State Sen. Eric Adams wants your vote this fall — and next fall, too.
The Prospect Heights Democrat is throwing his hat in the ring for what’s expected to be a bruising race to replace Borough President Markowitz as Brooklyn’s highest-profile, but largely powerless, booster-in-chief. And he’s doing it while running again for his seat in Albany.
“I’ve always wanted to be borough president,” said Adams, who faces a state Senate election this fall and a Borough President election the following year.
Adams announced his intentions to run through his longtime chief of staff, Ingrid Martin, who sent an email to a circle of supporters this week appealing for contributions for his currently penniless Beep campaign fund in advance of a March 8 fundraiser.
“The road to Borough Hall is long and can be rocky, but with your continued support we [can] set a smooth course,” Martin said.
The three-term lawmaker would be Brooklyn’s first African American borough president — potentially giving him a big boost from black voters.
But Adams — a retired cop and founding member of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care who is perhaps best known for his controversial “Stop the Sag” campaign to get kids to hike up their pants — has no cash on hand and his opponent has deep pockets.
Carlo Scissura, a special adviser and former chief of staff to Borough President Markowitz, reported raising $127,000 in his first 100 days as a candidate — the fastest of any Brooklyn Borough Hall hopeful in history, according to the Campaign Finance Board.
“Let’s see who raises the money [to be competitive],” Scissura said. “It’s early and 2013 is a long ways off.”
Scissura said he would ease overcrowding in schools, bring manufacturing jobs back to the borough and expand ferry service to Southern Brooklyn, among other initiatives.
Adams was short on specifics, saying he’s still focused on getting reelected as a state Senator this fall in an election that became more interesting after Senate Republicans proposed maps for new legislative districts that would cut Adams out of his Crown Heights-to-Sunset Park district. Adams said he would move into the new district if necessary, but expects the proposal won’t be approved.
City campaign finance officials say Adams can open a fundraising committee for the state Senate race and for the Borough President race simultaneously — and if he loses the primary for Beep he can fall back on his old Albany seat, so long as he wins this fall.
Besides Adams and Scissura, several others are rumored to be eyeing a run to replace Markowitz, who’s term-limited out of office in 2013, including state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D–Brooklyn Heights), Assemblyman Nick Perry (D–Flatbush) and City Councilmembers Dominic Recchia (D–Coney Island) and Letitia James (D–Fort Greene).
—with Aaron Short
