Republicans Pick a Party Rebel to Run for Fossella’s Seat (NY-13)

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, former Assemblyman Robert A. Straniere was endorsed for Congress last night by the Staten Island Republican Party. That backing comes just four years after Mr. Straniere, then a 24-year incumbent, was defeated in a tense Republican primary and shunned by many of the island’s officials.

Mr. Straniere is running for the seat in Congress now held by Representative Vito J. Fossella, a Republican who announced in May that he will not run for re-election this year.

“Bob Straniere is now the candidate of the Richmond County Republican Committee,” said John S. Friscia, the chairman of the party on Staten Island. “He has the following, the name recognition and the verve and the drive.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/nyregion/15staten.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

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Thank You Staten Island Republicans for helping the party come together!

“If Straniere is the nominee, there will be prominent people who will be front and center opposing him,” said Guy V. Molinari, the former Staten Island borough president who spent years building the Republican Party on Staten Island. “This man was a candidate for various offices for 20 years, and he brought nothing but grief to the Republican Party,” he said. “We threw him out of office and got him off of Staten Island. And we don’t want him back.”

oh

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Oh,oh. Food fight brewing in the cafeteria of the mental institution.

:rofl:

[babylonsister]

2. Not to be crude, but at least they found a warm body...

Dead Staten Island Candidate Lives on — at Least on Paper
By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff
July 11, 2008 – 1:41 p.m.


In another bizarre twist to the already confusing contest to replace retiring Rep. Vito J. Fossella , the Staten Island Republican Party has submitted petitions on behalf of the late businessman Frank Powers. Powers’ sudden death on June 22 left the party scrambling for a replacement candidate to run for the only GOP seat in New York City.

Powers was one of five names filed for the Republican primary for the 13th Congressional District, which covers all of Staten Island and the southern tip of Brooklyn. The filing deadline for the primary was midnight Thursday.

The Staten Island Republicans’ efforts to recruit a top-tier candidate failed. Powers wasn’t even their first choice; they courted several higher profile politicians, but all turned down a bid.

The state’s primary is scheduled for Sept. 9, but it is highly unlikely Powers will be on the ballot. The Staten Island Republican Party may be able to substitute another candidate to run in Powers’ stead. Each nominating petition designates a committee to select someone to run if the candidate dies or declines to run. Powers did just that: his “committee to fill vacancies” included Staten Island GOP board members Anthony C. Xanthaki and Lori A Ceciliani and three other Staten Islanders active in the borough’s politics.

But Powers died well before the official filing period, July 7-10. So no one seems to know whether the committee can pick someone to replace Powers on the primary ballot.

more...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002915616

[SpiralHawk]

3. Is he running on the standard republicon Diaper & Torture platform?

Or is he a maverick taking a Wide Stance on republicon 'Family Values'?

[nedbal]

4. My name is Steve Harrison and I am a Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress in New York's 13th

http://www.steveharrisonforcongress.com/

form an email I received::::

My name is Steve Harrison and I am a Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress in New York's 13th District. I am running a campaign based on progressive values such as:


Supporting the Conyers/Kucinich legislation for Single-Payer Healthcare
Ending the war in Iraq
Protecting our civil liberties by canceling the U.S. Patriot Act
Attaining full marriage equality
Federal funding for stem cell research
Protecting a woman's right to choose
Fighting the threat of global warming
Abolishing the death penalty
Increasing the minimum wage
I am challenging Bush ally, Vito Fossella. Mr. Fossella is the only Republican Congressman to still represent any part of New York City. Blogs and progressive groups from all over the country have gotten involved in this campaign because they have seen how dangerous Vito Fossella is to progressive values. Our campaign has been honored to receive the national endorsement from Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) among other organizations.

We need your help in winning this election. We can't do it without you. Can you make a contribution of $25, $50, or $100? We recently brought on Congressman Kucinich's former Deputy National Campaign Manager as well as other Kucinich organizers to help us in this campaign. I want to join Dennis Kucinich in Congress so I join him in the fight to take back our country.

Together, we can defeat Vito Fossella and his right-wing politics - politics which are out of touch with New Yorkers and Americans. Please click here to make a contribution of $25, $50, or $100. Your contribution will go directly towards electing a progressive Democrat to Congress from the great state of New York. If you have any questions or comments about my campaign, I am happy to address them.



Sincerely,

Steve Harrison
Democratic Congressional Candidate
District 13

p.s. Please signup to volunteer and spread the word about our campaign. This race will come down to the final vote and we can't defeat right-wing politics without your help!

Contribute | Volunteer | Tell a Friend | Contact Us
If you no longer wish to receive emails, please click on the link below.


Paid for by Friends of Stephen Harrison.

[brooklynite]

5. The other candidate is Councilman Michael McMahon...

I know that Harrison is probably more to the likeing of folks here, but DCCC has put McMahon on their Red-to-Blue list, he has the support of most NY elected officials, he's raised $500,000 in his first month campaigning (acknowledgement: includes $250 from me), and he submitted 11,000 petition signatures for the September primary. He's not as liberal as Harrison is, but neither are most voters in Staten Island.

[nedbal]

6. The DCCC may like him, this is from another email I received

Steve Harrison has received a flurry of endorsements recently including a 2800+ person strong independent New York City group that’s part of a national grassroots network founded by Howard Dean. Other recent Harrison endorsements include two African American political leaders, a union president and Staten Island and Brooklyn district leaders.



Democracy for New York City (DFNYC), which is part of a coalition of independent grassroots groups nationwide belonging to the Democracy for America” (DFA) network, has endorsed Harrison with an unprecedented 100 percent of the vote. DFA was founded by Democratic National Committee chair and former presidential candidate Howard Dean and is run by his brother Jim.



Organizer Tracy Denton says her organization will provide troops for Harrison.



"We are very excited to mobilize our volunteer base to help Steve Harrison, a solid Democrat who will not be afraid to stand up on the issues that matter."



She adds “As part of a national network of Democracy for America groups all across the country, we are seeing that voters want to return a Democratic majority to Congress, but not just any Democrats. They want to support Democratic candidates who will be strong enough to do what it takes to end this war in Iraq and bring our troops home. The future looks good for good Democrats like Steve Harrison."



Kelvin Alexander, co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement has endorsed Harrison because he will fight for those who can not fight for themselves.



“Steve has the energy, desire and passion to fight for those left out of by the system.”



Alexander founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement with Eric Adams, now a State Senator, in 1995. Kelvin is Adams’s chief of staff and is a former State Senate and Assembly candidate in Staten Island.



Harrison has recently received the endorsement of another Staten Island African American leader, Debi Rose, past president of the African American Political Association and an Obama delegate. Ms. Rose is a 2009 candidate to replace term limited City Councilman Mike McMahon. Rose came within 170 votes of defeating McMahon in the 2001 primary.



Other recent Harrison endorsements include John Strika, President of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 806, Marc Zink, Staten Island’s 61st Assembly District Leader and Joanne Seminara, 60th Assembly District Leader (Brooklyn/Staten Island).



Harrison says he received these endorsements because of his issue stances.



“I am proud of these endorsements. These groups and individuals endorsed me because of my opposition to the war in Iraq and support for civil liberties protection, universal, single-payer healthcare, a solid energy policy, fair trade, repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations and ethics reform, all of which are in line with the thinking of the majority of Americans.”



Other Harrison endorsements include: The Democratic Advancement Political Action Committee (DAPAC), the Progressive Democrats of America, the Staten Island Democratic Association, the Democratic Organization of Richmond County, the American Heritage Democratic Organization, legendary feminist Gloria Steinem, former judge and Assembly member Frank Barbaro and 60th AD District Leader Ralph Perfetto.

[nedbal]

7. you are correct in "He's not as liberal as Harrison is, but neither are most voters in Staten Island

[Wabbajack_]

9. McMahon is a DINO

with support from the conservative party. We don't need "Democrats" like him in congress.

[brooklynite]

8. UPDATE: Conservative Party says SI GOP is "Rudderless"

from the NY Daily News:

Former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari isn't the only one unhappy with the Staten Islamd GOP's decision to tap former Republican renegade and ex-assemblyman, Bob Straniere, to be the party's designated candidate for retiring Rep. Vito Fossella's seat.

State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long, who lives in the Brooklyn portion of the 13th CD, told me this morning he is "sorely disappointed in every one" of the Staten Island Republicans who "did not have the courage of leadership" to support his preferred candidate: Brooklyn Conservative Paul Atanasio.

Long likened the Staten Island GOP to a "ship out to sea without a captain," adding: "It's rudderless." He said the islanders had rejected Atanasio because he's from Brooklyn, which is a little weird, since Straniere isn't local anymore, either.

Straniere lives in Manhattan and owns a specialty hot dog business not far from City Hall, but has said he'll move home if he wins.