Vito Fossella will retire at end of 110th Congress

[teech]

:ahgg_jerkit:

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.), who recently admitted that he secretly fathered a child with a retired Air Force officer, will leave the House at the end of the 110th Congress, according to a statement he released tonight.
Fossella's retirement puts another GOP-controlled seat in play for November, and it means there could be no New York City-based Republicans in the House come the start of the 111th Congress.
Fossella was arrested on May 1 on a drunk-driving charge in Alexandria, Va. The arrest led to the disclosure that the New York Republican had fathered an out-of-wedlock child with Laura Fay. Fossella is married with three other children.
The five-term lawmaker had made some signs that he was considering a run for another term, including appearances at several Staten Island political events over the weekend.
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[dr.strangelove]

:ahgg_jerkit:

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.), who recently admitted that he secretly fathered a child with a retired Air Force officer, will leave the House at the end of the 110th Congress, according to a statement he released tonight.
Fossella's retirement puts another GOP-controlled seat in play for November, and it means there could be no New York City-based Republicans in the House come the start of the 111th Congress.
Fossella was arrested on May 1 on a drunk-driving charge in Alexandria, Va. The arrest led to the disclosure that the New York Republican had fathered an out-of-wedlock child with Laura Fay. Fossella is married with three other children.
The five-term lawmaker had made some signs that he was considering a run for another term, including appearances at several Staten Island political events over the weekend.
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

This will be a VERY hard seat to win. Its a battle worth fighting though. The Staten Island repuke party, with the Molinary family running the show, is extremely well financed and powerful. This is "their" seat and it will have to be taken from them. If no one else steps up, I would not be surprised to see Susan Molinary try to win back the seat she held for several years, but the rumor has been that she wants to run for mayor after Bloomberg leaves office.

Staten Island is a strange place politically. Although registered dems outnumber repukes by a pretty good margin, its been a republican stronghold on national and statewide elections for years. Clinton carried it in 1996, but I don't think any other Dem POTUS has carried it in the last 40 years. Since this is a POTUS year, that means Obama will probably have a big part in this. A strong candidate can win this seat. A public visit with Obama and the House candidate will be a good idea once the campaign gets going. I think this is the best chance to win the last republican House seat left in NYC we've had in years. I'll make sure my mom votes for the dem candidate. So that is one vote in the books.