Politics

The editorial board of The Staten Island Advance, a hugely influential paper in Vito Fossella’s district, wants him to resign.

As of 6:39 a.m., 147 Advance readers commented on the story.

Peter King says people are encouraging Fossella, telling him, “Hang in there, you can win.”

The subhead in this New York Post article says Fossella won’t resign.

A Republican congressman from Florida said, “If his district is anything like mine, I suspect that it’s over.”

Lou Young says Fossella’s carreer is “all but destroyed.”

The Daily News thinks Young is correct.

They say leading candidates to replace Fossella include Dan Donovan and Andrew Lanza.

The News covers The News' coverage of Fossella.

The Washington Post cushions the blow, saying Fossella was already vulnerable.

Alan Colmes notes that Fossella’s other woman is single.

Chris DeBello says the only thing left for Fossella to do now is become a Democrat.

Nicholas Kristof says Hillary Clinton “just doesn’t have a plausible route to the nomination.”

Clinton may not be able to recoup the $11 million she loaned her campaign if she drops out before the convention.

The New York Times editorial board isn’t impressed with Christine Quinn’s new budget reforms, writing, “They do not pass muster as real reform” and that “it still allows a council member to funnel money to an organization with personal or political connections.”

David Paterson said he’ll review police procedures in the wake of the Sean Bell verdict.

NBC’s Jonathan Noel captures the real news, saying Paterson “sympathizes with both sides.”

The West Side Rail Yard plan is dead, reports Eliot Brown.

It’s because the developer wanted to wait until the entire site was rezoned.

The son of Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio couldn’t get enough signatures to run in the June 3 special election in Queens.

The openly gay candidate in that race still isn’t happy that he was attacked by Elizabeth Crowley for denouncing a piece of hate mail.

Bloomberg is on this blogger’s short list of V.P. candidates.

The Washington Post editorial board doesn’t like the Time magazine list of influential people, and asks, ‘Why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the list? Most of the world's people don't live in New York City, though on Friday afternoons while trying to escape by plane or car it sometimes seems they do. Maybe he is influential because of the high taxes and tolls over which he presides.”

And Mike Barbaro has a dispatch from his trip to Ireland with Michael Bloomberg, Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson.

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. "I have to write a letter to Fosella saying the delegation wants to express its sympathies during this period of your life and move on." Rangel said that none of the delegation was pressing him to step down. "I'm writing it now, from the delegation. He's a member of our delegation and we feel for his family and that is all we can do."

He then said that Republicans were "dropping off, people are quitting, they have given up."

Weirdly few event listings today; if you have anything to add, please do so in the comments section.

9 a.m. As part of "Million Trees," Citi Cards, with 40 company volunteers, plant trees; Thomas Jefferson Park, 114th Street and Pleasant Avenue.

5:15 p.m. Congressman Edolphus Towns holds news conference to recognize the achievements of the principal and teachers at Bedford Academy High School; Prospect Park Picnic House, 3rd Street and Prospect Park W.

Hillary Clinton send a "personal" letter to Barack Obama about the Florida and Michigan delegates.

Obama calls comments John McCain made about Obama and Hamas "offensive."

Obama, who happens to have the ability to raise nearly limitless amounts of money in small increments, floats the Rasiej-esque idea of voluntarily capping the size of his contributions in the general.

Maybe Harvey Weinstein really is strong-arming Nancy Pelosi.

Obama took a North Carolina superdelegate after a meeting in Washington.

On Vito Fossella, Elana Schor of The Guardian writes, “A bad year for the Republican party got worse today.”

The Los Angeles Times blog is also watching Fossella.

Real Clear Politics accesses the race for Fossella’s seat, and says Democrats may consider candidates other than Steve Harrison and Domenic Recchia.

Commenter Clutchkill, on the ABC News web site, wonders if this will get as much coverage as Eliot Spitzer’s scandal.

Gail Robinson of Gotham Gazette says, “[T]hanks to the congressman and his wife for sparing us the 'stand by your man' news conference—at least for now.”

Intern Em Whitney reports that last night, Bill de Blasio brought the city to Gowanus.

The federal study of Newtown Creek might get more money.

The Economist considers Harlem charter schools.

Richard Gottfried and Richard Brodsky do not want the Moynihan Station project to be moved under the control of Port Authority.

The developer for the West Side Rail Yards project missed the deadline again.

Harper’s does a sort of unbelievable Silda-and-Eliot-inspired photo spread.

The Gotbaums sue Phoenix.

Sewell Chan reports from David Paterson's meeting with Al Sharpton and the Bell family.

Paterson is skipping a Marty Connor fund-raiser.

Roberta McCain stars in her son's new ad.

It seems like New York Times reporter Mike Barbaro is already starting his stint on the City Hall beat [added].

And pictured above is a new ad from the Working Families Party, which would probably like to add Vito Fossella to the list of retiring New York Republican members of Congress.

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 »

In the latest in a string of outer-borough events, one of which recently took Scott Stringer to Queens, today the Manhattan borough president was in Brooklyn filming an appearance on Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT), a public affairs channel that serves viewers outside Stringer's home turf.

Stringer is in his first term in office, but it's widely speculated that he will make a citywide bid next year. Before winning a crowded race for borough president, Stringer had run unsuccessfully for public advocate.

Stringer spokeswoman Carmen Boon emails:

“The Borough President was invited by Assembly Member Cymbrowitz to participate in his program 'Local Perspectives' on BCAT to talk about citywide issues including go green initiative, borough construction watch and construction safety and school overcrowding report along with community board reform. From time to time this kind of exchange helps the discussion of issues that are important all over the city."

Hillary Clinton just sent a formal public letter to Barack Obama calling on him to work to find a resolution to the Florida and Michigan question that reflects the votes in those states and seats their delegations at the convention. She also attempts to shame him for what she calls his failure to "support those efforts" in Michigan, and for the Obama campaign's opposition to revotes in Florida. "In Florida a number of revote options were proposed. I am not aware of any that you supported," she writes.

As pointed out in a conference call yesterday, it is not clear that the Clinton campaign picks up enough support to change their dire position even if both states are counted. But as long as the Obama campaign doesn't budge, it's a talking point for the Clinton campaign.

Here's the letter:  read more »

I just asked Hillary Clinton's finance chair Hassan Nemazee about accounts from other Clinton donors of Obama bundlers contacting them about the possibility of coming over to the campaign.

"There is only one instance that I know of in which a Clinton donor went over to the Obama campaign," said Nemazee. "I remain convinced, until shown otherwise, that donors, be they in New York or elsewhere, are sticking with Hillary and the campaign."

He added, "I would like, in my role, to hopefully be welcoming the Obama people over to Hillary Clinton's campaign. But obviously, we're at a point in the campaign where both common sense and the political reality is indicating that that's not one of my priorities at the moment. What I can say is, if I were the national finance chair of the presumed nominee, I would do everything in my power to welcome supporters of the opposing side into the campaign as much as possible."

He said that he had in fact done as much when he was in a similar position.  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.”

Camara made the comment after Liz and I approached him outside of City Hall, where he was just now attending a rally opposing a homeless shelter in Brooklyn. Camara’s case is among those being cited in recent stories about Vito Fossella’s D.U.I. arrest in Virginia on May 1.

“One thing we’re trying to get through is the fact that the one objective piece of evidence they had on me was destroyed,” Camara said. “I’m still going through the legal process, and in due time, I’ll talk in more detail about it.”

He went to say the charges against him are “bogus.”

A spokesperson for the Albany County District Attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Another lawmaker, State Senator John Sabini of Queens, pleaded guilty to a D.U.I. charge earlier this year.

Here's the invitation to Monday's fund-raiser for possible Manhattan District Attorney candidate Cyrus Vance, Jr.

The event, which was reported by Crain's Insider, is being organized by Linda Fairstein, a former aide to the current Manhattan D.A., Robert Morgenthau.

Vance has said he is not trying to unseat Morgenthau, and will only run if the position is vacated; Morgenthau has said he plans to seek reelection when his current term expires in 2009.

Vance is working with Cindy Darrison, who was a key fund-raiser for Eliot Spitzer and is now helping David Paterson.

On the House floor today, Clinton superdelegate Yvette Clark of Brooklyn asked Barack Obama to sign her copy of the Daily News. [Ben]

The Clinton campaign is reportedly in a lot of debt. [Political Wire]

John Riley thinks there is more vetting of Clinton to be done. [Spin Cycle]

House Republican leader John Boehner tells Vito Fossella to think about his next move over the weekend. [The Crypt]

Nick Spano is not going to try to get his old State Senate seat back. [Liz]

Andrew Cuomo gets his first big settlement. [Capitol Confidential]

Cindy McCain will never, ever release her tax returns. [AP]

Is Harvey Weinstein strong-arming Nancy Pelosi? [CNN]

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.)

"So for those reasons, Vito may decide he doesn't want to put Staten Island, and his family, through this," he said.

A sample of some other reaction to the announcement:

Radar says it's all over for Fossella.

Fox News does not go that far.

Erik Engquist notes that Fossella’s initial story evolved.

Staten Island Advance readers react harshly.

Domenic Recchia, one of Fossella’s Democratic challengers, was not immediately available for comment, and a spokesman for Steve Harrison, the other Democratic challenger, declined to comment.

So there may be a little less at stake now for the officials girding for the opportunity to succeed Upper East Side-based Representative Carolyn Maloney. That unofficial mini-contest, of course, was contingent on Hillary Clinton having a chance of becoming president, and on Maloney having a chance of taking Clinton's place in the Senate.

But at least one of the congresswoman's would-be heirs is going to be ready whenever the possibility does arise of moving up in Maloney World.

In an e-mail exchange between Assemblyman Jonathan Bing and Democratic operative Allan Roskoff, which was forwarded to me earlier this week by a reader who wasn't part of the exchange, Bing wrote that he was going to show up and speak at a particular meeting of a political club “because Maloney is speaking there at the same time and I like to appear in as many places as possible as her right hand guy.”

It's a strategy that makes sense, and which has doubtless occurred to local officials other than Bing, given Maloney's track record of helping allies get elected.

If and when the 15-year incumbent decides to move on, other possible candidates include State Senator Liz Krueger, City Council members Dan Garodnick and Jessica Lappin (a former adviser to ex-Maloney staffer Gifford Miller) and, assuming the vacancy doesn't come up anytime too soon, freshly elected Assemblyman (and former Maloney aide) Micah Kellner.

Hillary Clinton has begun to ask her influential backers to be in Washington on May 14 for a meeting at her home, according to a major fund-raiser. Separately, the fund-raiser said, Bill Clinton will be speaking with top donors this afternoon on a conference call.

Steve Kornacki takes issue with Terry McAuliffe’s Clinton analogies.