Saturday: Get out the vote rally for McMahon

GOTV rally and canvass kick off
585 North Gannon Ave, Westerleigh Office [Google Map]
Saturday, 10am

Also I am told there will be free food! So come out and help with the final push to take back this Congressional seat.

Staten Island Advance Endorses McMahon

via press release:

Staten Island Advance Endorses McMahon in Race for Congress

Advance Gives McMahon Its “Wholehearted Endorsement” in Race for 13th Congressional District, Citing His “Thoughtful, Well-Reasoned” Positions and “Sensible, Practical” Approach to Building Bipartisan Coalitions to Get Results

October 30, 2008 – In a glowing editorial today, Michael McMahon's congressional campaign won the influential endorsement of the Staten Island Advance in the race for the 13th Congressional District seat covering all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. The Advance touted McMahon’s record of accomplishment on the City Council, including his championing of the city’s first solid waste management plan, creating more ferry service, and spearheading the effort to expand health care services on Staten Island. The editorial also lauded McMahon’s ability to each across the aisle and work with colleagues to get real results.

update: fixed formating

Saturday: Get out the vote rally for McMahon

GOTV rally and canvass kick off
585 North Gannon Ave, Westerleigh Office [Google Map]
Saturday, 10am

Also I am told there will be free food! So come out and help with the final push to take back this Congressional seat.

McMahon announces support for Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

via press release;

October 30, 2008 – Standing with the next generation of working women at Wagner College, Congressional candidate Michael McMahon today announced his support for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was defeated this year in Congress. The Fair Pay Act, which was drafted in response to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling making it significantly harder for women to sue for pay discrimination, will likely be reintroduced in next year’s Congress. Currently, women make only 77.8 cents to the dollar for men.

“As a father and husband, I think it’s shameful that we haven’t been able to close the gender wage gap. This legislation will go lengths in ensuring that when women face inequality in the workplace, they will be able to fight for and protect their right to fair, equal treatment,” McMahon said.

On May 29, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 ruling that made it significantly harder for women and other workers to sue their employers for discrimination in pay. Lilly Ledbetter had been chronically underpaid since she began working for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in 1979, but did not discover the discrimination until decades later. In March 1998 she inquired into possible discriminatory practices by the company, and filed charges in July.

The Court ruled that since Ledbetter had not filed her charge of pay discrimination within 180 days of her employer’s initial decision to pay her less (dating back to her start of employment), she could not receive any relief. Under longstanding precedent and the interpretation of the EEOC, every paycheck resulting from an earlier discriminatory pay decision is considered a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other key anti-discrimination statutes. Therefore, as long as a worker files within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges are considered as timely. The Court ruling upended that practice, instead restricting workers to file charges within 180 days of the initial discrimination, during which time the discrimination may be difficult or impossible to detect due to the fact that pay discrimination often occurs in small increments over long periods of time, and because the pay information of fellow workers is typically confidential and unavailable for comparison.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would have changed the law to begin a new 180 day statute of limitations with every paycheck. It would also clarify that, once a worker files a charge, he or she needs not keep filing new charges with each new paycheck.

The legislation is essential to ensure that women are able to protect their right to equal pay for equal work, enshrined in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which made it illegal to pay men and women different wages for equal work on jobs that require similar skill sets, effort and responsibility under comparable working conditions. Yet, since the Act’s passage forty-five years ago, women’s wages have only progressed from 58.9 cents on the dollar compared to men to 77.8 cents on the dollar – less than a half-cent per year.

48 hour notice updates

Here are the contribution updates via 48 hour notice filings. These contributions have come in after the October 15 pre-general filing I recently updated;

McMahon (D): $105,347.87
Straniere (R): $15,600

Morano files pre-general FEC report

Carmine Morano has finally filed his pre-general FEC report and it doesn't look good. He has carried over his debt of $999.44 from last filing. He has even know dipped into his own bank account loaning himself $41,000. Must be nice to have enough money in this economy to just be able to give yourself that much money without worrying about getting it back.

Morano has to realize he won't win this race against McMahon so he must be trying to beat out Straniere for a second place finish. It looks like he is setting himself up for a 2010 run with an endorsement from the Republican party.

McMahon has a real campaign operation

It is almost funny to see media covering one candidate or another's volunteers showing up at an event. Once again McMahon's enthusiastic volunteers showed up prior to last night's debate for visibility and campaign work. Once again it has grabbed headlines;

The inclement weather did not keep Democrat Mike McMahon's forces from the Staten Island's Hilton Garden Inn.

About 30 supporters arrived more than an hour before the congressional debate.

I am sure sooner or later Bob will get some volunteers excited about this candidacy.

Saturday: Get out the vote rally for McMahon

GOTV rally and canvass kick off
585 North Gannon Ave, Westerleigh Office [Google Map]
Saturday, 10am

Also I am told there will be free food! So come out and help with the final push to take back this Congressional seat.

Gov. Paterson and McMahon at the ferry tonight

Governor Paterson and Mike McMahon will be greeting ferry riders at the terminal tonight at 5:45.

Republicans going extinct

Ouch;

Loss of the 13th District seat would only add to the woes of the Republican Party statewide, which was once dominated by figures such as Nelson Rockefeller and Alfonse D'Amato but now seems headed for extinction.

McMahon on healthcare

From tonight's debate: When asked what bill, if guaranteed to pass, would each candidate put forward as their first act as a member of Congress, Mike McMahon offered the following;

A bill that says universal health care is "a right, not a privilege."

It will be great having this man in Congress.

A cow follows Bob from Manhattan

The New York State Democratic Committee sent a costumed cow to Bob Straniere's campaign events this morning to protest his hypocritical position on taxes. During his time in the Assembly, Straniere voted for over $2 billion in new taxes - he even supported raising taxes on milk.

Straniere voted for massive tax increases

via a NY Dems press release;

Billion Dollar Bob: Republican Candidate Voted for Over $2 Billion in New Taxes

Straniere even supported raising the milk tax

Republican Bob Straniere is an expert at making promises he doesn't keep. While he continues to tell Staten Island and Brooklyn voters that he'll lower their taxes - his record says something to the contrary. During his time in the Assembly, Straniere voted for over $2 billion in new taxes.

Straniere voted against eliminating the state sales tax and against reducing property taxes. He also supported income and sales tax hikes, and even voted to raise the tax on milk.

"Not only has Bob Straniere voted for tax hikes that directly impacted Staten Island and Brooklyn voters, his new economic proposals blatantly ignore the needs of middle class families in his district," said Carly Lindauer, New York State Democratic Committee spokeswoman. "Voters in the 13th District cannot afford to send another out of touch Republican to Washington."

Billion Dollar Bob: Straniere's Voting History

FACT: Straniere voted against eliminating the state sales tax on clothing (which at the time would have amounted to a 4% discount). [SI Advance, 4/3/1997]

FACT: Straniere voted against reducing property taxes that would have provided homeowners with $650 million in relief. [SI Advance, 4/3/1997]

FACT: Straniere voted in favor of an income and sales tax hike, which amounted to $1.7 billion in new taxes, and even supported a 21-cent-per-gallon increased tax on milk. [SI Advance, 5/6/2003; 1/25/1998]

Overall, Straniere supported $2.35 billion in new taxes.

Saturday: Get out the vote rally for McMahon

GOTV rally and canvass kick off
585 North Gannon Ave, Westerleigh Office [Google Map]
Saturday, 10am

Also I am told there will be free food! So come out and help with the final push to take back this Congressional seat.

Straniere and McCain

via Bob from Manhattan;

Said Straniere, "Senator Obama had a chance to match his rhetoric with his actions and instead he matched his liberal record with choosing a fellow liberal to run with. I want to thank Senator Obama for his decision because there will be no confusion for the voters this November."

and from the Washington Post comes this unfortunate reality;

McCain's awful campaign is having awful consequences down the ballot. I spoke a little while ago to a senior Republican House member. "There is not a safe Republican seat in the country," he warned. "I don't mean that we're going to lose all of them. But we could lose any of them."

Debate tonight 7:30

Debate tonight between McMahon, Bob Straniere, Morano and Tim Cochrane (i.e. the Conservative Party fundraising effort) at 7:30 in the main ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield.

When: 7:30 PM

Are we finally building a district-wide ground opperation?

Feb 2007;

The WFP GOTV effort has shown us that the old rhetoric that a seat is not winnable or is too conservative no longer rings true. How scalable and influential can this be in a congressional district in a Presidential year, well that remains to be seen. However we have learned one thing, that here in New York City, where incumbents and party machines seem to rule, good old canvassing and volunteer armies can shake things up from time to time.

March 2007;

And Innamorato, an Eltingville resident, said he will continue to fly the Democratic flag on the South Shore no matter what.

"I'm committed to building the party, enrolling voters and delivering good candidates to them," he said.

This week via the Advance;

In 2007, the McMahon forces worked the district on behalf of Manny Innamorato, who lost a City Council special election to Republican Vinny Ignizio.

At the time, McMahon and his supporters were looking down the road toward a possible 2009 run for Borough Hall.

As it turns out, the experience has come in handy a little sooner than expected.

"We're trying to get into every area of Staten Island, and into Brooklyn, every day," McMahon said of his overall campaign strategy. "And we're trying to spread our events around. That's an important message to send."

Debate tomorrow 7:30 PM

Tomorrow's debate between McMahon, Bob Straniere, Morano and Tim Cochrane (i.e. the Conservative Party fundraising effort) is at 7:30 in the main ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield.

When: 7:30 PM

Rothenberg keeps race as Dem Favored

Nothing new here. Rothenberg predicts another 25-30 Democratic house pick ups further expanding their majority.

LTE: Vote for McMahon

via Advance;

WE HAVE A BIG OPPORTUNITY: VOTE FOR MICHAEL McMAHON

Staten Islanders and Brooklynites now have a great opportunity. They can vote for Councilman Mike McMahon for Congress.

Being a proactive representative of the North Shore for the past seven years, he is now in a position to do the same as our congressman.

As a person who has made quality-of-life issues his passion, he should be embraced by the voting public.

Republicans may never hold this seat again

via the Examiner;

"Bob Straniere is hated by the party. He is one of the people most despised by Republicans on the island," said Doug Muzzio, a professor of politics at Baruch College. "He's going to lose, and he will probably lose it big, even in a borough that often votes Republican. After Fossella, they may never hold that congressional seat again."

Term Limits

Thursday the city council passed Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to change term limits to allow all of them to run for a third term. This has been put to referendum twice and the people of New York City twice affirmed their desire to limit elected officials to two terms. Reading city council member's responses shed some light on a few people who are or were on the short list to be sent to Congress on behalf of the voters of this district;

Mike McMahon voted against over turning term limits.

Bill DeBlasio, the 2006 brief candidate for the Democratic nomination also voted no. In his statements he said;

George Orwell would have loved the arguments made by the Mayor and Speaker. He calls this "stealing like a thief in the night the shape of our democracy."

Domenic Recchia, the 2008 would be Democratic candidate, who ran for this seat, piled up money then dropped out voted in favor of over turning term limits;

Recchia just praised the Council for getting work going on redevelopment of Coney Island. "But if I can't be on Council, how will I know that the work will get done?"

Ingnizo and Oddo the two Republican council members from Staten Island voted no.

Pre-General fundraising reports, Straniere struggling still

The last FEC report we will see before the election is the pre-general reports covering the period of October 1-15. Here are the numbers raised;

McMahon: $113,000
Straniere: $37,000

With the numbers Bob from Manhattan has raised his cash on hand numbers actually increased from $1,900 to $10,533. Simply put these are still horrible numbers for Bob. I don't even know how this guy pays rent for his offices let alone how he pays for campaign costs.

h/t to Swing State Project

update: Cash on hand numbers are updated in the right column.
update2: Morano (I) seems to have not filed his numbers yet and Cochrane (C) seems to not be filing any FEC reports, not sure what that is about.

New York Times Endorses McMahon

via McMahon press release;

NYT Cites McMahon’s Exemplary Council Record in Today’s Endorsement for the 13th Congressional District
October 25, 2008 – Michael McMahon's congressional campaign today won the endorsement of the New York Times in the race for the 13th Congressional District seat covering all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. The Times highlighted McMahon’s “excellent” tenure as a Council Member, fighting “hard for environmental and transportation improvements that are badly needed in his district”.

Read the full endorsement below:

“13th District: If there were a prize for the most bizarre federal race this year, it would go to the campaign in Staten Island to replace Representative Vito Fossella, a Republican who decided not to run again after he was arrested for drunken driving and confessed to having a second family. One favored replacement died, and former Assemblyman Bob Straniere became the Republican choice by default.

Fortunately, Michael McMahon, a member of City Council, is the Democratic candidate. Mr. McMahon has been an excellent councilman who has fought hard for environmental and transportation improvements that are badly needed in his district. We endorse his bid to expand on that work in Congress.”

Today’s endorsement is the latest in a series of positive developments for McMahon, including endorsements from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, and backing from the city’s law enforcement unions the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Detectives Endowment Association, Captains Endowment Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the New York State Court Officers Association and New York State Supreme Court Officers Association, as well as the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association Local 831, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726.

McMahon also received key support in the primary and going into the general, including primary endorsements from the Staten Island Advance, New York Times, Brooklyn Paper and Courier Life, endorsements from elected leaders including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, former Mayor Ed Koch, and members of the New York City Congressional Delegation, and critical labor support from the New York State AFL–CIO, the United Federation of Teachers, 1199 SEIU Healthcare East, UFCW, UFA, UFOA and RWDSU.

Upon entering the race, McMahon also earned a spot on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's vaunted “Red to Blue” program, promising financial, communications and strategic support from the national party.

The General Election will be held on November 4th.

538 on New York

FiveThirtyEight.com is a great website that tracks polling and has been doing a run down of each state and 'what to watch for' on election night. Here is New York;

What To Watch For

The federal-level action in New York this year is in the House, where at least two seats appear poised to flip R to D due to retirements, Jim Walsh's 25th Syracuse district and Vito Fossella's 13th Staten Island district. Just as both of those seats are rated "Lean D" by the Cook Political Report, Republican incumbent Randy Kuhl's 29th district seat is also extremely vulnerable due to a very strong challenege by Eric Massa. Outside of Buffalo and just north of the 29th is the toss-up 26th, an open seat being vacated by Tom Reynolds. If all four seats turn out to be Democratic pickups, only two Republicans will remain in New York's caucus. [emphasis my own]

GOP has NY-13 on their "death list"

According to US News and World Report an internal Republican document was provided by an unnamed Republican source showing that the GOP not only has no intentions of helping out Straniere but they have added this race to their "death list" indicating they expect to lose the seat;

The document provided to Whispers is no gag: It comes from one of the key House GOP vote counters. The source called it a "death list." The tally shows several different ratings of 66 House Republicans in difficult races or open seats held by retiring Republicans. "Rating 1" finds 10 Republicans "likely gone." Those districts are New York 13, Alaska, Arizona 1, Virginia 11, New York 25, Illinois 11, Florida 24, Michigan 7, Nevada 3, and North Carolina 8.

Brutal reality check for Fossella

The Daily News comes out with a hard hitting piece today Good-Bye, Vito.

If Fossella - the sole Republican in the city's congressional delegation - harbors thoughts about a return to public life after his current term ends, he should abandon them now.

The article leaves Fossella with a little advice he should probably heed;

Aside from avoiding a five-day jail sentence, Fossella needs to concentrate on raising his families. Both of them.

Correction: Recchia maxed out to McMahon

In the previous post I asked why Recchia wasn't donating to congressional campaigns and mentioned McMahon along with several other Democratic challengers in New York State.  That statement was incorrect.  On July 23 I wrote that Recchia had maxed out his contribution to Mike McMahon for the primary and general election, totaling $4,600.  My apologies on that mistake.  

Recchia's congressional money still lingering

Domenic Recchia, the one time candidate for this office dropped out of the race with around $270,000 cash. Since this is a federal campaign he can not transfer this money to any city races so he has to either refund it or donate it to other federal campaigns. At the end of the third quarter his non-existent campaign still has $160,000 in its coffers. Last quarter he made the following contributions;

Alan Meisel $1,000
Delia Schack $1,700

Best I can tell is that they are Brooklyn district leaders. Didn't realize that was allowable but the confusion lies in why he has yet to give any of this money to Congressional races that need the help. There is no contribution to McMahon, Massa, Maffei, or Kryzan. This deserves some more attention.

More on Fossella's DWi guilty verdict

So we jumped the gun a little. Fossella has been found guilty of his DWI but his punishment has not been decided. There is yet another court date when the presiding judge will hand down her decision. Jail time, time served, a fine, etc. That is scheduled for December 8th. After that Fossella has the option of appealing to a jury case and wasting even more tax dollars trying to declare he is above the laws of average Americans.

The Advance today also has his only public statement;

"I'm grateful that this matter was presented in fuller detail before the court today and for the public to hear for the first time an honest and straightforward account of what happened that night instead of sensationalized media accounts.

"As I have said before, I made a serious mistake and I want to again apologize for setting the wrong example.

"I believe we live in nation of laws, that no one person is above the law and I look forward to the Judge's final determination in December.

"In the meantime, I will continue working hard for all the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn who are facing real tough times as our nation goes through this financial crisis.

Fossella's DWI guilty verdict, a round-up

via Advance;


Bay Ridge Rover; Vito Fossella: Guilty

Washington Post; N.Y. Congressman Convicted of DUI

CQPolitics; New York Congressman Fossella Found Guilty of Drunken Driving

McMahon has 24,150% more money than Bob

Swing State Project gives us a run down on the cash advantages in open seats , currently ranking NY-13 as the highest cash on hand differential.  They report that McMahon holds 24,150% times the cash that Straniere does.

Swing State upgrades race once again

They have now declared this a "Safe Dem" seat. This is the only seat they rank as flipping that they are declaring safe.

FOSSELLA CONVICTED

Will serve a 5 day jail sentence.

Judge currently deciding Fossella's fate

Both sides have made closing arguments in Vito's DWI case. The judge is likely to make a decision soon...

Straniere is BROKE

Vito Fossella has more money in his campaign accounts than Bob Straniere.

Straniere is BROKE

$1,918.39

That is how much money Bob from Manhattan has in his bank account as of his FEC filing. By comparison Mike McMahon has $482,984. Fundraising totals aside, cash on hand numbers may be the most critical factor right now. This cash in the bank is the money that they will use over the next three weeks to get their ground game going. This money buys literature. This money offsets costs for volunteers. This money pays canvassers (we know Bob doesn't have an excited volunteer base like Mike). Simply put Bob doesn't have enough money to pay his staff and office rent for the next week, let alone enough money to run a campaign for the next three weeks.

If you give money to Bob at this point realize it is just going to pay down his likely incurred debt and not towards any actual campaign efforts.

McMahon's 3Q press release

via the campaign;

McMahon Surpasses $1 Million Mark in Only Five Months – Raises Commanding $331,335 in Past Six Weeks For 13th Congressional District Race
October 16, 2008 – Congressional candidate Michael McMahon today announced that he raised a remarkable $331,335 in just the last six weeks of his campaign for the 13th Congressional District. The latest filing, from August 21st to September 30th, brings McMahon’s total fundraising past the $1 million mark to $1,042,980 in just five months since the start of the campaign, leaving him with $482,984 on hand.

By comparison, McMahon’s Republican opponent Robert Straniere raised $71,377.50 this period, bringing his total to $86,346.00 for the entire campaign, leaving him with only $1,918.39 on hand. Independent candidate Carmine Morano has raised $6,450, and ended the period $41,000 in debt. Conservative candidate Tim Cochrane’s filing has not yet been posted.

“For the past seven years, Mike McMahon has been a strong voice on the City Council for change and results in his district. This unbelievable outpouring of support shows that district residents now want Mike to bring that record of results to Congress. With the continued support of the district, Mike will bring the fight for smart economic policies, middle class tax relief, increased transportation funding, and improved health care all the way to Washington,” said McMahon spokesperson Erin Monju.

McMahon remains in a strong position going into the general election, with national observers rating the race “likely Democrat” across the board.

Today’s filing is the latest in a series of positive developments for McMahon, including endorsements from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, endorsements from the city’s law enforcement unions the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Detectives Endowment Association, Captains Endowment Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the New York State Court Officers Association and New York State Supreme Court Officers Association, as well as the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association Local 831, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726.

McMahon also received key support in the primary and going into the general, including primary endorsements from the Staten Island Advance, New York Times, Brooklyn Paper and Courier Life, endorsements from elected leaders including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, former Mayor Ed Koch, and members of the New York City Congressional Delegation, and critical labor support from the New York State AFL–CIO, the United Federation of Teachers, 1199 SEIU Healthcare East, UFCW, UFA, UFOA and RWDSU.

Upon entering the race, McMahon also earned a spot on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's vaunted “Red to Blue” program, promising financial, communications and strategic support from the national party.

The General Election will be held on November 4th.

CQPolitics: The Strange Saga of New York's 13th District

McMahon raised $490K, crushes Straniere

Third Quarter FEC reports are out.  Remember this filing was split into a pre-primary and an October quarterly .  Here is where McMahon and Straniere came in;

Mike McMahon (D)

October Quarterly: $325,332

Pre-Primary: 166,076

3Q Total: $491,408

Cash on Hand: $482,984

Cash to Date: $1,043,459

Bob from Manhattan (R) 

October Quarterly:

Pre-Primary:

3Q Total: $86,000

Cash on Hand: $2,000

Cash to Date: $86,000

McMahon and Straniere in Dongan Hills, 6 PM

Mike McMahon and Bob Straniere will both appear at Iron Hills Civic Association on at 6 p.m.

St. Charles Mission Center
209 Flagg Place Dongan Hills [Google Maps]


View Larger Map

Fossella's DWI court case tomorrow

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Breaking: McMahon has a real campaign

This is no knock on the Advance, and I regularly am critical of them. But isn't it sad that it is news that Mike McMahon has an organized campaign and have volunteers show up to the debate tonight? From Tom's blog;

The McMahon forces arrived at the debate site about two hours early, getting to the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield, around 5:30 and holding a campaign rally in the hotel parking lot near South Avenue that was visible to all arriving for the event.

Is this a sign of how pathetic Bob from Manhattan's campaign is or a sign of how strong Mike McMahon's campaign is?

Wrobleski interviews McMahon pre-debate

Debate tonight 7:30, on TV at 9:30

The first debate between McMahon, Bob Straniere, Morano and Tim Cochrane (i.e. the Conservative Party fundraising effort) is this Wednesday at 7:30 in the main ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield. Note the debate is at 7:30 but won't be on TV until 9:30;

When: 7:30 PM, Wednesday

On TV: Channel 76 at 9:30 PM
Time Warner cable customers: Staten Island On Demand on Channel 1111 for free

Next Debate: Oct. 28 at 7:30 PM

2 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Support McMahon, attend tonight's debate

via campaign email;

The debate begins at 7:30pm, and we hope you will come out and show your support for Mike McMahon!

Volunteers are meeting at 6pm on South Avenue and Lois Lane, at the entrance to the Hilton parking lot. We encourage everyone to attend the debate. We will provide tickets to the debate to all those who volunteer.

Please RSVP to Phil at (718) 698-0649 or volunteer@mcmahonforcongress.com.

Rothenberg keeps race as Dem Favored

The new Rothenberg updates are out and there is actually no news here. They are keeping this race as Dem Favored, the highest rating they give to a seat likely to flip. This is only one of three currently held Republican seats that Rothenberg lists as Dem Favored. Rothenberg does not list any Democratic held seats as Republican Favored.

Fossella vs. FEC rules

On July 17 we took a look at Fossella's FEC reports and the curious trend that his campaign continued to accept and potentially solicit donations after his arrest and even after his declaration that he wasn't running for re-election. While the focus of that post was the excessive loyalty of his donors who continued to give after his arrest and admitted adultery there seems to be a new problem for Fossella, namely FEC rules. There are two rules he has run afoul of and the FEC is now demanding action.

1. Primary election contributions received after May 20th, when Fossella declared he was no longer a candidate, must be refunded
2. Since Fossella is not running for re-election any money received for the general election must be refunded

There are a few instances where the money can be kept but for the most part it appears Fossella will have to refund the majority of this money. So what? Well we know Fossella has been sitting on about $270,000. Fossella had the option of donating to various candidates, including his endangered Republican House and Senate members running for re-election as well as donating large (unlimited I believe) sums back to the NRCC for them to use as they need. Also he could sit on it for a future run for federal office again should he be so daring. Instead Fossella has sulked and did nothing with the money and so now large portions of that war chest will be refunded.

If I did my math right it looks like the FEC is noting around $160,000 is in question.

3 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

A preview of 3Q fundraising numbers

In anticipation of third quarter FEC filings I took a look at 48 Hour Contribution Notices to see how the two campaigns are comparing. FEC rules state that campaigns must report any contribution over $1,000 when that contribution comes within 20 days of an election. Here is what the two campaigns have filed so far;

Bob Straniere: $35,300
Mike McMahon: $48,000

This brings Bob's cumulative total to $50,000 in donations, without seeing his smaller donations. This still puts him only about $700,000 behind McMahon.

4 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Another Siena poll, Tom Wrobleski doesn't cover it

Remember how Tom covered one cherry picked poll by Siena showing a 46-41% lead for Obama? Tom didn't say this was bad news himself but he did interview others and printed them saying so. Well there is now four polls since that article showing Obama with 13, 17, 19 and 22 point leads. The last is Siena's newest poll showing Obama leading in New York 58-6%. So where are the follow up articles with Tom interviewing people about what this massive lead for Obama will do to New York races? Well I am sure it will come any day now...

Debate this Wednesday, tickets available

The first debate between McMahon, Bob Straniere, Morano and Tim Cochrane (i.e. the Conservative Party fundraising effort) is this Wednesday at 7:30 in the main ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield. Details;

When: 7:30 PM, Wednesday

On TV: Channel 76 at 9:30 p.m.
Time Warner cable customers: Staten Island On Demand on Channel 1111 for free

Tickets: Free, e-mail your name, address and telephone number to newsroom@siadvance.com, or call 718-816-3985

5 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Canvass this Sunday for McMahon

If you want to get involved with this race, or any race, the most influential thing you can do is canvass. For those of you not familiar with political campaigns, canvassing is simply going door to door in your neighborhood and talking to registered voters, your neighbors, about this race. Voters are much more likely to be convinced to vote when their neighbors talk to them and explain why they are supporting McMahon. If you have some time get out in your own neighborhood and help make sure we win this seat.

Sunday @ 12PM

Staten Island locations
585 N. Gannon Avenue [Google Map]
31 Water Street [Google Map]
4001 Hylan Blvd [Google Map]

Brooklyn locations
7321 15th Avenue [Google Map]

if you have questions or to RSVP

call (718) 916-9080 or
email volunteer@mikemcmahonforcongress.com

6 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Cochrane and Conservative Party mislead donors

Tim Cochrane (who?), the Conservative Party nominee, has a Congressional campaign website up, http://timcochraneforcongress.com.  That in itself is not really news, what is is the deception this site creates.  If you take a look at the bottom of the site you will see that this is a page paid for by the Conservative Party of New York, not Cochrane's campaign.  Seemingly an innocent statement but one that is rather misleading.  For comparison the disclaimer on Straniere's site "Paid for by Straniere for Congress."  If this really was Cochrane's campaign site he would need to disclose that and who is paying the bills to keep the site running.  In both cases the answer would need to be his campaign, not a political party.

Next for the where this misleading is going.  Take a look at the contribute page, where you see Tim's face and "Timothy Cochrane for Congress."  The problem is all money you give, that you expect will go to his congressional campaign actually goes to the Conservative Party.  This is what the fine print says;

Indiviudals may contribute a maximum amount of $5,000 to the New York State Conservative Party Federal Account.

Contributions or gifts to the Conservative party Federal Account are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Cochrane's "campaign site" is just a ruse covering up a slightly elaborate fund raising attempt for the Party. The money an unsuspecting donor gives them through this site does no go to Cochrane nor does it need to be used on Cochrane's race at all and my guess is very little of it will make it to his futile campaign.  How disingenuous must the Conservative Party be to mislead sympathetic donors into giving them money when they think they are giving to a local Congressional candidate?

7 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Any hopes of national Republican involvement is gone

The NRCC, the Republican equivalent of the DCCC today has pulled money out of ad buys in several seats showing tremendous weakness in their offensive plan. They have pulled money out of four of their top Democratic held targets. Additionally they have started building a firewall around certain incumbents they will try to protect, none of them will be competitive open seats.

With only about $22 million available to spend on races and many contests requiring a media buy of $1 million to make any impact, the NRCC simply cannot play in all the districts it needs to. And when Republican and GOP-leaning groups do spend their cash in the final weeks of the campaign, it may be too late to rescue Republican candidates who have picked up heavy negatives over the previous month.

I would say this is disastrous news for Bob Straniere, but honestly this is not high on his list of problems to worry about.

Sanitation workers endorse McMahon

Another day another endorsement for McMahon;

McMahon, a Democrat who is running to replace Vito Fossella in Congress, accepted the endorsement today at Staten Island's Sanitation Garage No. 3 in Travis while being flanked by about 100 sanitation workers and the union's president, Harry Nespoli.

"Mike McMahon has always supported the working men and women of this district in the City Council, and has been very conscientious of the issues we face day to day on the job and back at home," Nespoli said.

"I have respected the work he's done as a public servant, and I'm proud to call him a friend. Now, Mike needs us to help him get to Congress. He's the best man for the job in Washington, and I couldn't be happier to help him get there for the benefit of the district."

Bob Straniere on the other hand is losing endorsements.

Voters want Democrats handling economic issues

via the NY Times;

Strategists for both parties say Republican House and Senate candidates are being hurt by the dip in support for Senator John McCain at the top of the ticket, frustrating Republicans who had initially viewed Mr. McCain as a strong asset who could appeal to independents and even moderate Democrats and protect Republicans in a tough year.

But the market volatility and perceived Democratic edge on handling the economy has evidently turned voters to Democrats, a view supported by one top adviser to Republican candidates.

If it were not for the joke this race is, one of the story lines that would have come out of this race was the effects a Guiliani candidacy would have had in this district. Who knows maybe even Bob from Manhattan would have been faring better with Rudy at the top instead of McCain.

Guy Molinari endorses Conservative Party candidate

Not Bob Straniere, the Republican who is running for the seat Guy Molinari once held. via City Room ;

"It's sad that I have to leave my party on a campaign like this," Mr. Molinari said in an interview this morning. He then criticized the party's chairman on Staten Island, John S. Friscia, for supporting Mr. Straniere's candidacy. "The leadership in the Republican Party has put forth a deeply flawed candidate, one that an awful lot of Republicans cannot support."

Tom Cochrane is the Conservative Party candidate, a Brooklyn resident, but this is all about hating Straniere and little to do with Cochrane.  via the Advance ;

Former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari endorsed Conservative candidate Tim Cochrane for Congress today, saying that he found it "sickening" that Staten Island Republicans have nominated former Assemblyman Robert Straniere for the House seat that Molinari once held.

"How in good conscience anybody that has any moral background whatsoever would support somebody like that to go to Congress is inconceivable," Molinari said at his West Brighton lobbying firm, where he was joined by Cochrane and Conservative leaders, including state chairman Michael Long.

Straniere is responding by saying the party will lose this seat with actions like this and rightfully so.  Molinari already claimed they would lose ;

Molinari said that the Democrats have quickly rallied around Michael McMahon, a New York City Councilor, and conceded that McMahon is in a strong position to win. "I wouldn't jump to that conclusion yet, but I would say this," Molinari said. "Based on the candidates that have surfaced so far, yes, we're going to lose the seat." 

8 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

NYLCV endorses McMahon

Mike McMahon (D) has been endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters.  You can read his questionnaire answers and eco-accomplishments here .

9 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

NRCC still not coming to Straniere's defense

Swing State Project has their latest update to independent expenditures and the NRCC has yet to spend any money in New York State let alone NY-13.  The party has given up on this race but we haven't.  Get out and talk to your neighbors.  Make sure McMahon wins this race.  

McMahon's first TV ad

10 days until Fossella's DWI court date

Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

Fossella's recent legislative votes

Yes, Fossella is still in Congress, voting for your best interests. Or his own. It's not really clear anymore.

Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008 H.R. 5244
Vote Passed (312-112, 9 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill to reform credit card industry practices.

Rep. Vito Fossella voted NO



Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 HR 2638 Roll 632
Vote Passed (370-58, 1 Present, 4 Not Voting)

The House approved this $600 billion bill to fund the federal government through March 6, 2009.

Rep. Vito Fossella voted NO



Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 H.R. 7060
Vote Passed (257-166, 10 Not Voting)

This bill, costing almost $62 billion, would extend and expand tax breaks and incentives for individuals using and developing renewable energy.

Rep. Vito Fossella voted NO



Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008 H.R. 7110 Roll 660
Vote Passed (264-158, 12 Not Voting)

The House passed this $60.7 billion economic stimulus bill on Friday evening that would extend unemployment benefits.

Rep. Vito Fossella voted NO

Debates announced

Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 PM
Tuesday, October 28, at 7:30 PM

Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield
1100 South Avenue, Staten Island [Google Map]

Straniere is "in Staten Island several times a week"

Bob from Manhattan in a previous interview with Tom is trying to make a case for his Staten Island roots and inadvertently claims;

"I am in staten island several times a week. Always have been, and I consider Staten Island my home."

Watch it, starting at 4:19 (the very end)



Bob, who we already know has been living in Manhattan admits to Tom that he in doesn't live in Staten Island an "visits" from time to time. Sure at one point in his life he lived there but he is now a Manhattan resident and has been for many years. If like Mike McMahon you live in Staten Island you don't have to use the phrase "I consider Staten Island my home." It either is your home or it is not. In Bob Straniere's case it is not.

Straniere: Unqualified and now unemployed

Bob from Manhattan's hot dog company closed. The New York City Hot Dog Company he owned was located in Manhattan like his residence. Now he is being sued by one of his former business partner's in the hot dog venture. And this makes him qualified in his mind;

"This will make me more sympathetic to the small-business owners who are also suffering in this economy," he said. "A lot of people are facing this kind of problem. There's no exception for me just because I'm running for public office."

Canvass this weekend for McMahon

If you want to get involved with this race, or any race, the most influential thing you can do is canvass.  For those of you not familiar with political campaigns, canvassing is simply going door to door in your neighborhood and talking to registered voters, your neighbors, about this race.  Voters are much more likely to be convinced to vote when their neighbors talk to them and explain why they are supporting McMahon.  The weather looks good, temperatures in the high 60's.  If you have some time get out in your own neighborhood and help make sure we win this seat.

Saturday @ 10 AM
Sunday @ 12PM

Staten Island locations
585 N. Gannon Avenue [Google Map ]
31 Water Street [Google Map ]
4001 Hylan Blvd [Google Map ] (Saturday only)

Brooklyn locations
7321 15th Avenue [Google Map ]

if you have questions or to RSVP 

call (718) 916-9080 or

email volunteer@mikemcmahonforcongress.com

Fossella makes bi-partisan appearance, unintentionally mocked for DWI

Yesterday in an attempt at showing bi-partisan support for the economic bail out bill in Congress, Vito Fossella and Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from Queens held a joint conference on wall street. It unexpectedly turned quite funny when Rep. Meeks described the financial situation as such;

"The issue that's before us right now is not a Democratic issue and it's not a Republican issue. It's an issue that we have to resolve so that we can make sure that we stabilize our economy. Everyone is hurting," Meeks said.

Meeks used a different analogy to describe the economy: A drunken driver who has crashed on the highway, with the federal government as the emergency workers who have to clean up the wreckage.

If you were watching cable news yesterday you probably saw Meeks all over tv using that same analogy. I doubt he intentionally used it when standing next to Vito, but considering Fossella's DWI arrest it is all the more humorous.

DFNYC linkup tonight at Muddy Cup

Staten Island
7:00pm
Muddy Cup, 388 Van Duzer Street [Google Map ]
hosted by Al Dykes

This is the last linkup before the election.  Go talk about the elections, see what you can do to help, meet other local Democratic activists.