McMahon, Straniere To Square Off for Fossella’s Seat
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Voters on Staten Island have chosen candidates to replace Rep. Vito Fossella, who was undone by an extramarital scandal.
City Councilman Michael McMahon won the Democratic primary, while a former state assemblyman, Bob Straniere, prevailed on the Republican side.
Mr. Fossella’s once-bright political career unraveled when he ran a red light in suburban Virginia, leading to his drunken driving arrest and subsequent revelations he’d fathered a child with a woman who was not his wife.
His downfall touched off a frantic scramble in both parties to find a successor.
Mr. Fossella is New York City’s only Republican member of Congress. His district also includes part of Brooklyn.
