Heard Around Town: March 30, 2012

* Queens Assemblyman Rory Lancmantold the Politicker at a recent press conferencethat if he loses his race for Congress, he definitely won't run for re-election to the Assembly. But two prominent colleagues in Albany who are also running for Congress, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, are unwilling to go that far. Due to a quirky election calendar, congressional primaries are in June, and state legislative primaries are expected to be in September. That gives Albany legislators the chance to actually run and lose a primary for Congress, then petition onto the ballot and run for their state legislative seats. "Hakeem is running for Congress," said spokeswoman Lupe Todd. "There has been no discussion of running for re-election to the State Assembly because we plan to win on June 26." Meanwhile, the campaign of Espaillat, who has already gathered enough petition signatures to get onto the ballot for a run against Congressman Charlie Rangel, also would not rule out a September Senate run. Of course, Espaillat's position is even more complex, since he hasn't officially declared plans to run for Congress. "We're not there yet," said campaign spokesman Ibrahim Khan. "It's a non-issue right now because we haven't yet announced for Congress." * City and State is proud to present State of Our State, a half-day forum up in Albany on April 25th. The three sessions will focus on Health Care and Medicaid, Energy Development/Exploration Opportunities, and Public-Private Partnerships. Featured guest speakers will includeSen. Kemp Hannon,Sen. George Maziarz,Tom Madisonof the New York Thruway Authority,Liz Benjaminof Capitol Tonight/YNN and many others. City and State would also like to invite nominations for our annual Albany Rising Stars: 40 under 40 issue. Nominations should be elected officials, staffers, lobbyists, candidates, activists, reporters and other movers and shakers under 40 years old who are making a difference in Albany. The closing date for your submissions will beFriday, April 13. Winners will be announced shortly after, with details on a reception to be held in Albany in May. To read more from City and State click here.