Mark Murphy will run against Congressman Michael Grimm in November 2012. (Photo source: Mark Murphy For Congress)

Last week, Mark Murphy – son of former Congressman John Murphy and a former aide to Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio – announced his candidacy for the 13th Congressional District, currently held by Michael Grimm. The move generated considerable interest on Staten Island – including strong support from the Richmond County party chairman and some notably less-strong encouragement from elected officials, including Staten Island/Brooklyn State Senator Diane Savino. Reaction from Bay Ridge – roughly one-third of Grimm’s district – was notably absent.

BK Southie reached out to Justin Brannan, the President of the Bay Ridge Democrats political club, to get a sense of the feeling among party activists on the Brooklyn side. Brannan told us:

“We need someone who understands and will fight for local values and put our interests first before the party’s agenda. The current Congressman is simply not in tune with the district he represents. He spends too much time on TV and too little time listening to the concerns of the people. If you’re a leader your #1 job should be to listen; Mark Murphy listens. I’m glad he stepped up.”

Proposed district boundaries for the Assembly and State Senate were released yesterday. At the time of our publishing deadline, there is still no word on the new Congressional districts, which must reduce the number of New York State representatives from 29 to 27. With that reduction in mind, it stands to reason that the new District 13 will need to reach further into Brooklyn than it already does – potentially into areas that have a Democratic registration edge. That prospect, along with the general competitiveness of district and a new poll suggesting Democrats have a chance to take majority control of the House this election, may have the effect of boosting Murphy’s campaign. Working against Murphy is the fundraising head start that Grimm holds over him ($1 million dollars to zero as of the last FEC filing), and the fact that the elder Congressman Murphy left politics in disgrace, marred by an indictment in the Abscam scandal that led to the bribery conviction of five of his House collegues.

The impact of Murphy’s Hollywood career, including roles in my college-era favorite show, Pacific Blue, remains to be seen.

Grimm is currently leading a controversial effort to weaken federal whistleblower protection by directing complaints to in-house reporting mechanisms before federal regulators.