Susan Chamlin

Susan Chamlin, the aide to Senator Liz Krueger who was running Assemblyman Pete Grannis's not-yet vacated seat, has sent out a letter to say she's dropping out.

From the letter:

Upon Pete Grannis' confirmation to head the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Governor Spitzer will call a special election to fill this vacancy. However, until Governor Spitzer calls a special election, there is no race. Yet it appears the race has already been decided.

The Democratic nomination now pretty much belongs to Micah Kellner, who most elected officials are backing.

If only the seat would open up.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's a campaign letter from Susan Chamlin, the aide to Liz Krueger who is running against Micah Kellner for a maybe-soon-to-be-vacated Assembly seat on Manhattan's East Side.

In the letter, Chamlin tries to set herself up as the reformer in contrast to Kellner, who is running with the support of most of the Manhattan Democratic establishment, by backing Eliot Spitzer in his death-struggle with the Assembly. She also touts a long and varied resume with a Forrest Gump-y "I was there" refrain about her participation through the decades in the causes of racial equality, abortion rights, AIDS awareness and, of course, Liz Krueger's election to the state Senate.

She also refers to herself as "the most progressive" candidate in the race, though without any specific comparison to her opponent. Which prompts the following question:

Are there any substantive differences between the candidates that might make this race about something other than endorsements and money for mailers?

-- Azi Paybarah

Another development in the Assembly race that's not quite underway:

City Councilman Dan Garodnick and Assemblyman Jonathan Bing have endorsed Micah Kellner.

Kellner is running against Susan Chamlin, an aide to state Senator Liz Krueger.

-- Azi Paybarah

Okay, so maybe there is a real race on the East Side.

After a number of stalwart East Side Democrats have rallied around Micah Kellner for Assembly, Senator Liz Krueger is announcing an endorsement of her aide Susan Chamlin, who is running in the Democratic primary but hasn't ruled out running on a third party line if she loses the nomination.

"She was the first person my Cheif of Staff and I hired," Krueger wrote in a letter to supporters and forwarded to me. "Susan's long record of accomplishment makes her the ideal candidate to fil the very big shoes of Pete Grannis."

Krueger cast Chamlin as the reform-outsider in the race. "I need a colleague in the Assembly who will work with me to advance an agenda of real reform."

The full letter is here.

-- Azi Paybarah

U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney will endorse Micah Kellner for that East Side Assembly seat, according to a knowledgeable Democrat.

Also running are two candidates currently on staff for other elected officials. Barry Klein is Assemblyman Jonathan Bing's chief of staff and Susan Chamlin is an aide to state Senator Liz Krueger. Kellner works for city Comptroller Bill Thompson.

The race, on some level, is a proxy fight for East Side supremacy. While the immediate prize is the Assembly seat, the race could also turn out to be a useful demonstration of strength for anyone looking to run for Maloney's congressional seat when she retires.

-- Azi Paybarah

An aide to Senator Liz Krueger just confirmed to me she's entering the race for the assembly seat being vacated by Pete Grannis on the East Side.

Susan Chamlin, a legislative aide and senior health policy person for Krueger since 2002, said she'll be filing campaign paperwork shortly.

The race for this seat, usually a sleepy, micro-Democratic brawl, is taking place in a pivotal time in the legislature's evolving relationship with the governor.

I asked Chamlin whether the ability to maintain good relations with Eliot Spitzer and the executive branch would be a campaign issue.

"I don't have a crystal ball, I can't be sure," Chamlin said, "I do know that both Shelly Silver and Eliot Spitzer are both Democrats and are committed to all the progressive points of change that they both want to accomplish. I would think that they would work this out [and be] on the same page for legislative initiatives."

-- Azi Paybarah