Tag: NY-13

From WNBC New York:

Several top New York Republicans said that Congressman Vito Fossella’s resignation will come within the next 72 hours — if not late Friday then certainly by Monday.

There was political concern about how best to preserve the seat for the Republicans — questions about immediate resignation versus finishing out his term and retiring — but the calculation is there’s nothing to be gained from Fossella sticking around. While Staten Island Republicans believe Fossella could at least serve out his term (the rest of the year) national Republicans want him gone. Now.

[…] Smart strategists say watch for something later this afternoon (rule: dump bad news on Friday afternoons when news consumption is low and so it will end up in the lesser-read Saturday newspapers) but a New York Republican keeping a close eye on all this says Fossella’s decision may not come until Monday.

Stay tuned.

As we explained earlier:

If Fossella should resign before July 1st, Gov. Paterson has the option of calling a special election, or he could leave the seat vacant until the next Congress.  But if Fossella resigns, and if Paterson calls a special election here, there would be no primary.  In what would amount to one of the biggest backroom deals in recent political memory in NYC, party leaders would designate the nominees.

This could allow Dems to upgrade their candidate from the current field (Brooklyn attorney Stephen Harrison and Coney Island city councilman Domenic Recchia, who has yet to officially launch his campaign).  As the man says: Stay tuned.

(H/T: RandySF)

It’s over for Vito Fossella and the NY-13 is about to be open to a special election, according to WNBC.

Several top New York Republicans said that Congressman Vito Fossella’s resignation will come within the next 72 hours — if not late Friday then certainly by Monday.

There was political concern about how best to preserve the seat for the Republicans — questions about immediate resignation versus finishing out his term and retiring — but the calculation is there’s nothing to be gained from Fossella sticking around. While Staten Island Republicans believe Fossella could at least serve out his term (the rest of the year) national Republicans want him gone. Now.

The Democratic lead in the House has been growing since the dramatic 2006 election results and 2008 looks increasingly difficult for the GOP. Twenty -seven incumbent Republican House members are retiring this year including two in New York State and two in New Jersey. By historical standards that is a huge number and it’s significant because open seats are relatively rare and present the best opportunity for either party to flip seats. Republican seats in the Northeast are at the most risk since the region has turned pretty reliably Democratic in this decade.

Battlestations, everyone. We better recruit and get in gear to make make New york City 100% blue.

[UPDATE]

This may be an indicator

Embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) will not have to appear in an Alexandria, Va., court on Monday to answer charges stemming from his drunken driving arrest last week because his attorney has already waived his right for a preliminary hearing and scheduled a trial date, a court official said Friday.

Fossella’s trial has been set for June 26.

Events are moving swiftly but I’ll do my best to keep up.

Well, it looks like Vito Fossella isn’t going to be receiving the David Vitter treatment anytime soon.

From the Staten Island Advance:

Vito Fossella’s well-deserved shame at being arrested for driving while intoxicated last week evolved rapidly in the interim into abject disgrace.

Because of that moral descent, and the distractions and ugly controversy all of it brings, he should resign from his seat in the House of Representatives.

And he should do so immediately.

Far too much damage has been done to his personal reputation and credibility at this point for him to recover and be an effective public servant.

And there is too much potential for pointless and endlessly embarrassing digressions into this scandal if he chooses to stay in public life.

The New York Post:

That Fossella betrayed his wife and family is between him and them. But his betrayal of his constituents was only marginally less egregious.

Vito Fossella needs to just go away.

Now.

The New York Daily News:

The facts are the facts. Fossella has admitted he was plastered. According to prosecutors, the law calls for a mandatory five days behind bars. It’s time for Fossella to be fully accountable.

Get thee to jail, congressman.

(Big hat-tip to Phillip)

Repubican House “leadership” have told Vito Fossella that he has until Monday to decide what he wants to do with his future, and according to the New York Daily News running for re-election is not among his options.

GOP leaders gave him until Monday to decide if he was going to step down immediately or retire at the end of his term. “Mr. Fossella is going to have some decisions to make over the weekend,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Republican leaders have “lost all faith” in him and are casting around for a successor for the seat the GOP has held for three decades. Leading candidates include state Sen. Andrew Lanza and Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan.

Political observers said his once-promising political career is over. “He’s politically dead. The only thing that hasn’t happened is the autopsy report hasn’t been written,” said political science Prof. Doug Muzzio of Baruch College.

I have said this before and I will say it again. His “second family” issues are not an issue for me. We all do things that complicate our lives. And to Fossella’s credit, it appears that he is making every effort to be in the child’s life. However, the drinking, driving AND abusive behavior to police is a different matter. Is it all bad enough to lose a careers over? I don’t know. He’s not the first member to drive while impaired. But Republicans, having suffered one scandal after another, decided they cannot afford to have him hang around. It’s over for Vito Fossella

I’ll be up front when I say that I don’t know much about NYC-area politicos beyond Mayor and Congress, but the NY Daily News is reporting that the DCCC is recruiting Assemblyman Mike Cusick to run for what is likely to be an open NY-13 seat.

Crain’s reported this morning that the DCCC has been calling Assemblyman Mike Cusick in hopes of coaxing him into the race. Certain Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are floating Sen. Diane Savino’s name.

Here is what little I could find about Cusick.

Cusick is the son of late New York State Supreme Court Justice Peter P. Cusick and Miriam Cusick and has been a lifelong resident of Staten Island (he currently lives in Silver Lake, Staten Island). He has two brothers.

Shortly after graduating from Villanova University in 1991, Cusick began his career as a Special Assistant to former President of the City Council Andrew J. Stein. He served as the office representative for the Borough of Staten Island and worked on issues regarding incineration and waste management alternatives.

Prior to his 2002 election, Cusick served as the Chief of Staff to former Staten Island Assemblyman Eric N. Vitaliano, managing staff and overseeing the assemblyman’s Albany and Staten Island offices. He was instrumental in researching and developing statewide legislation, including the law to close the Fresh Kills Landfill. Cusick was also Vitaliano’s representative to local and statewide civic, professional, and union organizations on legislative and community issues.

Cusick then served as Director of Constituent Services for U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. His duties included serving as Senator Schumer’s liaison to New York State elected officials, as well as various federal agencies. In addition, he managed the day-to-day operation of the senator’s New York City office.

Well, based on his background, I don’t think raising money would be a problem for him. What does everyone think?

From the NY Daily News Blog:

National Republican leaders have “lost all faith” in Rep. Vito Fossella and are poised to begin polling in the 13th CD on potential candidates to take his place on the ballot, despite the fact that he has yet to make a definitive statement about his future political plans.

The poll could start as early as today, according to a Washington GOP source, and will likely include at least two names: Sen. Andrew Lanza and Staten Island DA Dan Donovan.

Another national GOP source said Fossella’s fellow House minority members were “shocked” to learn of his “double life,” and his admission that he fathered a child out of wedlock with retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Laura Fay.

While the Democratic field for this seat includes Brooklynites Stephen Harrison and Domenic Recchia, national Democrats may be looking for an upgrade:

Crain’s reported this morning that the DCCC has been calling Assemblyman Mike Cusick in hopes of coaxing him into the race. Certain Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are floating Sen. Diane Savino’s name.

Cusick hails from Staten, so he’s probably the best bet here.  Savino’s seat is too precious for Senate Democrats, who need two pick-ups this fall in order to take the majority.

Via the NYT, a statement from Vito Fossella:

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. Over the coming weeks and months, I will to continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused.

Still no official word yet on whether he will resign or retire, as is widely expected.

On the web: Vino Fossella

Update (James): John Boehner is asking Fossella to make a decision on his political future over the weekend.  Will Fossella bother to follow the hapless Boehner’s timetable?  Remember, Rick Renzi flipped the bird to Boehner when he asked the embattled Arizona incumbent to step down earlier this year.

In the wake of a red-hot extramarital scandal, the Washington Post’s Mary Ann Akers picks up the inside buzz that this term will be Staten Island Republican Vito Fossella’s last:

The consensus on Capitol Hill is: Vito is finito.

The clock is ticking on Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) — or “Vino” Fossella, as the New York tabloids have taken to calling him — who is battling not just drunken driving charges but much more personally scandalous allegations that could damage his party’s prospects in the November congressional elections.

GOP political insiders say Fossella, whose blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit when he was busted at 12:15 a.m. last Thursday, stands little chance of running for reelection at this point, and their Democratic counterparts agree. Buzz on the Hill and around town Wednesday was that Fossella would be announcing sooner rather than later that he won’t seek another term in what has quickly become a hotly contested seat for embattled Republicans. Fossella was not voting in the House Wednesday. […]

GOP aides speaking on the condition of anonymity said they expected Fossella would announce imminently that he won’t seek reelection. But Fossella spokesman Craig Donner tells the Sleuth that no announcement or press conference is planned.

The last thing that the GOP needs is an open seat battle in this D+0.8 district.  On both a macro and a micro level, this year is shaping up to be a major disaster for the GOP.

(H/T: RandySF)

The Washington Post blog is running with a report that Vito Fossella will not seek re-election.

GOP aides speaking on the condition of anonymity said they expected Fossella would announce imminently that he won’t seek reelection. But Fossella spokesman Craig Donner tells the Sleuth that no announcement or press conference is planned.

It looks to me like national Republicans are doing what they can to push him out sooner rather than later. In any case, he is damaged goods and they are looking to make a fresh start. We are going to have an open seat on our hands and we better recruit vert quickly.

Vito Fossella may have been able to survive his recent DWI arrest, but can he survive the upcoming sex scandal?

On the night of Fossella’s arrest, the congressman called on a “very good friend“, a former intelligence officer at the Pentagon, to pick him up from jail:

Fossella, according to a police report, said he was rushing to see his “sick daughter” and take her to the hospital. But, the Republican lawmaker, allegedly blew a 0.17 into the officer’s Breathalyzer – twice the legal limit – and was hauled off to jail.

A few hours later, Fossella called Fay to sign him out of jail.

When asked whether Fay’s 3-year-old was the same girl Fossella had to take to the hospital, his spokeswoman declined to comment.

“That is a demeaning and highly inappropriate question that does not deserve an answer,” said Susan Del Percio, a high-priced public-relations crisis consultant.

Roll Call has more:

But despite the display of normalcy in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, rumors were swirling behind the scenes that the 43-year-old Congressman might not be able to survive the spate of embarrassing headlines that have blared from New York newspapers since his arrest. […]

Privately, however, political leaders and operatives on both sides of the aisle were beginning to express doubt that Fossella can serve out the remainder of his term – let alone remain politically viable in November.

“I think the realization is beginning to sink in that he can’t last,” said one Washington, D.C., Republican. […]

[A] New York-based GOP consultant who did not want to be named said some Republican insiders have been advised not to defend Fossella too aggressively, for fear that it could hurt the party’s efforts to hold his seat if he chooses to resign or retire.

Already names are floating of possible Republican contenders for Fossella’s seat, such as state Sen. Andrew Lanza and City Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio. All are relatively young and quite popular.

Both parties are nervously considering the possibility that a quick Fossella resignation will force a special election to replace him.

If Fossella should resign before July 1st, Gov. Paterson has the option of calling a special election, or he could leave the seat vacant until the next Congress.  But if Fossella resigns, and if Paterson calls a special election here, there would be no primary.  In what would amount to one of the biggest backroom deals in recent political memory in NYC, party leaders would designate the nominees.  And that could spell trouble for current candidates Domenic Recchia and Stephen Harrison:

Although Recchia had more cash on hand than Fossella as of March 31 – $325,000 to $248,000 – his greatest handicap may be the fact he comes from Brooklyn, while most of the Congressional district’s voters are in Staten Island. If there is a special election, it is possible that party leaders from that borough may try to tap one of their own as the nominee – though the top three Democratic elected officials on Staten Island, state Sen. Diane Savino, state Assemblyman Michael Cusick and City Councilman Michael McMahon, have all declined to run against Fossella in the past.

A Fossella resignation would be a once in a lifetime opportunity in this D+0.8 seat.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the whispers continue to intensify over the weeks ahead.