In case you needed any further proof of the unusual nature of this election cycle, consider this: For the first time since 1992, veteran Assemblyman Denny Farrell Jr. is facing a primary challenge for his Upper Manhattan seat in the 71st AD.

ArielFerreira

The man mounting what he admits is a longshot campaign to unseat Farrell from the office he has held since 1974 is 25-year-old political newcomer named Ariel Ferreira, a former NYC Council staffer and consultant.

“I feel it’s time for change in Albany,” Ferreira told me during a telephone interview earlier this afternoon. “I feel there need to be new and innovative ways and new energy to bring new ideas because year after year there are continuous cuts and there hasn’t been any real progressive agenda moving.”

“…I sat down with Denny Farrell. Respect is due to him because he’s been there for 34 years, but he hasn’t had a race for the past 18 years. That’s kind of a long time.”

“And, you know, he’s been there for such a long time, I guess you could say he’s doing something right. But, at the same time, he’s also been a part of Albany and everything that’s going on in Albany, and I feel everybody wants a change. I do, too.”

Ferreira used to work for former Councilman Miguel Martinez, who pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in connection with the slush fund scandal last July.

Ferreira said he had “no idea what was going on” and worked for Martinez for “a very short time.”

“It was very difficult and shocking,” Ferreira said. “…it caught me off guard. That’s also something that has motivated me to run. I was able to see first-hand the scandals that happen and are continuing to occur in government, which I truly do not agree with.”

Farrell had $60,238 on hand in his campaign committee as of mid-January, but as the Ways and Means Committee chairman, former state Democratic Party chairman and former Manhattan Democratic chairman, he has considerable fundraising capability.

Ferreira acknowledged he’s likely to be out-gunned in the fundraising department, but said he is “aggressively” focused on trying to bring in contributions, adding: “I have a lot of support from the community; we’ll all be gathering to make this a fun summer.”

Farrell, who was planning on running for the NYC Council last fall until the extension of term limits successfully pushed by Mayor Bloomberg threw a wrench in his plans, told me he is taking Ferreira’s challenge “very seriously.”

Share|