The Staten Island GOP last night nominated Michael Allegretti to run against Rep. Mike McMahon (D-NY) for Vito Fossella’s old House seat.
They had originally nominated former congressman Fossella, who in 2008 dropped out of his re-election race after a DUI arrest led to the admission that he had fathered a child during an extramarital affair.
From the Staten Island Advance:
Accepting the nomination, Allegretti scoffed at McMahon’s claims to be a “middle of the road” lawmaker.
“My father always said, don’t walk in the middle of the road, you’ll get hit by oncoming traffic,” said Allegretti. “That’s what we’re going to do to Mike McMahon: Hit him straight on.”
McMahon responded that his father always told him to take the high road, according to the Advance.
Fossella’s nomination May 20 caused a bit of an uproar. Fossella wasn’t at the original nominating meeting, and the party passed over the two candidates — Allegretti and Michael Grimm — who had come to the meeting for interviews.
Fossella, however, declined to run, saying, “I am frankly at a very good place in my life. I am where I need to be and where I want to be, most importantly.” He didn’t rule out a future run.
An outraged Grimm pulled himself out of the running for the party endorsement, writing a scathing letter to the party chairman this week saying he wouldn’t attend last night’s meeting. He decried the “corrupt political culture” of the local party and said he didn’t want to participate in a “sham convention.” He said he’d run in the Republican primary in September.
The district, NY-13, includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn GOP has also endorsed Allegretti for the seat.
