Domenic Recchia, go home.
Brooklyn City Councilman Domenic Recchia has been making the rounds on Staten Island in recent weeks. Some speculated that the Daily News Knucklehead award winner( http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2006/12/26/2006-12-26_how_stupid_can...) was visiting the forgotten borough because he was seeking citywide office. Others correctly speculated that he was contemplating running a primary against Steve Harrison for the right to attempt to unseat Vito Fossella, New York City’s only Republican member of Congress, who represents all of Staten Island and a portion of Brooklyn. Crain’s and the Staten Island Advance confirmed his potentially disastrous for those wanting to Veto Vito, ambitions.
Brooklyn attorney Harrison ran a gallant campaign last year, losing by a smaller percentage of the vote than any of Fossella’s opponents since he supplanted the Molinari dynasty in 1997. Harrison accomplished this despite being out spent 12-1 by Fossella, largely because people like Recchia, who represents a tiny portion of the Congressional District in the Council, did squat for Steve.
Harrison has not formally announced his repeat candidacy yet, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he’s likely to run based on his ubiquitous presence on Staten Island since the election. He also couldn’t announce because of party chair John Lavelle’s death and three first quarter 2007 special elections in Staten Island.
A primary would freeze fund raising, as did the talk of Councilman Bill de Blasio seeking the seat last year. Bill wisely reconsidered, when he realized he couldn’t win a district that he neither lived in nor represented a single person. But the damage was done. Harrison entered the Congressional race late, after all the usual suspects on Staten Island decided not to risk safe seats, and wasn’t legally allowed to raise money until March. Shortly after he was eligible to raise funds, de Blasio’s speculation severely curtailed Harrison’s ability to solicit contributions. This made it impossible for any non-incumbent without a Bloomberg level fortune to raise the initial $250,000 the DCCC required by its unfair June 2006 deadline to be taken seriously.
Recchia has no Staten Island base and Brooklyn support in the district limited to Gravesend. Harrison on the other hand won Staten Island’ s North Shore against Fossella and performed better than any other Democrat has in recent memory on the South Shore. Harrison won most of the Brooklyn portion of the district, but lost the overall borough vote to Fossella because Recchia failed to deliver Gravesend.
Recchia will lose to Harrison in a primary and can not beat Fossella in November 2008.
Recchia needs a job in 09 because of term limits, but don’t feel sorry for him. While serving in the City Council he earns 250 K as a part time lawyer in addition to his taxpayer funded salary.
Azi mentions in the Politiker that Fossella may seek the Republican Mayoral nomination in 2009. (http://thepoliticker.observer.com/2007/04/elsewhere-giuliani-fossella-as...). Perhaps Fossella promised him something in his administration if he derails Harrison.
