Vito Fossella

The death of Frank Powers means Republicans on Staten Island are, again, looking for someone to run for Vito Fossella’s seat.

So, who’s on the list?

Scratch off District Attorney Dan Donovan, whose spokesman said he hasn’t changed his mind from last month about not running for the seat. Also not interested in running is City Councilman Vinny Ignizio. When I asked him to appear on video saying he doesn’t want to run, he declined, calling it “a moot point.” City Councilman Jimmy Oddo and State Senator Andrew Lanza haven't changed their minds either.

Who does that leave?

At a press conference on the City Hall steps just now, where the DCCC and some local officials endorsed City Councilman Mike McMahon for Congress, a reporter asked the inevitable question.

Have you ever driven drunk? Or had an extramarital affair?

McMahon is running for the seat currently held by Vito Fossella, who announced he won't run for re-election after he was caught doing just that.

The councilman said no on both counts.

Democratic City Councilman Domenic Recchia of Brooklyn just announced he is dropping out of the race for Vito Fossella's congressional seat.

Staten Island Democrats recently endorsed another candidate, City Councilman Mike McMahon. Although the district lies partly in Brooklyn, Staten Island residents are a majority.

In the release, Recchia says he thinks Democrats should be "united as a party" to win the seat, currently held by a Republican.  read more »

City Councilman Mike McMahon, who is running for the congressional seat Vito Fossella is vacating, was endorsed last night by the Staten Island Democratic Party.  read more »

Republicans are having some trouble finding a candidate to run for the Congressional seat Vito Fossella is planning to vacate at the end of the year.

Could they find a solution by turning to … Fossella?

A couple of political consultants I talked to think the idea is at least theoretically plausible. He has, they point out, managed to get through the worst of the press coverage without disappearing entirely from the public eye. (He has been maintaining a surprisingly unremarkable presence at parades.) And he'd sort of be operating, if he chose to renew interest in running on the Republican line, in a vacuum. As Dan Gerstein put it, Fossella “may be able to get the G.O.P. nomination since they can't seem to give the seat away on that side.” (This, in a district in which George W. Bush won 55 percent of the vote in 2004.)  read more »

The Independence Party interviews for congressional candidates eyeing Vito Fossella’s seat were supposed to take place last night, but got postponed because of what one organizer called a “logistical problem.”

That organizer, Frank Morano, a member of the party’s state executive committee, said the interviews have been rescheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, at Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn, at 4254 Arthur Kill Road on Staten Island.  read more »

The race to succeed departing Representative Vito Fossella is wide open, and a number of major-party candidates are interviewing with the Independence Party in an effort to gain an advantage over the rest of the field. One of them, Richmond County Young Republicans vice president Rich Hoffman, forwarded me his responses to a questionnaire that the I.P. asked all congressional candidates to fill out.

Hoffman, it seems, it going with blunt honesty to win them over. A few examples, cut-and-pasted from what he sent:  read more »

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The Republican district attorney of Staten Island, Dan Donovan, who many considered to be the leading congressional candidate to run for the seat being vacated by Republican Vito Fossella, says he is not in the running.  read more »

Here's what I've heard so far about who might run for Vito Fossella's seat now that the congressman has said he is staying in office but not seeking re-election.

A spokesman for Democratic City Councilman Domenic Recchia of Brooklyn, the best-funded challenger, said he’s still in the race, despite some rumblings that he might drop out. Democratic attorney Steve Harrison is also still running.

On the Republican side, the names of State Senator Andrew Lanza and District Attorney Dan Donovan have been floated. But a bid by either would come at a cost to the party. A Lanza run could jeopardize one of the State Senate seats that give Republicans a majority. And Donovan would have to give up his safe seat as district attorney, in which case David Paterson would almost certainly appoint a Democrat to that borough-wide position.  read more »

Vito Fossella made a brief appearance last night at the Richmond County Conservative Party's fund-raiser on Staten Island, the most clear signal to date that he's interested in seeking re-election after being arrested for D.U.I. and admitting to fathering a child out of wedlock.

Since his arrest earlier this month, Fossella and his crisis communication consultant have said Fossella is focusing on his family, not politics.

No reporters were at the event, but word of Fossella's appearance quickly got out after his arrival.  read more »

Here's something counterintuitive. Amid all the jockeying for Vito Fossella's seat, City Hall News reports that the best-funded candidate in the race, City Councilman Domenic Recchia of Brooklyn, who was challenging Fossella long before the congressman was arrested, called "at least one elected official" and discussed dropping out.

From CHN:  read more »

Here's a little more evidence of how frenzied things are getting in Staten Island, now that Representative Vito Fossella's seat might be up for grabs in the fall.

Yesterday I reported that, according to Independence Party state executive committee member Frank Morano, the I.P. is interviewing candidates for Fossella's seat on May 25.  read more »

The jockeying to run for Republican Vito Fossella’s suddenly winnable congressional seat has opened a bit of a rift between Brooklyn and Staten Island Democrats.

The seat is mostly in Staten Island, but for years, Democratic elected officials there have taken a pass at challenging Fossella since that would have meant giving up their own safe re-elections in order to run (and probably lose). The result was a string of unmemorable candidates who got slaughtered by Fossella and his Republican predecessor, Susan Molinari.

The Brooklyn side, at least, has produced some feisty challengers, namely Frank Barbaro and Steve Harrison. This year, in addition to Harrison, the Democratic field will include Councilman Domenic Recchia, who has even more campaign money at his disposal than Fossella. The Brooklyn Dems, in other words, would seem to have a pretty good chance of producing the nominee this year.

But now it's gotten more complicated. There’s blood in the water, thanks to Fossella’s love child scandal (not to mention a pretty good Democratic trend nationwide), and Staten Island Democrats are looking for someone to get in on the action. This is particularly significant because if Fossella resigns, designating a Democratic challenger for the resulting special election will fall to the folks on Staten Island.

Will Brooklyn get edged out?

Here's how Council member Vinny Gentile made their case: “It seems to me that to suggest that it’s a Staten Island seat, if you look at the last three Brooklynites who were the nominees, they did as well if not better than the State Islanders who were nominees."  read more »

When asked at a press conference in the Bronx whether he would support Vito Fossella for re-election, the mayor said he'd consider it.
"If he ran and he'd ask me, I'd have to think about it," Bloomberg said.  read more »

The Staten Island chapter of the Independence Party, which supported recently arrested Republican Congressman Vito Fossella in 2006, is interviewing “all prospective candidates” who want to seek their endorsement this year.

Interviews will take place on May 25, according to Frank Morano, an executive committee member of the New York State Independence Party.

Morano said Fossella “would have a shot at the nomination,” but also said that it would not be “a lock."  read more »

Al D’Amato went further with his show of support for Vito Fossella than anyone else when he told NY1 that he thought the congressman could run for reelection--and win.

So, does that mean the former Senator would actively campaign for Fossella?

I asked D’Amato’s spokeswoman, Dana Weisberg, who left the door open, but stopped just short of actually saying he would. She emails:  read more »

Here’s something to keep in mind as the fate of Vito Fossella unfolds:
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Last week I reported that an endorsement vote at a Democratic Club in Bay Ridge was split evenly between Vito Fossella's two official Democratic challengers, Domenic Recchia and Steve Harrison.  read more »

Democratic State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., one of a handful of elected Democrats who oppose abortion in New York State, is giving some credit to Vito Fossella in a public letter:  read more »

From the New York Post:  read more »

At first glance, the potential (likely?) demise of Vito Fossella's political career makes for a timely boost for Democrats, who are now in prime position to claim the 13th District congressional seat he has held since 1997.

But it may be more trouble than it's worth.

The district certainly is winnable for Democrats, especially if Fossella opts to seek re-election despite the scandals exploding around him. But even if he doesn't – and there is word this afternoon that his resignation is now imminent – either of the Democrats now running, Steve Harrison and Domenic Recchia, would probably have a better-than-even chance against the Republican-to-be-named-later in the fall.

The 13th District is easily the most conservative in New York City and traditionally sends a Republican to Congress, but Democrats actually enjoy a slight partisan advantage. Largely because of 9/11, George W. Bush carried it by 10 points in 2004, but a more accurate expression of the district's leanings can be found in the 2000 election, when Al Gore won it by eight points over Bush. Moreover, the political climate strongly favors Democrats in 2008 (just look at the party's string of special election wins in GOP bastions this year), which figures to boost the Democratic nominee in the 13th by a few potentially pivotal points.  read more »

The Brooklyn Democrats for Change, a reform club in Bay Ridge, held their endorsement meeting last night to decide which Democrat to endorse against Republican Vito Fossella.

The club’s decision was an even split.

According to a political operative who attended the meeting but is not actively working for either campaign, there were 25 votes for each of the two declared Democratic candidates, attorney Steve Harrison and City Councilman Domenic Recchia.  read more »

An unserious footnote to the story of Vito Fossella's mistress and love child: Technically speaking, in her home state of Virginia, adultery is still a crime.  read more »

Representative Charlie Rangel has a very meta take on Vito Fossella's predicament, seeing it as another example of an ongoing Republican implosion.

"They are self-destructing," Rangel told me, referencing the president's vetoes of what he said was bi-partisan legislation and ethics lapses by Republican elected officials.  read more »

One of Vito Fossella’s Democratic challengers, Steve Harrison, just released a public statement saying that if Fossella runs for reelection, “The people will decide in November if his recent behavior and revelations should disqualify him from continuing in office.”

It's a slightly different approach than Harrison took yesterday, when he told me Fossella's D.U.I. arrest spoke to the congressman's "character" and decision-making ability.

Here’s the statement:  read more »

Assemblyman Karim Camara of Brooklyn, who was arrested for D.U.I. last year, says a police videotape related to the case has been destroyed, leaving officials without what he called “the one objective piece of evidence.”  read more »

Frank Morano, an executive committee member of the New York State Independence Party and Staten Island activist (and, by his description, a friend of Vito Fossella's), thinks Fossella's recent personal problems run the risk of overshadowing his political work if he seeks reelection.

"I think this would become much more of an issue than the war in Iraq, or the economy, or gas prices, or traffic and transportation issues on Staten Island," Morano told me. (In 2006, Fossella got 3,667 votes on the Independence Party line out of 116,051 total votes cast.)  read more »

Vito Fossella's office just released this statement from the congressman:

“I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three year old daughter.

"My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry.

"While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind.

More after the jump.  read more »

Vito Fossella’s spokespeople won’t say whether he’ll run for reelection, according to an item in Crain’s today.

“Politics is not what he’s focused on now,” Susan Del Percio--Fossella’s political consultant--is quoted as saying. “He’s focused on doing his job.”  read more »

Unlike Councilman Domenic Recchia, Democrat Stephen Harrison isn't hesitating to talk about the arrest of Republican Congressman Vito Fossella..

“I would like to have this race decided by the issues, like the war, health care, the economy, jobs, things of that nature--all of which are important.  read more »

Congressman Vito Fossella’s recent arrest for driving drunk has Democrats thinking they might get a better chance at taking the only congressional seat in the city held by a Republican. (The district includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn).  read more »

Councilman Domenic Recchia has kept a low profile since the congressman he is trying to unseat, Vito Fossella, got arrested for driving drunk.

But when political consultant Jefrey Pollock prefaced remarks about Fossella on NY1 last night by saying he’s working for Recchia’s campaign, that was news.  read more »

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In his first appearance since being arrested in Virginia for drunk driving, Republican Congressman Vito Fossella said he’s not resigning and he hopes the residents of his Staten Island-Brooklyn district forgive him for what he said was a one-time mistake.

“It was a big mistake and I made it and I’m here to apologize to the people I represent,” he said, speaking at the Hilton hotel on Staten Island. “I was brought up man enough to know it’s time to admit mistakes and apologize.”

Fossella spoke for about six minutes, and walked away when I tried asking if he would enter rehab. An aide said later there was no need for it.  read more »

From The Washington Post:

Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-N.Y.) was arrested overnight in Alexandria and charged with driving while intoxicated, court records showed today.
Fossella is scheduled to appear in Alexandria General District Court on May 12 for an advisement hearing, the records said.

No other details were immediately available.

Reached by phone, Fossella's communication director had no immediate comment on the report.

Fossella was elected to Congress in a special election to represent the 13th Congressional District of New York in November 1997, according to a biography on his Web site. The district includes Staten Island and the Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and the Bensonhurst and Gravesend neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

He serves as a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Fossella began his political career in 1994 when he was elected to the New York City Council.

UPDATE: When asked for reaction, Democratic State Senator Diane Savino said, “A person’s mistakes shouldn’t define who they are.”

UPDATE II: Here is the statement Fossella released: “Last night I made an error in judgment. As a parent, I know that taking even one drink of alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car is wrong.  I apologize to my family and the constituents of the 13th Congressional District for embarrassing them, as well as myself.”

 

Here's Steve Harrison, the less-funded of the two Democrats looking to unseat Representative Vito Fossella, speaking to a bunch of Democratic clubs last night at a bar in Manhattan.  read more »

A number of local Democratic clubs, including the Howard Dean-spawned DFNYC, are meeting tonight to decide which Democrat they will support in the race to unseat the only Republican Congressman in the city, Vito Fossella.

They are choosing between term-limited City Councilman Domenic Recchia and Steve Harrison, who lost to Fossella in 2006.

Fossella, a 10-year incumbent who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, is a frequent target of left-of-center groups in the city--his opponent's supporters have called him the "last conservative in the city." (The effort to unseat him has even given rise to a dedicated blog.)

In a similar vein, an email reminder for tonight's event says, “Fossella has been a rubber-stamp for the Bush-Cheney White House.”

Both Democratic contenders have been fund-raising this year, although Fossella has made a point of making it known that he has plenty of money to get reelected.

Hosting the event tonight are the Stonewall Democratic Club, Three Parks Independent Democratic Club, Village Reform Democratic Club and an organization called Truth 13.

Here's the email:  read more »

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Dick Cheney will be a featured guest at an April 21 fund-raising lunch for Vito Fossella, the city’s only Republican congressman, a sign that the national Republican Party is putting in a major effort to hold onto the seat.

Fossella represents parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The event is taking place at 740 Park Avenue in Manhattan, at the home of Republican contributors David and Julia Koch

The invite, which a reader passed along, reminds guests to get there early “to allow for required security checks”:  read more »

Here's a shot from a congestion pricing forum in Brooklyn last night, where Anthony Weiner made an unannounced appearance, alongside likely mayoral rival, and fellow critic, Tony Avella (far right). In the middle, that's Steve Harrison, another critic of the plan and current candidate for congress.  read more »

Here’s an invitation to Democratic congressional candidate Stephen Harrison’s February 27 fund-raiser at Social Bar in Midtown West.
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The day after Rudy Giuliani dropped out the presidential campaign, the city’s only Republican Congressman says he has plenty of money on hand for his own re-election campaign this November.  read more »

As Azi reported yesterday, Mike Bloomberg doesn’t seem to be a fan of the sweeping Energy Bill that President Bush signed yesterday – in particular, its mandate for an massive increase in ethanol production.

Bloomberg called the ethanol provision “an outrage” and said it would drive up food costs and “have worldwide implications on the food supply.” Ethanol, of course, is a sacred product in Iowa, the key caucus that the presidential candidates dare not offend.

So did New York’s Congressional delegation agree with the mayor? Apparently not: 28 of 29 New Yorkers in the House voted for the bill when it came up for its final vote last week (it cleared the chamber on a 314-100 vote). The lone exception was Staten Island’s Vito Fossella, who didn’t show up to vote. The bill cleared the Senate on an 86-8 vote, with Chuck Schumer voting yes and Hillary Clinton, perhaps too busy campaigning in Iowa, not voting.

In fairness, earlier versions of the bill produced slightly less unanimity. The initial version passed by the House (on a 264-143 vote) was supported by all of New York’s Democrats but only three Republicans: Randy Kuhl, John McHugh and Jim Walsh. Tom Reynolds, Peter King, and Fossella votes against it.

Supporters of congressional candidate Steve Harrison are having a fund-raiser this Thursday, and are banking on the anti-conservative message to bring in the checks.

From the email, being circulated by supporters Hilda B. Classon and Betsy Malcolm:

It's true, within all five boroughs, Vito Fossella is the last conservative Republican in our city. Mr. Fossella enjoys an 81% positive rating from the Christian Coalition and 78% from The American Conservative Union. A man whose votes in the House say, “Whatever George Wants, Bush gets from Vito.”

For Harrison, it may be a good fund-raising message, but it ignores the fact that another Democratic candidate, Domenic Recchia, is raising money and vowing to get into the race.

Full text of the email after the jump.  read more »

It's worth noting that Hillary Clinton isn’t the only one trying to get squared away with Eliot Spitzer’s new license policy.

The governor’s (original) plan would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain a driver's license, but now it's being linked to federal guidelines that will be outlined in the Real ID Act. Although Spitzer backed Real ID this week, a number of Democratic congress members from New York opposed it during a 2005 vote (which may explain why it hasn't been easy getting most of them to say anything about Spitzer's new plan).

One congressional aide was kind enough to refer me to the results of the 2005 vote on the Real ID Act.

Democrats Gary Ackerman (Queens/Nassau), Tim Bishop (Suffolk), Joe Crowley (Queens/Bronx), Eliot Engel (Bronx/Westchester), Carolyn Maloney (Manhattan/Queens), Greg Meeks (Queens), Jerry Nadler (Manhattan/Brooklyn), Charlie Rangel (Manhattan), Jose Serrano (Bronx), Ed Towns (Brooklyn), Nydia Velazquez (Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens) and Anthony Weiner (Queens/Brooklyn) all voted against it.

UPDATE: Another congressional staffer, putting this story in context, noted that every Democratic congress member in the state voted against Real ID, except for Mike McNulty, who voted for it, and Maurice Hinchey who was absent.

A reader (thank you!) passed on this invitation to City Councilman Domenic Recchia’s first major congressional fund-raiser, taking place on October 24 at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Brooklyn.

The invite also includes quotes from newspaper paper stories from the New York Post, Crain’s and elsewhere. They’re a little fuzzy, but I’m sure it’s positive stuff.  read more »

I just asked Democratic City Councilman Domenic Recchia about the story that he leaked information about a Democrat challenging Republican congressman Vito Fossella.

The first reaction of Recchia, who is now is the planning stages of his own run against Fossella, was a long, hearty laugh.

“I was not involved with the Barbaro campaign,” he said, referring to Frank Barbaro, the Democrat who narrowly lost to Fossella in 2004. “I had no idea what was going on in the Barbaro campaign. I was not involved whatsoever. I had no information.”

Recchia says the story was put out there in order to undermine him, because “the Republicans and Vito Fossella are afraid of Domenic Recchia because the internal research is showing Domenic Recchia is going to win. And this is their way to send a message to me not to run.”

About his possible Democratic opponent Steve Harrison, who ran against Fossella last year and is raising money to run again next year,

Recchia said, “Steve is a nice guy. He ran a good campaign on the surroundings he had. He should have been out there last year raising money.”

What about facing Harrison in a primary?

"Whatever happens, happens.”

There may be something of a fight to see which Democrat takes on Representative Vito Fossella, the city’s only Republican congressman, in next year’s elections.

Steve Harrison, a local lawyer who got no support from the Democratic establishment during his unsuccessful bid against Fossella in 2006, just announced that he raised $45,000 in two weeks.

More after the jump.  read more »