Heard Around Town: Linares to run for 13th Congressional District seat

Assemblyman Guillermo Linares will be a candidate for New York City's 13th Congressional District, the seat being vacated by Rep. Charles Rangel, according to a source who is very close to the state lawmaker.  

Linares' decision is of particular interest because he has beat a fellow Dominican lawmaker, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, to the punch. Espaillat has yet to decide if he will run for the seat for a third consecutive time. He lost to Rangel in the last two elections in close races in which he was bolstered by a large voter turnout from the Dominican community. 

Linares, who was the first Dominican-born person to be elected to office in the United States in 1991, has a long standing political feud with Espaillat that has divided the growing Dominican vote in the district. Linares' decision to run for office is sure to make news in the Dominican Republic. 

The decision to join the crowded field that already includes Assemblyman Keith Wright, state Sen. Bill Perkins, Adam Clayton Powell IV, Clyde Williams and Suzan Johnson Cook could leave little room for Espaillat, because the vote is so divided.

The Linares campaign has already scheduled a fundraiser for Nov. 19 at a popular locale in the congressional district.