Dov & Yoni Hikind
There are conflicting reports in the orthodox Jewish news outlets on whether Yoni Hikind the son of Assemblyman Dov Hikind is going to run for the new Super Jewish Senate District or not.
The Yeshiva World News ran the following piece earlier today:
YWN sources revealed over the weekend that New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind is considering running his son, Yoni, for the newly created Super-Jewish Senate Seat. The seat was created by the Republican party in hopes of attracting a serious Republican candidate and Hikind’s son may be that candidate. “Dov feels like he has made a come-back over the last couple of years,” said one of our sources. “What better way to complete that come-back than by electing his own son to the New York State Senate.”
One veteran political observer noted, “it’s hard not to look at Dov’s new district and the new Super-Jewish district and wonder what the heck happened. These districts are supposed to be drawn separately by the Assembly and the Senate. Somehow, these two districts are virtually identical. That has to be the single biggest coincidence this year.”
Hikind’s son, Yoni, is a political unknown. However, sources say that Hikind may be willing to spend much of his own campaign money to promote the Hikind brand. With the two new districts overlapping, according to one campaign finance expert, Hikind could legitimately spend his campaign money to promote the Hikind name which would also help his son who may be running at the same time.
However, that expert cautioned that “what Dov is doing is quite risky. On the one hand if he wins he will cement his legacy as a Jewish power broker. If he loses, however, it may be the end of his political career.”
Assemblyman Hikind did not respond to YWN’s request for comment on this story.
Several Hours Later Assemblyman Dov Hikind gave an exclusive interview to Vosizneias.com and vehemently denied the reports, the following is the piece that VIN ran:
Reports that Yoni Hikind, son of New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, is contemplating a run for the senate seat that will serve the proposed newly created “Super Jewish” Senate District have been dismissed as completely unfounded by the senior Hikind, who says he has no idea how the rumors regarding his son got started.
“I wish I could convince Yoni to run for public office,” said Hikind in an exclusive interview with VIN News. “They don’t make them more sincere, more honest and more passionate than Yoni and I hope that one day I can encourage him to use those abilities as a public official. But he has only one interest at this point in time – devoting his life to saving Jewish kids. Yoni has no interest in any political office at this point in time.”
Thirty one year old Yoni Hikind, a Brooklyn therapist, is heavily involved with Yeshiva Simchas Chaim, a school that serves at risk teens. The school is now in its third year and Assemblyman Hikind had nothing but praise for his son.
“He brings kids home to my house on Shabbos all the time. What he is doing is truly remarkable and I couldn’t be prouder.”
