Can A Staten Island Congressman Represent Brooklyn?

It’s not even 2014 yet, but the 2014 Congressional election is already well underway in the 11th Congressional District, where incumbent Michael Grimm faces a challenge from Democratic Councilman Domenic Recchia.

To put it frankly, the race is already shaping up to be a disappointment for anyone hoping for civil discourse. From the get-go in February, when Recchia announced his run, the mud was flying through the air.

We’ll save the historical overview with all the dirty little back-and-forths for a future post. But one thing I just can’t let go of is the overarching narrative put forth by Grimm and Staten Island Republicans that a Brooklynite just can’t represent Staten Island.

For the most part, that kind of chatter has been coming from the sidelines: folks in the Staten Island GOP or political commentators looking to fill editorial holes on a slow news day. It’s also been an undercurrent in some of Grimm’s own statements, but never outright expressed as far as I know.

Until Monday.

Congressman Grimm’s campaign put out a statement attacking Recchia for his Brooklyn residency.

“How can we expect a career politician who lives in Brooklyn to put Staten Island first, when his voting record says otherwise?” Grimm’s spokeswoman, Carol Danko. “The City is constantly dumping things on us that we don’t want – whether its toll hikes, property tax increases, a juvenile detention center or a landfill – and Domenic is part of the problem. It’s because of politicians like Domenic Recchia that Staten Island has become the forgotten borough, and why he is unfit to serve.”

I can’t help but note that Grimm has previously attacked Recchia for putting Staten Island first with his City Council discretionary funds as Finance Chair. But whatevs.

(I don’t care to run it in full, but Recchia responded with a statement with a litany of other things Grimm did that he doesn’t believe is in the best interest of Staten Islanders. You can read the whole exchange on Politicker.)

The point here isn’t who puts Staten Island first. If you ask me, Staten Islanders are spoiled enough as it is, what with their free ferry and all.

No, what bothers me is the logic of Grimm et al’s statements leads to a disconcerting, and wholly ridiculous conclusion. If a Brooklynite can’t represent Staten Islanders, isn’t it logical to conclude that a Staten Islander can’t represent Brooklyn? And wouldn’t that mean Grimm is suggesting that he’s been screwing his Brooklyn constituents all along?

Of course, that’s nonsense. It is not such a world of difference between this part of Brooklyn and Staten Island, especially on the federal level. And good ideas know no borders between boroughs.

At least that’s what I believe, and I want these two to stop acting like petulant children and begin having an actual conversation about the future of the district – Brooklyn and Staten Island, both.

But that’s just me. Do you think a Brooklynite can represent Staten Island? Do you think a Staten Islander can represent Brooklyn? Is this all just BS?