Barron’s campaign put out word of the announcement, and Sharpton’s attendance, just moments ago. It’s a departure from Barron’s original plan, which was to challenge Rep. Ed Towns, who he almost defeated in 2006. Barron spoke to me earlier about his change of plans, explaining that he feels it simply takes too long to do things in Congress.

The public statement Barron’s campaign sent out includes information about how much money he’s brought into the district. But voters, and opponents, will likely be talking about some less substantive but considerably more volatile stuff: Barron’s support for renaming parts of Gates Avenue after black nationalist Sonnny Carson, and his continuing support of his chief of staff, who suggested a pretty extreme means of dealing with an opponent of the street renaming.