From this morning's
Times:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer and the son of the onetime senator from New York, said on Monday that he had decided not to run for state attorney general after having considered a bid for several months....
More from the article after the jump:
"I talked about it a lot with my wife, with my kids, my uncle and my brothers and sisters," said Mr. Kennedy, whose older brother, Joseph, was once a congressman from Massachusetts and whose sister, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, served as lieutenant governor of Maryland.
"It's funny," he continued. "All the family members who had not been in political office urged me to run and the ones who had served in office urged me not to."...
The field of Democratic candidates seeking to replace Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is planning to run for governor, is intensely competitive, including not only Mr. Cuomo but also Mark Green, the former New York City mayoral candidate and a close friend of Mr. Kennedy's. But many political leaders insisted that Mr. Kennedy's name recognition as a member of one of the country's foremost political dynasties, coupled with his reputation as an environmental crusader, would have made him the front-runner in the 2006 Democratic nomination for attorney general....
"But I feel certain that I will run for office one day," Mr. Kennedy said. "But I think I need to wait a few years until my younger children get a little older."
Other possible Democratic candidates include Charlie King, the head of a nonprofit organization that provides housing to homeless people and an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor two years ago; Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky of Westchester County; Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris of Queens, who is leading the pack in fund-raising with more than $1.6 million; Sean P. Maloney, a lawyer who worked as an aide to President Bill Clinton; and Denise O'Donnell, the United States attorney for the Western District of New York.
On the Republican side, State Senator Michael A. L. Balboni of Nassau County is considering joining the race.
So Green and Cuomo become the big names in the race, with a bunch of smaller names also still in the running. Spitzer's job performance has enhanced the appeal of this position for many NY pols, and with both Senate seats safely in Democratic hands for the forseeable future, and Spitzer almost assuredly the '06 Gubernatorial nominee, it's the only statewide position of any importance that out-of-work guys like Green and Cuomo want to run for.
If you live in NY, I recommend checking out Sean Maloney's site. His early fundraising numbers have been promising, and he is trying to position himself as the "Green alternative" for now - which is smart, since the alternative to Mark Green has historically been successful in NY politics ;). He seems to be one to watch.
As for RFK Jr., it heartens me to know he is eventually committed to going into politics. If by some chance Spitzer loses in '06, he could make a run for Governor in '10. Or he would be a great EPA admin. in any Democratic White House. We are sorely lacking voices like his in the political world.