He’s fighting for re-election while fighting federal corruption charges.
State Sen.Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) announced he’ll seek another term to represent southeastern Queens on Thursday.
The lawmaker, who pleaded not guilty to bribery charges last spring, will face opposition from at least two other Democratic challengers, Munir Avery and Clyde Vanel, in the September primary.
His bigger challenge, however, may lie in trying to outrun the memories of the scandal, which remain vivid among potential voters.
“This issue will be like running for office with cinder blocks on his feet,” said Blair Horner, legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Smith, 57, was first elected in 2000, and he’ll be challenged by Avery, an estate and elder law attorney from Hillcrest, and trademark lawyer and small business owner Vanel, of Cambria Heights.
“Unfortunately, our state capital has been the national laughingstock,” Vanel said. “It’s really a shame when dysfunction is the norm.”
Federal authorities arrested Smith last April in connection with a plot to pay off Republican elected officials in Queens and the Bronx in return for their support for his effort to make a mayoral run as a Republican.
Smith has maintained his innocence.
“The senator is running for re-election based on a solid record of progressive accomplishments on behalf of the people of southeast Queens,” Smith’s communication director, Ann Marie Costella, said in a statement.
But the election will revolve around which candidate receives backing from the county Democratic establishment, which has distanced itself from Smith but so far declined to endorse any candidate.
The Queens County Democratic Organization didn’t respond to requests for comment. Avery, 36, the lead counsel to Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (D-Flushing) and vice president of the Adlai Stevenson Regular Democratic Club, will be making his first run for public office against the disgraced pol.
“The most disturbing aspect is the fact that there’s going to be no voice for my district because he’s going to be figthing this,” Avery said.
The 39-year-old Vanel narrowly missed election to the City Council last fall in the district formerly represented by Leroy Comrie.
Previously, Vanel lost a 2012 race for the state Assembly and a 2009 City Council race. Vanel had no campaign contributions to report in filings submitted Wednesday, while Avery logged $25,815, with $8,400 from his own pocket.
Smith has more than $23,000 on hand, records show, including a $10,000 donation he received from 5Pointz graffiti mecca owner Jerry Wolkoff on Dec. 16.
The former Senate majority leader is far from the only lawmaker in Albany to stay in office despite trouble with the law.
Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was removed from office Monday after jurors found him guilty of accepting $22,000 in bribes.
“I’m hoping at some point the voters of New York will say, ‘Enough is enough,'” Horner said. “Because this is not a problem that started last week.”
