Vito Fossella

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:
 read more »

 read more »

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 »

 read more »

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 »

 read more »

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.
 read more »

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 »

Congressmen Vito Fossella, Tom Reynolds and Randy Kuhl are undecided about the resolution opposing a troop surge in Iraq.

Tom DiNapoli was the recipient of some Suspicious white powder.

Former CIA Director George Tenet has a book due out this spring.

Eliot Spitzer showed a kinder, gentler side during a budget tour near Albany.

Michael Bloomberg wants more federal money for victims of September 11th.

Praise for Assembly Republicans, courtesy of The Brennan Center.

Newly elected state Senator Craig Johnson is on the environment, ethics and local government committees.

Does Rudy Giuliani care more about global warming than Al Gore?

JP, writing on Room 8, says today's Q poll about Eliot Spitzer is worthless.

Paris has a plan to reduce traffic 40 percent by 2020.

Chuck Bennett has a map of where exactly the 2nd Avenue subway line will go.

Even 7-year-olds are talking about the 2008 race.

And pictured above is the book Spitzer brought, and autographed for the newborn baby girl of Tom and Jackie Casey, whose home he and dozens of reporters invaded to witness a talk about the budget.

-- Azi Paybarah

The city's two indicted elected officials had a great night at the ballot. State Senator Efrain Gonzalez of the Bronx and Assemblywoman Diane Gordon of Brooklyn both won landslide re-elections with 93% of the vote.

Democrat Janele Heyer-Spencer won the Brooklyn/Staten Island seat of retiring Republican Assemblyman Matthew Mirones 51% to 48%.

As for Rep. Vito Fossella, the worst may be over.

His challenger, Steve Harrison, got 43.29% of the vote, better than any Democrat has ever done against Fossella, the only Republican in the city's congressional delegation. But Fossella's next election is in a presidential year. In the last presidential election, the district went for George Bush by about 10%, and Fossella's Democratic opponent only ran percent ahead of the Democratic ticket there.

And in Queens, the Republican County chairman, Serph Maltese, won re-election by about 800 votes against Democrat Albert Baldeo, who earned some notoriety when he got arrested for allegedly waving a gun at his opponent's wife when he ran for the City Council.

-- Azi Paybarah

While we wait for numbers to trickle in, here is one way to redefine victory in one interesting race.

In New York's 13th congressional district, the often-overlooked Democrat Stephen Harrison is challenging Vito Fossella, and with basically no support from the state or national parties, Harrison may have a shot at breaking 41percent.

It would be the most any Democratic challenger has gotten against Fossella. So at the very least, he'd be able to make the case for being the guy again in 2008.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's a rather reserved 30-second robo-call Hillary Clinton recorded for Steve Harrison, the Democrat running against Rep. Vito Fossella in New York's 13th congressional district in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

"I'm proud to be supporting Steve Harrison, a long-time community activist and leader. New York needs congressmen like Steve to take on the challenges we face in health care and education and to ensure that New York gets its fair share from Washington."

She's doing her part for Harrison, certainly, although she doesn't sound particularly anxious to attack a Republican incumbent she obviously gets along with .

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's a video of Vito Fossella's speech from his fund-raiser from this Sunday on Staten Island [courtesy of Urban Elephants]. Fossella's focus is on Sept. 11, and more specifically, the changes that need to happen because of that day.

Some people, he said, want to "jump through hoops" to give suspected terrorists "more rights. I say send them back to where ever they came from." (Around 2:50 into the video.)

During that speech, I was sitting in the back of the room surrounded by tables full of Indian, Patakistani and other Asian supporters. While the mostly white crowd at the front of the room seemed to like the tough talk about terrorism suspects well enough, none of the people around me were applauding.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's Vito Fossella's latest television ad, making neat use of split-screen technology. In portion, there's an African-American man wearing an easy-to-read NYPD hat, looking straight into the camera. In another, there's a shot of Fossella walking with Mike Bloomberg.

On Saturday, remember, Congressional Quarterly had mixed news for Fossella.

"Conservative-leaning Staten Island and the lack of financial resources for Democratic lawyer Steve Harrison makes Fossella a solid favorite for a fifth term. But Fossella's own strategy, including a heavily negative campaign, suggests that New York City's only House Republican doesn't feel totally safe."

In contrast with the happy split-screen, this ad may or may not be part of that "heavily negative campaign," but my guess is that anybody who speaks Russian will think so.

-- Azi Paybarah

Ned Lamont returns to the issue of the Iraq War in his race against Joe Lieberman.

Bill Clinton said his wife's senate office had become the "de facto" governor's office because the current governor wasn't doing enough for New Yorkers.

Andrew Cuomo's victory on election night could be considered a comeback of sorts for his dad, who helped out behind the scenes.

The retired police officers who make up Alan Hevesi's 6-man security detail have special permission to collect their pensions while also collecting a salary from the state.

Hevesi collected $100,000 in contributions from companies that do business with his office.

State police may have improperly withheld information from a reporter about a police incident at the home of Republican congressman John Sweeney [second item].

Mike Bloomberg said there may not be room for an independent candidate in 2008.

The Post editors endorse four Republicans for congress: Peter King, John Sweeney, Sue Kelley and Vito Fossella.

Errol Louis writes that Democrats may be surprised by how well Democratic challenger Steve Harrison is doing against Fossella.

John Faso plans to spend election night in Albany, which leads some to think he's already expecting a defeat.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly opens up about what he reads to help lower crime.

Fred Siegel writes that France today is a lot like New York City before Rudy Giuliani.

And John Edwards lays out a plan to help Uganda.

-- Azi Paybarah

At an event yesterday at which Christopher Callaghan was endorsed by Staten Island Republicans, most of the officials focused on Callaghan's discovery of Alan Hevesi's chauffeur scandal.

Most of them.

When Rep. Vito Fossella endorsed Chris Callaghan, the congressman, who a few months ago was found to have misused campaign funds on ski trips for his family, made no mention of Hevesi or the scandal that is ostensibly giving Callaghan a fighting chance on Election Night.

When I asked Fossella afterwards if he, like most of the speakers there, thought that Hevesi should be removed, he said, "I think the purpose here is to say Chris Callaghan will bring a much-needed dose of good government. From what I've seen, I'm hard pressed to see how he can stick around."

Later, I asked Fossella if his own situation had been at all similar to Hevesi's.

Fossella: "No."

Me: What's the difference?

Fossella: "We complied with all the letters of the law and we're fine with it."

The Chairman of the Brooklyn Republican organization, who had said that anybody who did what Hevesi did should be led out in "handcuffs and chains," said he had never heard of Fossella's transgression. (And didn't he didn't seem too interested in the details when I spoke to him.)

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is an unusual piece of literature from Rep. Vito Fossella's campaign, which features the image of Osama Bin Laden.

Next to the phrase "Steve Harrison opposes key tools in the war on terrorism" is a headshot of Bin Laden, somebody the Republican Party hasn't been very keen on mentioning lately.

The strategy for most Republicans this year has been to focus on local issues - like Tom Reynolds and the snow storm in Buffalo. Fossella, then, is that rarest of Republicans who appears to be trying to nationalize his race in what is expected to be a pretty dismal year for the GOP.  read more »

(Note the kicker: "Steve Harrison: Wacky Ideas...Wrong for Staten Island.")

Note: This piece of literature also got some attention here. -- Azi Paybarah

Writing in the comments section on Urban Elephants, Forgotten Man wonders, "Is Eliot Spitzer that good or are Republicans that bad?"

Ben has some deep thoughts relating Rupert Murdoch, and sees proof that Bloomberg 2008 is getting more serious.

In the state's most hotly contest legislative race, Empire State Pride Agenda endorsed Republican state Senator Nick Spano over Democratic challenger Andrea-Stewart Cousins. But Liz notes that both "declined to answer a question about the organization's top litmus test - support for legalizing gay marriage."

NY13 blogger notes that the head of the British