Some Resistance in S.I.: De Blasio Urged To Challenge Fossella

Some Resistance in S.I.
De Blasio Urged To Challenge Fossella

By HOWARD MEGDAL

Brooklyn City Councilman Bill de Blasio's announcement that he is considering a challenge to Republican Congressman Vito Fossella, while praised by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, does not assure him the inside track on his party's nomination in what looms as an underdog run.

BILL DE BLASIO: D.C. on his mind. Mr. Fossella's large war chest and his residency in Staten Island, which comprises the vast majority of the 13th Congressional District, along with objections from some Democrats who see Mr. de Blasio as an interloper (he does not even live in the district) threaten to undermine the Councilman's chances.

'A Serious Look'

"Because I believe this is a critical time to have Democratic leadership we can trust in Washington, I am taking a serious look at this race, " Mr. de Blasio said in a March 20 e-mail to supporters. "I share the views of so many of you who feel that our nation's Republican leadership, which is at best incompetent and at worst corrupt, is taking our country in the wrong direction. Mr. Fossella has an egregious record of siding with George Bush, Dick Cheney and Tom DeLay against the interests of New York's working families."

Mr. Fossella's spokesman, Craig Donner, referred to Mr. de Blasio as "ultraliberal" and said the Councilman was treating the district as "a consolation prize," referring to Mr. de Blasio's failure to become Council Speaker.

But the Democratic campaign committee, buoyed by generic-ballot polling indicating a national preference for the party in congressional races, as well as an increasing number of incumbent GOP representatives' retirements, views Mr. de Blasio, a former Dinkins administration staffer who managed Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate campaign in 2000, as part of the strategy to take control of the House.

VITO FOSSELLA: Bush ties could hurt. "

We feel that Fossella has proven to be a rubber stamp for the misguided agenda of the Bush administration," DCCC spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a March 23 phone interview. "We are certainly interested in the possible candidacy of Bill de Blasio."

But many Staten Island Democrats are not ready to jump ship on Brooklyn lawyer Steven Harrison, who won the endorsement of the party's executive committee earlier this year.

"We had a process in place for more than a year to interview interested candidates," Assemblyman John W. Lavelle, the Staten Island Democratic chairman, told the New York Times. "I think highly of Bill de Blasio, but this has come long after that process. We have a candidate, and he is who I'll be supporting."

National Funding Help

It is unlikely, however, that Mr. Harrison can match the financial firepower of a de Blasio candidacy, a vital factor against Mr. Fossella, who had $573,010 in cash on hand through the end of 2005. Mr. Harrison has yet to file a disclosure report with the Federal Election Commission.

The support of the DCCC often has its advantages when that group earmarks funds for 2006 races. The DCCC has $15.7 million on hand as of Jan. 31, according to its most recent filing with the FEC. While Mr. de Blasio does not live in the district, which covers a sliver of Brooklyn and a wide swath of Staten Island, that is not a legal roadblock. Candidates must merely live in New York State in order to run for any congressional seat.

However, Mr. Fossella is likely to use Mr. de Blasio's residence in another district - currently represented by Rep. Major Owens - against him should he choose to run.

Mr. Fossella was first elected in the 1997 special election to replace Susan Molinari, who left the House to become a TV commentator. He won re-election most recently in 2004 by besting retired State Supreme Court Justice and former Assemblyman Frank J. Barbaro, 59 percent to 41 percent, while outspending Mr. Barbaro by better than 3-to-1.