Nine candidates are running for the seat held for 45 years by one man, Charles Rangel, who was censured by Congress for ethics violations and is finally doing what he should have done years ago: leaving. If any district needs political rebooting, it’s the heavily Democratic 13th, which covers Upper Manhattan, including Harlem and Washington Heights, and parts of the Bronx.

But it will be hard to make a true break with the Rangel era by electing either of the two veteran Albany politicians in the race, Assemblyman Keith Wright or State Senator Adriano Espaillat. Mr. Wright is, in fact, Mr. Rangel’s chosen successor, an affable pol deeply rooted in Harlem’s political and business establishment. In 23 years in the Legislature, Mr. Wright has not been tainted by that body’s infamous corruption, but neither has he stood out as a reformer or a particularly creative lawmaker. His sponsorship of a nation-leading “bill of rights” for domestic workers is an exception.