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Though the Competition is Over, the Campaign Continues
Perkins still working the streets, though already voting in Democratic conference
By Laura Brunts

Even with the Democratic primary and any serious opposition well behind him, former City Council Member Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) will not publicly declare victory in his State Senate race. But in some ways, he is already acting the part.

On Oct. 5, Perkins participated in the unofficial vote to select Queens’ Malcolm Smith as the State Senate’s new Democratic leader, then joined dozens of elected leaders on the steps of City Hall to celebrate the choice.

Smith will replace David Paterson in the leadership post. Perkins is hoping to replace Paterson as Harlem’s representative in the chamber.

Though most people see the election’s outcome as a done deal, Perkins is still working the campaign trail.

“In a way, it’s liberating knowing you don’t have to worry about an opponent,” Perkins’ campaign manager, Richard Fife, said while at a campaign stop. “But it’s still important to get out there and let people know you support them.”

The district leans heavily Democratic, but Perkins does have a Republican opponent: Alphonzo Mosley. Coming out of what he calls “semi-retirement” this year, Mosley is making his fifth run for State Senate. In 2004, he won less than eight percent of the vote against Paterson.

Perkins once had three challengers for the Democratic nomination, including former Manhattan Borough President and 2005 mayoral candidate C. Virginia Fields. But the field cleared at the beginning of the summer, making for a rare instance where a race without an incumbent features neither a competitive primary nor a general election.

Despite the overwhelming local Democratic dominance, both Mosley and Perkins are behaving as if the election is still up for grabs. Perkins has said that to declare victory before the election would be “premature and perhaps arrogant.”

Mosley claims he is going to win, and Fife says it is still important to campaign at places like subway stops and senior centers, which Perkins has been doing all over his district.

On a late September Friday morning in the middle of rush hour, the self-described “street politician” stood outside the 2/3 station at Central Park North and Lenox, shaking hands and handing out flyers.

“You’ve got a great smile today,” he tells one woman who says hello as she’s walking out. “How are you? Can you hear me?” he asks a man wearing iPod headphones.

Mosley’s presence is significantly smaller in the district. He has minimal funding and no endorsements from local elected officials, whereas Perkins is backed by much of the local political establishment.

Given all that, Mosley says flyers are his “most effective weapon.”

If elected, he says he would introduce a bill to create a district donation system in which Harlem businesses are required to donate to a fund that would serve the elderly, recently released first-time offenders and area youth. If that passed, he would retire after one term.

“They’ve never passed a bill that has done this district any good,” Mosley said, discussing the sole plank of his platform. “That’s why I keep running.”

But despite poor showings before on the Republican line, Mosley said he has never considered switching parties.

“I have a lot of friends in the Democratic Party, [but] I never considered running as a Democrat,” he said. “I’m a soul believer that you vote for the person, not the party.”

He added, “If they vote for the person based on the issues, I’m gonna win it.”