(Photo: Patrick McMullan )

Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau has filed to run for a tenth term next year, but one of his protégés, Cyrus Vance Jr.—who insists he’s running to succeed his old boss, not replace him—is still positioning himself to take over. Last week’s filings show Vance, whose advisers doubt Morgy will actually be on the ballot next year, raised more in the first half of the year than both the district attorney and the other declared challenger, Leslie Crocker Snyder, who unsuccessfully challenged Morgenthau in 2005. Vance also hired Governor Paterson’s fund-raiser, Cindy Darrison, and well-connected Harlem consultant Bill Lynch—moves, insiders say, designed by Vance to cozy up to Paterson. (Should Morgenthau, 88, leave office before the next election, the governor would select his replacement.) Vance says he hired Lynch’s firm because of its “grasp of local politics” and that the $5,000-per-month retainer will help him reach minority communities. “It’s not a relationship you might expect, but it makes perfect sense,” says Kevin Wardally, a Lynch aide.

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