A Crowd Runs For a Position With Few Powers, and May Keep On Running
By Jonathan Hicks
New York Times

The post is that of Manhattan borough president, a job that in previous decades has been a launching pad for mayors like Robert F. Wagner and David N. Dinkins and mayoral contenders like Ruth Messinger and Andrew Stein. Nine candidates are seeking to replace the current borough president, C. Virginia Fields (who is herself running for mayor), and that is just for the Democratic primary. No Republicans have yet announced.
The large field of candidates is the result, in part, of term limits, which have left several Council members unable to run for their seats. Another factor was the recent decision of Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. not to run for mayor this year, which led City Councilwoman Eva S. Moskowitz, to enter the race for borough president instead of seeking the comptroller's job.

While Ms. Moskowitz is not barred by term limits from running for re-election to the Council until 2009, other Council members from Manhattan affected by term limits have decided to enter the borough president's race...

With candidates from throughout the borough, few if any Manhattan politicians are willing to declare a front-runner nine months before the primary...
But the biggest challenge for the candidates is how to gain name recognition and attention with Manhattan residents...

...each of the candidates has a ready response to the issue of how he or she might win this crowded contest...

Mr. Ellner, 34, said it was his lack of credentials in elective office that he believed would appeal to many voters. "There is no question that I'm running as something of an outsider and, frankly, that's attractive to many people," he said.

"I'm different from the others in that I want to get the private sector involved," he added. "If we don't want to see massive cuts in parks and schools, we're going to need to get more involvement from the private sector...'"