Candidates for 4th Council District Emerge

While none have officially declared their candidacies or filed paperwork with the state, several people's names have been circulating as potential candidates for Council Member Garodnick's 4th district seat. Garodnick has officially confirmed his run for comptroller. Community Board 6 chair Mark Thompson has confirmed that he'll be filing for a campaign committee shortly. "I'm looking forward for running for office and representing the East Side," said Thompson in a recent interview. "I've actually been working with the city council for many years now, most recently as chair of the community board, I've worked very closely with the city council and city agencies, getting things done." Thompson works for government and community relations firm Capalino + Company and holds a masters degrees in city and regional planning from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He said that he plans to focus on quality of life issues as well as small business, transportation, developing the waterfront and senior and education issues in his campaign. Another name that's been floated in political circles is that of Brice Peyre, currently deputy chief of staff and press secretary for U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney. When asked if he was considering a run, Peyre said in an email that the prospect was interesting and mentioned his years of government service and local residency. "I have been encouraged to run by many community leaders who think that I could make a meaningful contribution to public service in a different capacity, and that my experience and abilities give me an instinctive feel for the issues that most concern District 4 residents," Peyre wrote. He would only say that he is "considering all [his] options carefully," and of course there's still ample time to decide and for other candidates to emerge in what is shaping up to be a long race.