Towns the Younger Mulls a Run. As Howard Golden prepares to step down after almost a quarter-century as borough president, a slew of people are jockeying to fill the position or at least take best advantage of the new circumstance. One person who has been mentioned as a possible beep candidate is Assemblymember Daryl Towns.

Some have said that it would be difficult for Towns to run against the county partyís candidate, deputy borough president Jeannette Gadson. The prevailing wisdom is that Towns and Gadson would split much of the black vote, thereby harming each other to the benefit of State Senator Marty Markowitz. But it would be taking way too much for granted to assume that Markowitz won't command a chunk of the black vote himself. For 20 years, Markowitz has represented with profile-- the communities of Flatbush, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Crown Heights, and his district borders on Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York.

Gadson, who's begun having formal fundraisers, does not have nearly as much name recognition, although she did speak at rallies in support of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Towns, whose father, Rep. Ed Towns, once served as Golden's deputy borough president, said that the borough presidency is not his first consideration at this time. "Right now, I'm preparing to run for re-election to the Assembly first and foremost. I know that my name's been mentioned (for the borough presidency), and it's something that I will be interested in in the future," he said.

But exactly how far in the future? Towns wouldn't say, but he did say that it would be premature to rule him out of a run at Joralemon Street in 2001."I think there's still some time for a lot of things to happen," he said. One source speculated that Towns may be raising the possibility of a run to sway the county toward anointing him as his father's successor. But regardless of whether Towns runs, sources have said that Howard Golden and the county party are looking for ways to prevent Markowitz from going up against Gadson one-on-one. However, it remains to be seen whom they could coax into the relatively thankless job of vote-splitter.

All Aboard. With the exodus of so many term-limited Councilmembers and the impetus of the Campaign Finance Board's 4-to-1 matching funds program aimed at small donors, the races for open Council seats should be more crowded than the New York City Marathon.

"It makes things very interesting," said Jack Carroll, president of the progressive club Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Carroll is one of the many people considering a run at outgoing Councilmenber Stephen DiBrienzaís seat. Tom McMahon, the former director of the City Councilís finance division, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. One source said that if McMahon ran, he would be the most formidable candidate in the field. But when asked, McMahon flat-out said that he wasnít running.

However, the same is not true of David Waid, legislative liaison for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Howard Graubard, district director for State Senator Martin Connor, Greg Atkins, chief of staff for Assemblymember Joan Millman, and Bill de Blasio, a regional representative for HUD and a member of School Board 15. In fact, the list of potential candidates is so long that we simply do not have the space to accommodate all of them.

"It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out citywide," said Waid of the convergence of political opportunity and available funds. "Somehow it's going to be more than an experiment in full participation democracy. I think it's going to be huge. The more the merrier."

While the field in this race widens and contracts and changes innumerable times, one interesting aspect will remain the feud between Carroll and DiBrienza. The bad blood between the two has a long history, and one source said that DiBrienza has stated that Carroll will have to win the seat over his dead body.

But another source was not so certain. "The question is whether Steve is for someone in particular, or whether he is totally dedicated to beating someone with somebody else. And I don't know if someone is capable of doing that in a wide-open race, especially with campaign finance structured as it is."

DiBrienza did not return several calls seeking comment. Of course, another interesting subplot is the allegiance of Atkins, a die-hard Red Sox fan who must first overcome that crippling stigma before he can mount a serious bid for the seat.

And So On. The race for Councilmember Ken Fisher's seat should be similarly crowded. Steve Cohn, a Court Street attorney, is "seriously considering" a run. The district leader in the 50th AD, Cohn has been secretary of the county party for 10 years and is also president of the Brooklyn Bar Association. He has also made connections within the community by incorporating a variety of non-profit civic organizations and doing pro bono work on their behalf.

He could be challenged by Alan Fleischman, who is the director of community relations for Comptroller Alan Hevesi and former president of the Lambda Independent Democrats. Fisher's 33rd Councilmanic District comprises a large segment of Brooklynís gay and lesbian population. As a leader in that community, Fleischman is a natural fit.

Mark Peters, president of School Board 15, will also be running. John Talmage, Fisher's chief of staff, has also been mentioned as a candidate, although he did not return a call seeking confirmation. Expect the list to grow.

Borough Politics Archive
November 4 column.