Bill Perkins, the Democratic nominee for the State Senate seat currently held by David Paterson (D) covering the Upper West Side and much of Harlem, is well on his way to his first job in Albany. Topped off as usual in a fashionable hat, and fresh off a morning shaking hands at the Central Park North 2/3 subway stop, the former City Council member answered his 10 questions at a favorite Harlem diner.

City Hall: 1. In your State Senate campaign, all of your Democratic challengers dropped off one by one. How did you swing that? What did you do to scare them off?
Bill Perkins: I worked very hard. We had an overall theme called ‘early thunder’ which meant that we were going to get out early, fast, and hard in terms of meeting with the people, getting endorsements from the appropriate political, labor and community leaders, getting our message out real early in terms of our record.

2. When you ran for borough president last year, you said you would use the position to call attention to issues important to all of urban America. Can you do the same thing in the State Senate?
Yes, and I think that in some respects this is a great opportunity not only to manifest that vision, but make it even more. Right now in this city there is a great human cry throughout the neighborhood about affordability and livability as far as housing is concerned. There is an opportunity for the first time to have a state housing initiative. There’s an opportunity to intervene in addressing that kind of problem. Secondly, there’s nothing more urban than the issue of education. That’s why I’m here, that’s how I got the opportunity to be where I am. The state plays a significant role with that, particularly in terms of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

3. You’ve described yourself as a “street politician.” How do you think you will be able to maintain that when you are up in Albany for part of the year and not as close to your constituents?
Well I’ll be walking up to Albany, I’ll be walking back down… No, I’m just kidding. You know, the notion of a street politician is one that is accessible, that is visible, touchable, active. [Being in the State Senate] does not in any way affect that. Maybe for a few days a week I’ll be up in Albany, but the rest of the week I’ll be back in the neighborhood, going to the same kind of community meetings that I attend to stay invested in what’s going on. And I’ll have a staff. Part of that street politician phenomenon is not just “Bill Perkins,” it’s “Bill Perkins and his teammates.” So nothing should change as far as I’m concerned.

4. You’ve had some clashes with the Harlem political establishment in the past. How do you see that relationship going forward in the future?
Well everyone has endorsed me, the community is united. From Rangel to Nadler, from one end of the district, in other words, to the other end of the district, east and west, north and south.

5. Though the district leans heavily Democratic, you have hesitated to declare victory. Isn’t it a done deal?
Well technically, I do have to win the general election. Usually when you win the primary it’s considered a shoo-in. However, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m taking this for granted. We take every opportunity we can to go out to the subways, to talk to people, to represent how hard we are working to get this and to impress people with how hard we will work when we get it. To declare victory is premature and perhaps arrogant.

6. If you could give your Republican challenger Alphonzo Mosley some advice, what would you tell him?
Who’s that? Oh right. I would tell him to join the effort to get the state to address the issues of affordability and to have a campaign that speaks to education, to the concerns of the public schools in the city. I would tell him that--though we may not have any direct influence--to oppose the war because of how it impacts the resources that are available to us. I would tell him to articulate my campaign. I don’t know what else, what would you tell him?

7. You’ve criticized the White House and the federal government often in the past. Would you continue doing that in the State Senate?
I think that yes, perhaps even more potently, because of the fact that the State Senate has, I think, a little bit more voice in things that matter. Let me back up. Poverty is raging in this city. The mayor finally recognizes it. Some of that is significantly a result of federal policies that have made truth out of “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” What was a slogan is in fact a reality. The federal government and the Bush administration have been more than complicit in making that a reality. We need to deal with that.

8. People have talked about you wanting higher office--if you could choose whether to be in the Senate, the House, or the White House, which would it be?
Well, clearly the executive drives the agenda, and it’s that vision, to a large extent, that is negotiated. Whether it’s the mayor, the governor or the president, it’s a great opportunity to bring forward a vision. But frankly, right now, the most important thing is just to make it up to the State Senate, to use that tool to its fullest to do right by the people of this city. Realistically speaking, there’s nothing more important to me now than the State Senate.

9. Tell me three ways that you will be a different senator from David Paterson.
I won’t be as smart as he is. If things go the way that we hope, I will have the benefit of working with a governor who is a Democrat, and he has not had that benefit. In terms of issues, I think we’ll probably spend more time than David has in addressing the housing issues and affordability issues. I think we’ll spend more time in addressing some of the environmental issues, and we’re going to spend some time on some reform issues as well. Stylistically, I’ll probably be more active, more visible.

10. You’re known for wearing hats, especially when you are out on the street. What is the best place to buy hats in the city?
A place called Bunn’s, on 7th Ave. and 134th St. [Reading from inside of hat:] Bunn Hats, Harlem, New York.