CityHallNews.com

As Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island) comes under increasing scrutiny for possible campaign missteps like appearing with Muppets in photos used for both campaign materials and constituent mailings, his Democratic opponent is struggling to attract positive attention to a campaign that seems otherwise forgotten by his party.

Just as in the race for Staten Island’s open State Senate seat, in which Republicans are battling for their party’s nomination while Democrats struggle to generate momentum, Democratic challenger Steve Harrison has been grasping for support after two better-known Democrats chose not to run.

“We have received more attention with respect to the positive,” Harrison said, explaining that increased media scrutiny over allegations of ethical misconduct by Fossella finally has people “looking more closely at this race.”

Calls for comment made to Fossella’s district and Washington offices were not returned.

Harrison described Democrats as in danger of neglecting his campaign, and Staten Island in general, before the news broke.

“That was a true danger,” he said, “and the danger still exists.”

Before Democrats settled on Harrison, Brooklyn City Council Members Vincent Gentile and Bill de Blasio, both high profile Democrats with proven electoral success, were approached to run for the seat and declined. That was before the allegations arose, when Fossella seemed a much stronger candidate for reelection. That perception has changed somewhat as questions of ethical misconduct continue to dog Fossella’s campaign.

Gentile had seemed particularly attractive as a candidate, given his proven viability against serious Republican challengers – a rare quality in a city with such tilted registration that most races are decided by their Democratic primaries.

After losing his seat in the State Senate to Republican Martin Golden in 2002, Gentile ran in a special election for Golden’s vacated Council seat a few months later, narrowly defeating Republican Rosemarie O’Keefe by just 31 votes.

He went on to win reelection by a much wider margin in November against Republican Pat Russo, surprising many who thought the race would be tight, if not favoring Russo.

“I’ve really been the only one that’s had race after race after race against credible Republican opponents and beaten them,” he said.

Gentile says he was approached by the leaders of both the Staten Island and Brooklyn Democratic Parties, but that he simply needed a break from running for office.

“I wasn’t sure I was ready,” he said, claiming that running three races in the past four years had given him a case of “battle fatigue.”

When Gentile passed, some turned to de Blasio, whose Council district overlaps with part of the Congressional district in Brooklyn, but who currently lives outside of it himself.

With the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee excited about his potential candidacy, de Blasio toyed with the idea very publicly, even soliciting the support of Rep. Charles Rangel.

But Staten Island Democrats, long known for their autonomy, seemed to resent Rangel’s intrusion into the race on behalf of de Blasio, whom some saw as a carpetbagger. After several weeks, de Blasio ended the speculation and decided not to run.

That left Harrison as the sole Democrat in a race seemingly forgotten by the statewide party apparatus, even as heavyweights like Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hillary Clinton seem on track to buoy efforts elsewhere in the state to elect more Democrats to Congress.

Gentile criticized the lack of support his party is giving Harrison in the race.

“The Democrats are doing a disservice by ignoring the 13th District,” he said, adding that he hoped the increased media scrutiny over alleged ethical lapses by Fossella and his aides might bring the race more attention.

Gentile said the race could prove a measure of his party’s prospects in the next election cycle. He said, “This seat is a bellwether for Democratic fortunes in 2008.”