For those who missed it, Michael Grimm, the only Republican representing a significant portion of New York City in Congress, engaged in one of the most disgraceful displays in recent memory from a Congressman. He responded to a reporter from NY1 asking him about the investigation into his 2010 campaign fundraising by threatening to fling him over a balcony. To his credit, Grimm apologized--and none of this "sorry if anyone was offended crapola either. Still, if this had been the private sector, it wouldn't have been nearly enough to save his job. We should expect no different from our elected officials.
Fortunately, the good people of NY-11, which comprises Staten Island and most of southern Brooklyn, have a choice--namely Domenic Recchia. Until last year, Recchia represented much of the Brooklyn portion of this district on the New York City Council. And this guy is a fighter--for instance, according to his bio on Wikipedia, he led the effort to override two mayoral vetoes of ordinances that increased oversight over the NYPD. The bills created an inspector general for the department and allowed people to sue if they felt the police had unfairly profiled them.
So far, Recchia has been a fundraising machine. As of October, he's raised over $1 million. That's no small thing considering he has to advertise on incredibly expensive New York City television.
NY-11 is the most conservative district of the 12 that divide New York City, and the only one where Republicans even have a prayer of winning. When Barack Obama carried it in 2012, it was only the fourth time since Truman that this district has been carried by a Dem. The others were LBJ in 1964, Clinton in 1996 and Gore in 2000. It's been in Republican hands for all but two years since 1981.
However, this district is very winnable. When six-term Repub Vito Fossella was forced to retire in 2008, the Repubs pretty much immolated themselves in the primary, allowing Democrat Mike McMahon to win it. When Grimm unseated him in 2010, it was only by 51-48--which is pretty underwhelming considering the number of formerly Republican districts that reverted to form that year. He was only reelected in 2012 by seven points, which is way, way under what Fossella and his predecessors, Guy Molinari and Susan Molinari, won here. In recent years, Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Andrew Cuomo and Kirsten Gillibrand haven't just won here--they've won big. In other words, it's not only possible for a Democrat to win this district, but to hold it.
I wasn't planning on giving any money until after my tax refund came back, but I was so outraged by Grimm's behavior that I felt I had to send some money Recchia's way. You can too--send him some love at ActBlue or at his campaign page.