Congressman considering resignation

Usually the subjects of obituaries never have the opportunity to read the recounting of their lives.

Not so with Rep. Vito Fossella. The New York Times published what could amount to be the obituary of the Fort Hamilton Republican's political career on Page 1 of today's Metro Section.

Alan Feuer's piece chronicles Fossella's rise from a city councilman for Staten Island (which encompasses most of his congressional district) to a five-term backbencher whose career is on the rocks after his arrest for driving while intoxicated and subsequent revelation that he fathered a child from an extramarital affair.

WNBC New York published a report Friday that Fossella will resign "very soon," which an unidentified representative for the congressman denied. The Staten Island Advance says "GOP leaders have given Fossella until Monday to make a decision about resignation."

The Advance continues with details that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, tapped Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. to run in the special election to fill Fossella's seat if he resigns. Donovan confirmed to the Advance the GOP leaders contacted him, but he doesn't have plans to run for anything because the seat isn't open.

Whether Fossella resigns this weekend or not, one of his supporters canceled a fund-raiser while the congressman considered his options in his home on Staten Island. (A recent poll showed Fossella's constituents don't want him to resign.)

NY13 Blog, which was launched specifically to push Fossella out of office, has been tracking all of the news coming out of the congressman's DWI arrest May 1 including:

• his recorded 0.17 blood-alcohol level at the time of his arrest after allegedly running a red light in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Alexandria, Va.
  
• his release to the female Air Force colonel he was going to visit
• his admission of fathering a 3-year-old daughter with the colonel and
• that Fossella's politically connected father and uncle funded his secret family
  

After the recent resignation of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, headlines such as this pretty much sums up the growing impression of male NY pols in the blogosphere.

Finally, here's an image you're not likely to see on any GOP literature for campaign contributions this fall.

You guessed it. That's Fossella with then-Rep. Mark Foley in 2006.

Top: Photo of Rep. Vito Fossella provided by the Alexandria (Va.) Sheriff's Office to the Associated Press.

Bottom: Photo of Rep. Vito Fossella, left, and then-Rep. Mark Foley taken Feb. 21, 2006, by J. Pat Carter, Associated Press.

Assemblywoman convicted of corruption

Being indicted for bribery and conspiracy might have sent Democratic state Assemblywoman Diane Gordon to the doghouse in the eyes of her Brownsville constituents in 2006. But, later this year, she might move to the Big House.

A Brooklyn jury Tuesday convicted Gordon, 58, of third-degree bribe-receiving, a similar charge for state legislators and official misconduct. A judge could sentence her to as many as 10 years in prison at a hearing next month.

For now, Gordon's seat will remain vacant until after the November election. (The New York State Assembly quickly removed her page from its Web site, and I updated my list of Brooklyn incumbents below.) According to The New York Sun, Inez Barron, wife of City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brownsville), and Democratic District Leader Earl Williams might run for Gordon's seat.

Back in 2006, The Daily Politics uploaded video (below) that was part of the Brooklyn district attorney's evidence that Gordon solicited bribes from a developer interested in buying land in her district. This week, Gordon's lawyers continued making their argument that the legislator was a victim of entrapment.



Photo of now-former Assemblywoman Diane Gordon distributed by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office through the Associated Press

Congressman attracts attention in '09 mayor's race

Job hunters often hear it's better to look for their next position while they're already holding down a job. The same goes for politicians: It's better to seek an elected office while holding an elected office. Just ask Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Sheepshead Bay) is another follower of that adage. Although the congressman's up for re-election this year, he's been making headlines this month as a candidate for the 2009 mayoral race, including placing second in two polls.

It's hard to blame Weiner for technically running for two offices at the same time. Like 33 other House incumbents, he ran unopposed in 2006. With no one running against him thus far, it looks like Weiner will be able to win a fifth term without breaking a sweat. (New Yorkers have until July 10 to file for candidacy, according to National Journal.)

However, running for New York's next hizzoner will make plenty of beads drop from Weiner's brow. The race has a crowded field of potential candidates, and the congressman isn't leading the pack.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Weiner tied with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for second place in the mayor's race. (Markowitz received the top spot in a February WNBC/Marist poll (PDF) among Democrats.)

In the Quinnipiac poll, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly topped the Brooklyn pols for first, even though Kelly hasn't officially decided whether he's running. (Full results of both polls are listed below.)

Given a recent scuffle Weiner got into with Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his congestion-pricing proposal, it's unlikely the congressman can count on any help from the outgoing mayor.

Via Gothamist (bold not mine):

At a Crain's business breakfast, Bloomberg said, regarding Representative Anthony Weiner's suggestion that congestion pricing would mean less federal funding (did Weiner forget the feds are offering $354 million), "That is one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard said."

To which the congressman responded (via the Daily News' The Daily Politics):

"I'm interested in solutions, not name calling. I respect the Mayor, but I don't think the evidence supports trusting President Bush and his cabinet here. In Washington the Administration tries to cut money to roads and to cut mass transit, and then they come to New York City and say they won't. I'm concerned that New Yorkers will get the short end of the stick."

Weiner recently got some mayoral experience by temporarily filling in for Bloomberg on WABC (770 AM). Morning host Curtis Sliwa interviewed Weiner March 7, teasing the congressman by playing the famous jingle for Oscar Mayer weiners. It wasn't the first time Weiner heard that song.

Via the Staten Island Advance's City Hall Insider:

"Curtis I have heard the last original weiner joke when I was in fifth grade in PS39," Weiner shot back. "You have got to come up with new material."

Quinnipiac University non-partisan poll
Survey of 1,427 registered New York City voters conducted between March 4 and March 10

• Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly - 22%
• Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (D) - 14%
• Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Sheepshead Bay) - 14%
• City Council President Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) - 13%
• Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum (D) - 8%
• City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. (D) - 8%
• Don't know - 21%
  

WNBC/Marist Democratic poll (PDF)
Survey of 649 registered New York City voters conducted between Feb. 18 and Feb. 20

• Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz - 18%
• Rep. Anthony Weiner (Sheepshead Bay) - 13%
• City Council President Christine Quinn (Manhattan) - 11%
• Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum - 9%
• City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. - 9%
• City Councilman Tony Avella (Queens) - 4%
• Unsure - 36%
  

Photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner

UPDATED: Explainer: Who's up for re-election; which pols represent Brooklyn neighborhoods

With the presidential campaign dominating political coverage across the country, it's easy to forget that plenty of local officeholders will also be on the ballot. Although there aren't yet any candidates on the city Board of Elections list for the Sept. 9 primary, Brooklyn voters will have a lot of decisions to make this fall.

Like members of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York's state legislators serve terms of two years and are up for re-election this year. But matching lawmakers with the neighborhoods in their districts isn't easy. Sites maintained by the Congress and the state legislature (linked below) use Zip codes to help voters identify their legislators.

Zip codes and Assembly, congressional and state Senate districts don't often match up, sometimes with a single Zip code producing a laundry list of lawmakers. And maps of the various districts in New York City aren't much help. For example, the site for the state Senate features an interactive map that only helps voters who know their district's number.

Below is a list of Brooklyn neighborhoods and their representatives. I paired legislators with the locations of their district offices, with some exceptions. For example, state Sen. Diane Savino's district office is located on Staten Island, but her district includes Coney Island, Seagate and parts of Sunset Park. Some lawmakers appear multiple times below because they have more than one district office.

To pair legislators with their neighborhoods, I plotted each district office's street address on onNYTurf's subway map and matched the location with the neighborhoods listed on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Brooklyn bus map. I realize this is an inexact method and leaves out many neighborhoods. I welcome arguments for neighborhood corrections in the comments.

House of Representatives (6 members of Congress; 5 Democrats, 1 Republican)

• Bedford-Stuyvesant: Rep. Edolphus Towns (D)
• Brighton Beach: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D)
• Brooklyn Heights: Rep. Edolphus Towns (D)
• Brooklyn Heights: Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D)
• Canarsie: Rep. Edolphus Towns (D)
• Flatbush: Rep. Yvette Clarke (D)
• Fort Hamilton: Rep. Vito Fossella (R)
• Sheepshead Bay: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D)
• Williamsburg: Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D)

New York State Senate (7 senators; 6 Democrats, 1 Republican)

• Bay Ridge: Sen. Martin Golden (R)
• Boerum Hill: Assistant Minority Leader Velmanette Montgomery (D)
• Canarsie: Sen. John Sampson (D)
• Coney Island: Assistant Minority Leader Diane Savino (D)
• East Flatbush: Minority Whip Kevin Parker (D)
• Flatbush: Sen. Eric Adams (D)
• Marine Park: Sen. Martin Golden (R)
• Gravesend: Sen. Carl Kruger (D)
• Seagate: Assistant Minority Leader Diane Savino (D)
• Sunset Park: Assistant Minority Leader Diane Savino (D)

New York State Assembly (21 Assembly members; all Democrats)

• Bath Beach: Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr.
  
• Bay Ridge: Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer
  
• Bedford-Stuyvesant: Assemblywoman Annette Robinson
  
• Bensonhurst: Assemblyman William Colton
  
• Borough Park: Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr.
  
• Borough Park: Deputy Majority Whip Dov Hikind
  
• Brownsville: Assemblywoman Diane Gordon Vacant
  
• Cobble Hill: Assemblywoman Joan Millman
  
• Coney Island: Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny
  
• Crown Heights: Assemblyman Karim Camara
  
• Cypress Hills: Assemblyman Darryl Towns
  
• East Flatbush: Majority Whip N. Nick Perry
  
• Flatbush: Assemblyman James Brennan
  
• Fort Greene: Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries
  
• Fort Hamilton: Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny
  
• Georgetown: Assemblyman Alan Maisel
  
• Midwood: Assistant Speaker Rhoda Jacobs
  
• Ocean Hill: Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.
  
• Park Slope: Assemblyman James Brennan
  
• Sheepshead Bay: Assemblywoman Steven Cymbrowitz
  
• Sheepshead Bay: Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein
  
• Sunset Park: Assemblyman Felix Ortiz
  
• Williamsburg: Assemblyman Joseph Lentol
  
• Williamsburg: Assemblyman Vito Lopez
  

Groomed Assembly candidate sought for Crown Heights seat

This November has potential to be a referendum on Democrats in the 43rd Assembly district after Democratic Assemblyman Karim Camara had his driver’s license suspended for refusing to take a Breathalyzer test last April.

The Crown Heights pol’s arrest for driving while intoxicated near Albany wasn’t exactly the kind of attention Democrats needed. Camara's predecessor, Clarence Norman Jr., was convicted in February 2007 of grand larceny, extortion and coercion for selling judgeships in Brooklyn. Before that, he was convicted of stealing money from his campaign war chest and taking illegal campaign contributions. In addition to holding his Assembly seat, Norman was also chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

Even though the seat has been plagued by such recent scandals, Republicans don’t have a viable candidate for the election, according to 43rd District Leader Clarence John. This comes two months after Craig Eaton, chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party, pledged to be more aggressive in grooming candidates for local offices.

John said he has until the early summer to find a Republican to run for the seat. If he doesn’t, chances are he or his lieutenant Kenneth Cook will appear on the ballot. Cook lost to Camara in 2006 and in the 2005 special election to replace Norman. John lost to Norman in 2004.

Photo of Assemblyman Karim Camara