10:50 am Jul. 13, 2012
Democratic district leader Mark Levine is no longer running for State Senate in upper Manhattan, now that his ally, incumbent Adriano Espaillat, is seeking re-election.
But petitions that included Levine's name were submitted to the Board of Elections before the New York City Board of Elections midnight deadline last night.
There was some speculation that Levine's petitions would be instrumental in executing a back-up plan for Espaillat, who insisted he would not run for re-election during his campaign to unseat congressman Charlie Rangel. Levine's "committee to fill vacancies," which would be tasked with choosing a replacement if Levine backed out of the senate race, included Espaillat's mother.
But Levine's petitions appear to be unnecessary now. Espaillat authorized his supporters to begin circulating petitions after he conceded to Rangel on June 26, and ultimately submitted more than 4,000 signatures, which his campaign is touting as a show of strength.
I reached out to Levine, who explained in an email. "My name was on a number of club omnibus petitions but I am of course declining the nomination," he wrote.
UPDATE: The headline was changed to clarify that Levine did not submit the petitions himself.
