Staten Island DA Selected As GOP Candidate For Grimm’s Seat, Defends Garner Decision
Richmond County District Attorney Daniel Donovan has been named the Republican candidate for the not-yet-called special election to replace disgraced Congressman Michael Grimm.
The Staten Island Advance reports:
Party Chairman John Antoniello selected Donovan after interviewing him, as well as Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, on Saturday morning with executive committee members.
Party bylaws allow the chairman to be the sole determiner of the party candidate in this case.
Antoniello will meet with Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Craig Eaton to discuss his decision today and will officially nominate the prosecutor as soon as Governor Andrew Cuomo calls the election. Eaton has indicated that the GOP in Brooklyn supports Malliotakis.
“The bottom line is that since we are the largest part of the district, roughly 75 percent, it’s our call,” Antoniello told the Advance.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also weighed in on the selection of Donovan today, saying that, though he will be supporting the Democratic nominee, the prosecutor would be a welcome improvement over Grimm, who stepped down after pleading guilty to tax fraud in December.
Meanwhile, Donovan — who failed to indict the cop who killed Eric Garner, sparking weeks of protests across New York — defended the Garner decision on John Catsimatidi’s radio show Sunday morning.
“Those 23 people who got a jury notice… they’re the only people who heard all the evidence and deliberated,” said Donovan. “You may not agree with it — but respect it.”
He went on to express condolences to the family of Garner, and declared the American justice system “the best in the world.”
The Garner decision has been a divisive issue between Brooklyn and Staten Island. According to a recent Quinnipac poll, only 41 percent of Staten Island residents supported an indictment, compared with 64 percent of the entire city.
Two PACs have been created to help fundraise for Donovan, but they will have to start from scratch, since existing funds from other races will not meet the fundraising requirements of a federal election. The prosecutor said he will not take leave of office while running for Congress, according to reports.