Jeffries, Barron, James seen as leading candidates for Congressional seat now held by Towns

City Hall News reports on the expected departure of Rep. Ed Towns and his son Darryl Towns' recent appointment to a post in Albany, in Next Towns Over: The next expected Brooklyn Congressional vacancy:

Now, the field for the coveted north Brooklyn seat has likely narrowed to four frontrunners: Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, Council Member Charles Barron, Council Member Tish James and, depending on whether he runs for re-election, Ed Towns himself.

There are reasons to believe Towns may not. He not only lost his chairmanship but also was very publicly bounced as the ranking member of his committee by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over fears that Towns would not aggressively combat investigations launched by the new chair, California Rep. Darrell Issa.

Still, a Towns spokesman said last week that the Congressman would run again.

Barron vs. Jeffries?

Though Jeffries is reportedly preparing for a race, he was closemouthed:

"Others might fantasize about a hypothetical campaign, but I'm focused on the job I was elected to do."

Jeffries' comment appears to be directed towards longtime nemesis Charles Barron, who has no problems talking openly about a potential run against Towns. In 2006, Barron narrowly lost a three-way race against the incumbent congressman, despite being out-raised tenfold and not declaring his candidacy until February of that year.

Barron maintains that he would be the favorite in 2012 regardless of who is in the race because of his hardcore group of supporters in East New York and the rest of his Council district. Of course, most labor unions, the Brooklyn Democratic Party and the district's sizable Hasidic Jewish population would likely line up against Barron in a one-on-one match-up against Jeffries.

Tish for Public Advocate?

The newspaper reports:

Council Member Tish James is also seen as a potential candidate, though she and Jeffries both share the same Fort Greene base. James was noncommittal about her plans.

...According to two people who have spoken to James about her plans, James is strongly leaning towards running for public advocate if Bill de Blasio runs for mayor.

The article didn't mention perennial candidate Kevin Powell.