Steven Cymbrowitz In Line For Seat Steve Cymbrowitz, the husband of recently deceased Assemblymember Lena Cymbrowitz, will most likely replace his wife on the primary ballot in September. "Steve told me that he's interested," said District Leader Mike Geller. Steven Cymbrowitz is currently the director of intergovernmental relations for the Housing Authority in Albany. Lena Cymbrowitz's committee on vacancies has yet to officially choose Steve Cymbrowitz as the candidate, but the move is expected soon. The seat will remain vacant until January 1. In the meantime, Lena Cymbrowitz's staff will remain on to deal with constituent concerns. Steve Cymbrowitz, if he should be designated by the committee, will face Michael Hizme in the primary.

There was also considerable support for Geller to take Lena Cymbrowitz's place on the ballot. But Geller decided to bow out and support Steven Cymbrowitz. "In fact, Lena was very ill and I know that a lot of the things she was able to accomplish were through Steve, and he has all my confidence," said Geller. "I feel that he wants to finish the job his wife started. I personally am very much against these things where people inherit a title, but I also believe in this particular situation, (Steven) is a person of merit and standing and worth, and he would be very good for our community."

Wellington Has A Beef Wellington Sharpe was understandably peeved after a state judge tossed him off the primary ballot, essentially handing the election to his opponent, State Senator Marty Markowitz. "I refer to Mr. Markowitz not as an elected official, but as an appointed official," said Sharpe. "He's an appointed senator-appointed by the court." Sharpe was given the heave-ho after Supreme Court Justice Melvin Barasch found that many of the signatures on his petitions were from unregistered voters or people living outside the 20th Senatorial District. Sharpe needed 1,000 valid signatures to qualify.

Markowitz, an 11-term senator, said that all was fair in love and war. "I understand that he's not a happy camper, but once again, the rules for him and me are the same-period," he said. "That's all there is to this. I'm not going to say I'm sorry. If he thought that my signatures were not valid he would have come after me. It's nothing personal." Markowitz said that he was far from "appointed." "My fate is up to the electorate every two years," he said.

Ballot access rules in New York State have often been criticized for their complexity and for the burden they place upon challengers, who are forced to defend their petitions in court against the well-financed, well-connected county political machine. Sharpe has already set his sights on the next go-round. "We'll see what happens next year in the City Council race, or the year after when I go after Mr. Markowitz again," he said. Sharpe was part of a Caribbean-American trio running for elected office, including Zachary LaReche, a candidate for Assembly, and Rock Hackshaw, a candidate for district leader. LaReche was also thrown off the ballot, leaving Hackshaw as the only one standing.

KO In Coney Island Perhaps Wellington Sharpe could commiserate with Alec Brook-Krasny, who also found himself on the outside looking in after Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach removed him from the ballot. Reichbach found that Brook-Krasny, who was challenging Coney Island Assemblymember Adele Cohen, had committed candidate fraud. The ruling was based on the fact that an employee of Brook-Krasny's at Fun-O-Rama sent out an 11-year old boy to collect petition signatures. The employee, Eugene Lanskoy, then allegedly falsified the witness signatures on the pages the boy had collected. The boy was not compensated for collecting the signatures, but did it as a favor for Lanskoy, said Brook-Krasny. But Judge Reichbach found that Lanskoy was acting under Brook-Krasny's direction.

Brook-Krasny has denied all along that he had any connection with the fraud. He is appealing the decision. "The accusations are ridiculous and I hope they will clear up," he said. He also pointed out the fact that he collected 1,492 valid signatures-almost three times the amount needed to get on the ballot for Assembly. He is appealing the decision. "Some people are saying Alec, welcome to the world of politics. I still hope it's not that dirty," he said. Gloria Hacken, a candidate for district leader, believes that the growing strength of the Russian electorate is behind the efforts to get Brook-Krasny, a Russian immigrant, off the ballot. "Adele Cohen is trying to get him off the ballot because he does have a large Russian following," said Hacken. Hacken and Rodney Knight, a candidate for male district leader, both remained on the ballot.

"It was very regrettable," said Cohen of the episode. "I don't feel good about this. This is a person who is running for assembly who had fraud imputed right back to him, and the judge said he was tied with, aligned with, involved with the forgery and the fraud. I believe in ballot access and opportunity, and I feel very badly that this is the person who chose to take this opportunity."

Pooling Constituencies David Waid, a candidate for City Council in the 39th District, is confident that he has the support of the new Bobover Grand Rebbe in Borough Park, Naftali Halberstam. According to Waid, the support was expressed during a shiva call to Halberstam after his father, Shlomo Halberstam, died earlier this month. "They said they would do whatever they could to help me," Waid said. "I can clearly say I am deeply, deeply honored by the expression of faith in my campaign from the new rebbe, and I look forward over the next year to continuing making the case as to why I'll be the best possible representative for each and every community within this district."

The district covers Carroll Gardens, part of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, a slice of Flatbush and part of Borough Park. Close to 10 candidates have either declared or expressed a strong desire to run, which could splinter the electorate. In that scenario, the candidate with the ability to knit together different constituencies would greatly increase their chances of winning. Waid, who lives in Windsor Terrace and works as a legislative liaison for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is aiming to consolidate support, and he figures the Hasidim is an important piece of the puzzle.

"Anyone who's running in this race clearly needs to have a coalition that is broader than any one community, so my efforts will include Park Slope, where I lived, Windsor Terrace, where I currently live, and Cobble Hill, where I've worked in the past," he said. "I'm working all different aspects of the community." With over $40,000, Waid places second in fundraising among Brooklyn Council candidates. Steve Banks, a lawyer with Legal Aid, who is also running for the seat, is first with more than $50,000.

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