NEW YORK, NY February 27, 2006 —Tomorrow special elections will be held in six assembly districts around the state. Three of those districts are within the five boroughs. One of those races is taking place on the Upper West Side, in the 67th district.

That's for a seat recently vacated by Scott Stringer, who became the Manhattan borough president in November. WNYC's Arun Venugopal looked into the election in what is widely considered one of the most politically active areas in the country.

REPORTER: It's a Thursday night on the Upper West Side and about a hundred people have gathered in a senior center, not far from Central Park. The crowd has come to listen to four candidates who are vying to become the next State Assembly member representing the 67th district.

The candidates sit at the front of the room, facing the audience. There's Mike Lupinacci, a school principal. Linda Rosenthal, who's won the Democratic nomination. Charles Simon, a state and federal prosecutor. And Emily Csendes, the lone Republican in a very un-Republican district.

After about an hour, it's clear there aren't any major policy differences between the candidates. But Lupinacci and Simon use their outsider status to claim that the process is flawed - that the county Democratic machine has anointed Linda Rosenthal, rather than conducting an open process.

Rosenthal gets defensive but admits the process is imperfect.

ROSENTHAL: Now the process, you know - it stinks.

REPORTER: She should know. She's been involved in the district for years, as an aide to Congressman Jerry Nadler.

And just to make it clear she's the most knowledgeable of the four candidates, she asks Mike Lupinacci a difficult and wonkish question about the state's public authorities and their lack of transparency. She asks him 'What kind of program would you have to rid the hold these 700 plus public authorities have on our government?

Lupinacci admits he's stumped.

LUPINACCI: Alright, Linda has successfully zeroed in on a topic I know nothing about. (laughs) Nice work.

REPORTER: However, it's clear from the proceedings that Lupinacci's candor and charisma play well with the audience. Resident Leon Mitrani said the forum helped him pick a candidate.

MITRANI: I thought Mike Lupinacci was the most passionate about all the issues. He seemed to care the most. Linda Rosenthal, while a good candidate, she just happens to be benefiting from the fact that this is a Democratic district and got the Democratic nomination.

REPORTER: Congressman Jerry Nadler is also in the audience. He pushed for Rosenthal, his aide, to get the nomination. But he says that the process is as open as it can be.

NADLER: In Queens, the Dems would have 4 district leaders select the party candidates and if there was a tie vote the country Democratic leader would break the tie. In Manahattan we have the county committee - about 250 people, they do it. That's not as democratic as a primary but it's about as open as you can get.

REPORTER: The day after the forum the candidates are back on the streets of the Upper West Side, campaigning.

A little before 3 in the afternoon, Charles Simon leaves his campaign headquarters - a former frozen yogurt shop across from Zabars - and stands outside a school in the neighborhood. Simon has strong ideas about how to revamp public housing programs but right now he just wants to get his name out.

SIMON: Hi, I'm Charles Simon, running for assembly. Great thank you so much. February 28 is the special election.

REPORTER: At the same time, just a few blocks away, Mike Lupinacci and his two assistants are staked outside another school.

LUPINACCI: Tell your parents to vote for Mike Lupinacci. You want some stickers?

REPORTER: On the street, he hams it up. But back in his apartment, which doubles as his campaign headquarters, Lupinacci is more pensive. He wants to see the educational system restructured to allow for more K to 12 schools. He also thinks the state needs to invest in teaching young mothers to read to their 2 and 3 year olds, so that children are ready to learn when they start going to school.

Linda Rosenthal also thinks education is a serious issue, but much of her recent career has focused on development, including opposition to the West Side stadium.

ROSENTHAL: I helped organize the campaign against the stadium. I was active in crafting the strategy, in organizing the community to oppose it.

REPORTER: With the Democratic nomination in hand, and endorsements from the New York Times, Senators Schumer and Clinton, and Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, Linda Rosenthal is widely considered the frontrunner in this election. Nonetheless, even she thinks the special election process needs to be reformed to include a primary.

She'd also like public financing for special elections. Right now, she's raised much less money than one of her opponents, Charles Simon. The question remains as to how much the money and endorsements will translate into turnout. The Board of Elections waited until last week to publicize the election and voter awareness has been low.

In the district's last assembly election, in 2004, nearly 68 thousand people voted, out of 91 thousand possible voters. That's a turnout of 75 percent. This time around, observers expect no more than 10 or 12 percent.

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There are two other special elections in the city tomorrow. One is in the 59th District, in Southeast Brooklyn. Democrat Frank Seddio quit the Assembly after being elected to a Surrogate Court judgeship. The other race is in the 74th district in Manhattan, on the East Side, where Democrat Steven Sanders resigned to become a lobbyist.