News :: GLBT
’Family Values’ Republican Rep. Admits to Affair, Daughterby Kilian MelloyFriday May 9, 2008 A Republican lawmaker whose voting record has been largely anti-gay has admitted to having a three-year-old daughter with a woman other than his wife.
NY Rep. Vito Fossella made the admission May 8, after a drunk-driving arrest last week in Virginia, reported The New York Times in a May 9 article.
Fossella was reportedly driving drunk late at night on Apr. 30 and into the early morning of May 1 after having attended a celebration at the White House in recognition of the New York Giants having defeated the New England Patriots in the Superbowl earlier this year.
The New York Times article reported that Fossella, who has long projected a Republican-style "family values" image and whose voting record over his five terms has included votes against marriage equality and adoption by same-sex parents, said that he had been en route to his child when he was stopped. The child, said Fossella, was sick. Fossella also specified his destination as Grimm Street.
Fossella was pulled over not far from the Grimm Street address in Alexandria, VA, of a retired female Air Force lieutenant colonel, Laura Fay, whom Fossella later reportedly called after his early morning arrest on May 1. Records indicated that Fay got Fossella out of jail at about 7:30 that morning, the Times reported.
At a press conference the next day, Fossella apologized for the arrest, but said he had no intention of stepping down. However, the issue of Ms. Fay had already started to hit the tabloids, with reports that the woman whom Fossella’s people ha characterized as merely a "good friend" had been taken along by Fossella on a 2003 congressional trip to Europe.
Fossella and his wife, Mary Pat, have three children together.
May 8 brought a different sort of announcement from Fossella, who admitted to having had an affair, and a daughter, now three years old, with Ms. Fay.
Said Fossella in a statement, "My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love," reported The New York Times.
Fossella added in the statement that he was "truly sorry."
However, Fossella was tight-lipped about any plans he might have to hold on to his seat, or to step down.
In March, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, initially indicated that he would maintain his office even as a scandal broke over Spitzer’s reportedly having lavished money on female escorts. However, days later, Spitzer stepped down.
Republican lawmakers have faced a long string of similar scandals in recent years, from LA congressman David Vitter’s alleged ties to a Washington, D.C.-area madame to ID Sen. Craig, whose arrest and guilty plea for soliciting sex from an undercover policeman in a Minneapolis airport led to Craig’s eventual announcement that after serving out his current term, he would not seek reelection.
If Fossella is convicted of drunk driving, mandatory sentencing will send him to jail for five days.
In the statement, Fossella noted that, "there will be many questions, including those about my political future."
However, Fossella went on, he did not intend on "making any political decisions right now," the Times reported.
The article reported that unnamed Republican sources expressed the opinion that Fossella’s best move in terms of the good for the party would be to finish out his term and abandon his reelection campaign.
That scenario, said the Times, avoids the need for a special election, which could result in Fossella’s seat going to a Democrat.
In other scandals, such as that involving Congressman Vitter, critics charged that Republicans did little or nothing in order to avoid the potential of losing a Republican seat to a Democrat.
Critics further blasted Republicans for their comparatively aggressive reaction to the Larry Craig scandal, claiming that since Craig’s seat was in no danger of being taken by a Democrat, Republicans felt more secure in making an example of him.
The Times reported that in two recent special elections, Democrats have replaced outgoing Republican officeholders; a third Republican seat, in MI, could potentially be lost in a special election scheduled for next week.
The Times also reported that two other Republican congressmen from NY will be leaving office at the end of their current terms, and no likely replacement has yet emerged to help the party hold on to those seats.
Still, other Republican sources expressed the opposite view, saying that Fossella would serve the party better by resigning ahead of the elections in November.
Constituents cite in the New York Times seemed to agree that Fossella should resign; a blogger posting a comment at a local newspaper’s online site went further, noting Fossella’s anti-gay voting record, and writing, "Interesting how he and so many of his fellow Republicans (Gingrich, Vitter, etc.) ’protect’ marriage."
Added the blogger, "Given the Republican Party’s moral ’logic,’ my partner and I are probably somehow responsible for Fossella’s problems."
Fossella’s voting record included votes againt marriage equality and same-sex parents adopting children; however, Fossella did cast his vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a measure that would extend protections against workplace discrimination to gays, lesbians, and bsexual workers. The House approaved the measure, but the Senate has yet to allow a vote on the bill.
Fossella’s largely anti-gay record was accumulated despite his having an out lesbian sister. According to news stories, Victoria Fossella and her partner Maggie Scharsella had marched in a Pride parade with their children, twins who were one year old at the time.
A separate article on Fossella in the May 9 edition of the New York Times quoted a political science professor, Richard Flanagan, who said, "I think he’s an untenable candidate at this point."
Flanagan, a professor with the College of Staten Island, added, "I can’t imagine him marching on to the general election," going on to say, " the idea of a second family in the Washington area doesn’t play well in this kind of traditionalist borough."
Continued Flanagan, "I would suppose that, even if he tried, he would be threatened with a Republican primary," the Times reported.
Fossella’s refusal to indicate any plans for the future extended beyond his statement to the public. Fellow NY Republican congressman Peter King was quoted in the article as saying, "When people came up to him and said, ’Hang in there, you can win,’ he said, ’I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m not even thinking about that now.’"
The same article said that Republicans have already begun to consider who might be tenable as a replacement for Fossella, with the names of District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr., State Senator Andrew Lanza, and City Councilman James S. Oddo all being mentioned.
The Democrats also taking an interest in the upcoming race for Fossella’s seat, with a previously defeated opponent, Stephen Harrison, looking to secure the nomination for another try.
In a statement, Harrison said of Fossella’s situation, "it is unfortunate that Congressman Fossella’s indiscretions have now had an impact on so many innocent people and lives."
Added Harrson, "I wish only the best to his family in this time of personal crisis."
Harrison noted that, Fossella’s reluctance to announce any career plans notwithstanding, "the simple fact is that over the next six months, with a looming election, he will have to juggle his Congressional duties, the campaign and his personal responsibilities."
Said Harrison, "Only he can decide if he can properly represent the people of this district during this time."
In still another May 9 item, a column in the same edition of the newspaper offered this sage advice, drawn from Fossella’s plight:
"If you drink, don’t drive.
"If you drink and drive, don’t run a red light.
"If you drink and drive and run a red light, don’t do it on the way to your girlfriend’s house.
"And if you drink and drive and run a red light and head to your girlfriend’s house, don’t be surprised what happens next."
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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