An expert on the sex lives of the presidents could soon be a heartbeat away from becoming mayor.
Or maybe it will be a onetime scream-queen actress, or a guy who jumped into the election on a whim.
The Feb. 26 special election to replace former Public Advocate Letitia James is an unpredictable free-for-all, with 17 candidates on the ballot — many of them political unknowns with quirky resumes. Under the city’s election law, whoever ekes out the most votes wins, so the minor candidates could play a major role as spoilers.
The plum post carries few direct responsibilities but offers a mighty megaphone for pols on the make — and is first in the line of succession for the mayoralty.
Ten elected officials and political VIPs are vying for the role. Those big-name, big-money nominees — such as former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Councilmembers Jumaane Williams and Eric Ulrich, state Assemblyman Michael Blake, and former federal HHS official Dawn Smalls — are already showering voters with mailers and robocalls.
Here are the seven under-the-radar candidates who could split this election into splinters:
- Historian David Eisenbach is the only Columbia University professor to have co-authored a book with porn king Larry Flynt: “One Nation Under Sex,” a study of White House scandals. This is Eisenbach’s second try for the public advocate’s office; he lost a primary battle to James in 2017.
- Last-minute candidate Jared Rich says he decided to dive into the race in mid-December — two weeks before starting to collect ballot signatures. “I figured it all out myself and got it done,” the Brooklyn attorney tweeted on Jan. 22. “As Public Advocate I will get things done.” Each candidate needed the support of 3,750 registered voters to win a spot on the ballot.
- Nomiki Konst once starred in a low-budget movie called “I’m Voting Republican,” but the Queens resident is anything but. The Democratic Socialist, a former reporter with The Young Turks and an actress in the straight-to-video gorefest “The Virgin Murders,” is pushing a $30 minimum wage as her platform — because the new $15 wage floor “frankly, is still not enough to get by on.”
- Ex-math teacher Helal Sheikh has lost bids to win City Council seats in two different districts — and the two candidates who beat him are in this race, too. Sheikh, of Queens, touts his student-government experience at CUNY’s City Tech on his campaign Web site.
- Lawyer Manny Alicandro insists he’s “the only true Republican” in the race — a slap at Ulrich (R-Queens), a frequent critic of President Trump. Alicandro, who revels in his selfies with right-wing figures like Roger Stone and Ann Coulter, is a fervent Trump supporter.
- Megaphone-wielding activist Tony Herbert often hits Brooklyn’s streets for anti-violence and pro-public-housing marches. Watch for his Twitter slams against fellow candidates; he’s already called out “the very racist Melissa Mark-Viverito” for allegedly discriminating against a black NYCHA employee, the subject of an ongoing lawsuit.
- At 34, Benjamin Yee, the youngest candidate in the race, is a passionate cyclist who shuns cars. “Am I [seriously] the only candidate taking public transportation?” he asked after taking the ferry to a Staten Island forum last month.
Their efforts to hit the political jackpot may be quixotic, but they won’t come cheap.
Running the contest will cost $15 million, the Board of Elections estimates — and with the city’s new 8-to-1 public match of small donations, taxpayers could add up to $8 million to candidates’ campaign coffers.
