Posted on 12/23/2003 10:25:24 PM PST by neverdem
When Representative Vito J. Fossella strode into a Staten Island senior center on a recent snowy afternoon, he was greeted as something of a conquering hero. After entering the dining area, he was introduced by the center's director, who mentioned that he was a possible candidate for mayor.
"Maybe he'll run for mayor and we can get rid of Bloomberg," the director said. With that, the group of about 50 people erupted with wild cheers and sustained applause.
It is not uncommon these days for Mr. Fossella, a Republican from Staten Island, to be described as a possible challenger to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in a Republican primary in 2005. Mr. Fossella acknowledged that the idea has been raised with him and that he is asked about it all the time.
Mr. Fossella is the only Republican in New York City's Congressional delegation, and he has caught on with national party leaders. Nonetheless, the interest in him appears to have as much to do with Mr. Bloomberg as it does with any appeal the 38-year-old congressman might hold.
Though Mr. Bloomberg has been going out of his way recently to establish his Republican bona fides, Republican leaders nonetheless feel that he is a Democrat in a Republican-red coat — underneath it all, truer to the party he left to run for mayor than the one that he rode into City Hall.
And since he became mayor, he has done very un-Republican things in the eyes of party leaders, most prominently championing an 18.5 percent increase in the city's property taxes.
Further, Mr. Bloomberg has done little to cultivate relationships with Republican leaders (none of whom want to be quoted by name because they do not want to create additional friction with the mayor). Had he done so, Republicans in the City Council and the State Legislature said, putting up a primary opponent would never have crossed their minds.
Since they have been looking, Mr. Fossella seems to fit the bill. He is far more ideologically compatible to the mainstream party. And though the mayor's deep pockets may ultimately be able to heal all rifts, just having a potential rival out there, like Mr. Fossella, gives party leaders a little more leverage with Mr. Bloomberg than they might otherwise have.
For the moment, Mr. Fossella is brushing off any suggestion he is harboring mayoral aspirations.
In an interview at an Italian restaurant on Staten Island, Mr. Fossella said he had been "grateful and humbled" by the attention he had gotten from party leaders and conservative pundits. "But for now, my energy and focus is on being the representative of the people of Staten Island," he said. "I'm not promoting the idea of running, but I'd be lying if I said that people — Republican leaders and others — aren't approaching me. For now, my focus is on Congress."
The discontent among Republican leaders with the mayor, Mr. Fossella explained, "is a reaction to the high taxes that have been imposed upon the people of this city." But he said that he is not courting any support for a mayoral campaign and intends to work with Mr. Bloomberg in any way possible.
Much of the mayoral talk surrounding Mr. Fossella, who represents all of Staten Island and parts of south Brooklyn, is an outgrowth of his growing status among Republicans both locally and nationally.
Like Gov. George E. Pataki, he has been a strong supporter of President Bush. At a time when many other New York Republicans were working for Senator John McCain of Arizona in 2000, Mr. Fossella was working for Mr. Bush. That has helped Mr. Fossella to develop a close working relationship with the White House, almost guaranteeing the congressman a high-profile role at next year's Republican National Convention in New York City.
"He is a very charismatic congressman who is a very attractive spokesman for the party," said Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican National Committee. "He represents the new generation of the party. He's a fresh face who is also a smart, effective legislator."
(Page 2 of 2)
But like Mr. Pataki, Mr. Fossella is taking some heat for building up his national stature, perhaps at the expense of New Yorkers. He has been criticized for not playing a larger role in securing federal funds for New York City after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
More recently, Mr. Fossella has been scolded by some labor leaders for his support of a plan to use a luxury cruise liner as a floating entertainment center for members of Congress, lobbyists and contributors during the Republican convention next summer. That plan was pushed by Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, and Mr. Fossella worked with Mr. DeLay to present the cruise ship idea to others in Congress. Mr. DeLay has since abandoned the idea, after heavy criticism.
"Fossella has been a zero when it comes to his voting record on issues of importance to labor," said Brian M. McLaughlin, a Democratic assemblyman from Queens who is also president of the New York City Central Labor Council.
"It's not a partisan thing, considering the fact that we have a good relationship with other officials on Staten Island who are Republicans," Mr. McLaughlin said. "Vito Fossella represents a district with a high density of members of labor. But he has chosen to be somewhere else when it comes to labor issues. He's been more than a disappointment."
Mr. Fossella continues to defend the ship plan.
"It was a legitimate, good faith proposal," Mr. Fossella said, adding that the flap was blown out of proportion. "It became a sideshow that overshadowed the real intent of the convention, which is to renominate George W. Bush. And you know what? We'll move on."
Mr. Fossella's ascendancy in the Republican Party is fairly recent, although he has a long family history in politics — Democratic politics. His father, also named Vito, served in various appointed positions in the administrations of Mayors Edward I. Koch and Abraham D. Beame, and his uncle, Frank Fossella, was a city councilman for four years, until he was defeated by Susan Molinari in 1985. Mr. Fossella's great-grandfather, James A. O'Leary, represented Staten Island in Congress from 1936 until his death in 1944.
Mr. Fossella broke with tradition by becoming the family's first Republican.
"It happened when I was 25 and, even though I was a Democrat, I found myself voting more and more for Republicans," he said.
At the time, the Republican Party was coming into its own as a power in Staten Island.
Mr. Fossella came on the political scene in 1994 when, as a 29-year-old lawyer, he won a special election for a City Council seat from the South Shore of Staten Island that was vacated by Alfred C. Cerullo III, a popular councilman who was appointed as the city's consumer affairs commissioner by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Three years later, when Ms. Molinari resigned from her House seat, there was a heated election to succeed her. Mr. Fossella competed with Eric Vitaliano, who was at the time a Democratic assemblyman, in an expensive race with both parties bringing in some of their most prominent figures, including President Clinton and Governor Pataki. In the end, Mr. Fossella, who was then 32, won the election with nearly two-thirds of the vote.
Since then, the congressman, who is married and has three children, has been viewed as a fierce advocate for Staten Island, helping to secure money for a new terminal for the Staten Island Ferry, for example. Politically, Mr. Fossella is a conservative on a host of issues, from abortion to affirmative action.
And while that has made him more than a little out of step with his fellow Congressional — and Democratic — colleagues from New York City, he is nonetheless a highly popular figure on Staten Island.
"People have a great respect for him," said City Councilman Andrew Lanza, a Staten Island Republican. "He is one of those people who can assess complex issues and deal with them simply and intelligently. And he has a certain charismatic quality that makes people love him."
That much was evident at the senior center, as one person after another flocked toward him, each of the women giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I sure hope you do run for mayor," one woman said, grabbing the congressman.
Mr. Fossella, not responding directly, simply gave her a hug.
With or without a primary All the money in the world won't save Baffoonberg from suffering the biggest defeat in NYC history
I have no idea what you're talking about here.
But Merry Christmas anyway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.