The Perez Notes wrote up that Erik Dilan is considering running for Congress against Nydia Velazquez.
New elected Assemblyman Rafael Espinal’s margin of victory in the 54th AD, may spell trouble for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. My sources tell me that the Dilan family was emboldened by the outcome of the election, and that Councilman Erik Dilan is exploring a possible challenge to the long time Congresswoman.
A person involved in the discussions said that Congresswoman Velazquez was absent during the most crucial moments in Jesus Gonzalez campaign, and that her endorsement meant very little at the end the of the day. Which can be interpreted to mean that Velazquez could not deliver votes for Gonzalez.
Add this to the fact that the Dilan’s were adamant in their belief that the sole reason why Velazquez backed Gonzalez was to split the Latino vote, and her longtime rivalry with Brooklyn Boss Assemblyman Vito Lopez, and the odds point to Velazquez receiving a challenge.
My source tells me that a lot will depend on re-districting, and how the lines are drawn in Velazquez congressional district. “Once the lines are drawn, we will have a clearer picture.”
These rumors have been flying around Brooklyn even since Espinal–who served as Dilan’s chief of staff–won his special election against Deirdre Towns, who was backed by her father, neighborhood mainstay Congressman Ed Towns and against Gonzalez, who not only had Velazquez’s support but that of the Working Families Party.
I asked Councilmember Dilan after the special election if he was thinking about making a bid for Congress, and he demurred, saying that he hadn’t thought about anything beyond Sept. 13th for quite some time, and at the moment just looked forward to getting some rest.
Dilan will be term-limited in 2013, and wouldn’t lose anything by challenging Velazquez in 2012, but neighborhood politicos tell me that it would be a much harder race than the special election was. Velazquez’s district skips around to different majority Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and she remains a beloved figure to many in the district
