After more than two weeks of damaging and scandal-filled headlines, Representative Vito J. Fossella of Staten Island has decided not to seek another term in Congress, according to several people close to him.
Mr. Fossella, 43, has been the object of intense scrutiny since he was arrested in a Washington suburb on May 1 and charged with drunken driving. At the time of his arrest, his blood alcohol level was reportedly 0.17 percent, twice the legal limit in Virginia. Under that state’s law, he faces a mandatory five days in jail if convicted.
A week after his arrest, Mr. Fossella, the only Republican representing New York City in Congress, disclosed that he had been on the way to visit Laura Fay, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He acknowledged that he and Ms. Fay had had an affair and that they were the parents of a 3-year-old daughter.
And now, the last Republican Congressional seat in New York City is believed to be vulnerable:
Mr. Fossella’s decision comes just before the Staten Island Republican Party’s executive committee is to interview candidates for office — a meeting set for Wednesday. It also comes a few weeks before candidates for office in the fall are required to begin collecting signatures for petitions to be eligible to run.
The decision also sends tremors through the Republican Party on Staten Island, as it seeks to find a replacement on the party’s ballot for Mr. Fossella in November.
Another potential Republican candidate is state Senator Andrew D. Lanza, a longtime friend of Mr. Fossella’s. But Mr. Lanza would face intense pressure from Republican leaders in Albany, who are highly reluctant to see anything that might weaken their already slim majority in Albany.
Two Democrats are seeking the congressional seat: Stephen A. Harrison, a Brooklyn lawyer who fared better than previous opponents, winning 43 percent of the vote. The other is City Councilman Domenic M. Recchia Jr.
Staten Island has remained a politically oddity in New York City even through today. It is a Republican island, literally, in the midst of a seat of big city Democrats. Whether that will continue in a year when Republicans are already doing badly remains to be seen.
