Guardian Angel Takes On Simcha Felder In State Senate Race

KENSINGTON, BROOKLYN — A Guardian Angel is throwing his red beret into the ring to replace Simcha Felder, a powerful Democratic state senator who has not faced a serious challenger since his election in 2012.

New York City vigilante Luis Rivera will run as a Brooklyn Reform Party candidate against Felder, Brooklyn’s 17th Senate District representative whose reputation for caucusing with Republicans has earned him the status of an Albany kingmaker.

"Simcha Felder thought he was going to have a coronation, but now he will have a nightmare," said Guardian Angel founder, and NYS Reform Party chairman, Curtis Sliwa in a statement. "He had the audacity to claim he was the #1 reformer in Albany, when in fact, he is the poster child for term limits."

The Brooklyn Reform Party sent out a press release Tuesday that provided little information about Rivera's background — he's a Midwood resident, a father of four children, and Midwood High School graduate — but made special note of his Guardian Angel membership, which he has held since 1982.

Instead, the announcement focused on attacking Felder, specifically for the role he played earning Yeshiva schools exemption from state oversight in April, after reports showed the schools failed to meet the state’s academic standards.

Rivera said, if elected, he would ensure all New York City schools meet minimum state education requirements and fight for term limits for all state elected officials.

Felder has recently come under fire for opposing speed cameras near public schools months after two children were killed in the streets of Park Slope and his refusal to caucus with Democrats — and earn them a majority in the senate — when the Independent Democratic Conference was dissolved.

The Brooklyn representative responded to criticism by arguing his refusal to walk the party line helped him better serve his district.

“I believe it is my obligation to prevent an unprecedented and uncertain late-session political battle that will only hurt my constituents and New Yorkers,” Felder told the New York Times in April. “Political gamesmanship must not be allowed to jeopardize the leadership, committee structure and staff of the New York State Senate.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo began looking for primary candidates to replace Felder in May and warned the Brooklyn representative his position as an Albany kingmaker might end in November, when he hopes Democrats will regain the senate majority.

Before November's election, Felder will face opposition in primary on Sept. 13 against Democratic candidate Blake Morris, a contract attorney and former member of NYSD17, a grassroots organization opposed to Felder's conservative allegiances.

But should Felder win the nomination, he will head toward November's election unopposed, which is why the Brooklyn Reform Party is running a candidate, chairman Bob Capano said in a statement.

"While the GOP and other parties play dead for Simcha Felder, we will have a candidate because voters always deserve a choice," Capano said. "Luis Rivera is the right alternative to stand up for students, parents, and Broooklyn (sic) in Albany."

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Reform Party