Robert Straniere's 24-year Assembly career ended in 2004 when the local GOP backed the primary challenge of a 29-year-old Council chief of staff, Vincent Ignizio, in the Republican primary in Staten Island. Ignizio, who has since moved to the City Council, emerged the victor.

Straniere did not allow that niggling fact get in the way of a good pitch as he tries to grab enough signatures for ballot access as a Republican candidate for Congress.

"I'm Assemblyman Bob Straniere and I'm running for Congress," he told shoppers as they entered the supermarket, leaving out the word "former."

The day before the Fourth of July, around 3 p.m., Straniere started Day 2 of petitioning at a Waldbaum's Supermarket in Prince's Bay, near the southernmost tip of the island.

The area is deep in Republican country but more people declined to sign Straniere's petition for being registered Independents and Conservatives than being Democrats.

To those who declined to sign, he quickly responded "Can't use ya," and moved on to the next.

Straniere does not have time to waste. He is under the gun to get over 1,250 signatures by July 17, the filing deadline.
By 4 p.m., staffer Betty Kain suggested moving to a new location.

"We won't gain anything," Straniere said. "It's time wasted. It takes so long to get anywhere."

Straniere's efforts were slightly thwarted by two campaign volunteers of another Republican seeking the congressional seat, Dr. Jamshad Wyne, a local cardiologist and the borough GOP's finance chair.

The two college-aged volunteers, decked out in homemade WYNE FOR CONGRESS T-shirts, were also collecting signatures at the Waldbaum's exit.

"Most of the time, they don't know who he is. Sometimes we have to explain," said Kurt Low, one of the volunteers. "Sometimes, they sign 'cause he's a Republican.'"

Neither candidate is being supported by the party, which is looking for someone to replace Frank Powers, the designated nominee who suddenly died of heart failure June 22.

There seem to have been enough signatures collected to use his committee on vacancies to fill the spot. But there have not been any takers-which leaves Straniere scrambling for the nomination the party cannot seem to give away.
The death of Powers and the possibility of the GOP cross-endorsing the Independent or Brooklyn Conservative Party candidate propelled Straniere to restart his political career rather than focus on his year-old hot dog business.
"The Republican Party should nominate a Republican to office," Straniere said. "I think to unite the party, they need to get behind my candidacy and win this seat."

Straniere's relationship with the borough GOP tanked when he ran a 2001 primary for borough president against Republican-endorsed James Molinaro, a registered Conservative and deputy borough president.

With both sides still sore from that showdown, his nascent candidacy is struggling to get off the ground. The three-way primary which may result, though, was far from his mind as he struggled to get enough signatures to make his own run possible.

One Waldbaum's shopper came close to signing Straniere's petition until she inquired about other candidates.
Then she remembered something about him.

"Don't you live in Manhattan?" she asked.

"I do, but I'm moving back, of course," Straniere said.

"I can't sign it for someone who lives in Manhattan," she said. A Manhattanite cannot relate to Staten Island issues, she explained.

Straniere tried one last plea to no avail.

"I was your Assemblyman for 24 years!" he said.

But she had already walked away.