Assemblyman Jonathan Bing’s chief of staff, Ben Kallos, filed paperwork to run for the City Council seat in Manhattan currently held by Jessica Lappin, who is contemplating a bid for public advocate.
Kallos is a 20-something lawyer who has done some impressive tinkering with voter databases and has quickly embedded himself in the local Democratic scene.
His filing – which popped up on the Campaign Finance Board web site late yesterday – does not indicate he’s raised any money. But he is the first to declare for the seat. The East Side of Manhattan – and this district in particular – has no shortage of people who consider themselves qualified for public office. (Remember, to get the seat, Lappin beat a surgeon with a law degree!)
UPDATE: Dan Quart, a Manhattan attorney who raised $42,585 for an unspecified race, is named in this article as a potential candidate for Lappin’s seat, along with Community Board 8 Chairman David Liston. Liston’s campaign finance information is not listed on the CFB web site.
