NY-13
(Map)
This one is personal. Steve Harrison ran against Republican Vito Fossella in 2006 for the NY-13 Congressional seat. He was ignored by the DCCC and by MoveOn.org, but made quite an impression in the district, which is near my own. He is honest, approachable and is able to connect both with progressives and moderate Republicans. This district is more conservative than most NYC districts, and Harrison is a good fit. He is pro-gay marriage, strongly in favor of withdrawal from Iraq, and was endorsed by the NY Times in 2006. His opponent, Vito Fossella, is lock step with Bush. Fossella outspent Harrison more than 10:1, but Harrison still got 43% of the vote. In the aftermath, both DCCC and MoveOn.org realized Harrison could have won with more backing. In fact, the DCCC said that Harrison proved the seat was winnable and is very interested in helping in 2008.
Then came a Democratic challenger out of the blue. Now that Steve Harrison proved seat is seen as winnable, another Democrat wants it. Dominic Recchia is a hack and crony of the local corrupt Democratic machine. He is rumored to have helped Fossella against the 2004 Democratic challenger, Frank Barbaro, by acting as a mole within Barbaro’s campaign. Most recently, Recchia endorsed someone named Noach Dear for a judicial seat. Dear is a known homophobe and was declared unqualified by the NY Bar Assn. But Recchia, as part of the local machine, pushed this unqualified homophobe down the throat of the Brooklyn court system. This is the kind of man Recchia is.
We need honest politicans in Washington, not party hacks who will forget both values and allies if it is politically convenient to abandon them. Please help me elect Steve Harrison to Congress, beating both a corrupt Democrat and a Bush Republican. Again, this one is really personal. I know Steve and really want to help him out. You can read more about Steve here.
