the Insitute, Padernacht said earlier today, is simple: move out of the way and let Rivera and Espada go head-to-head. It’s a message Padernacht is not listening to.