Vito John Fossella Jr. (born March 9, 1965) is a U.S. Republican politician from the state of New York who formerly represented the state's 13th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms, from 1997 to 2009 serving as the lone Republican from New York City. Fossella, a Staten Island native, was born to a family that included several politicians. Fossella initially took office in 1997, after winning a special election held to replace the resigning Susan Molinari. As a result of a DUI arrest in Alexandria, Virginia on May 1, 2008, followed by the public disclosure a week later that he had had an affair with Laura Fay, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, that had resulted in a three-year-old child while Fossella was married, he announced on his official website on May 20 that he had chosen to serve out the remainder of his term, which ended on January 3, 2009, but decided not to run for re-election.

Before Fossella announced that he would not run in 2008, he was included in the National Republican Congressional Committee's list of Republican candidates who qualified for fundraising help because they were thought to be particularly vulnerable. Steve Harrison hoped to run against Fossella again in the 2008 election, but New York City Council member Domenic Recchia also began seeking the Democratic nomination. For several days after his DWI arrest and his admission of an adulterous affair and fathering an out-of-wedlock child, Fossella gave indications that he might run for re-election despite these problems. On May 20, however, he dropped out of the race. On May 28, the Staten Island Democratic Party endorsed City Councilman Michael E. McMahon for the Democratic nomination, although Harrison said he would remain a candidate in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, several prominent elected officials considered running but decided against it. On May 29, the Staten Island Republican Party endorsed Frank Powers, a member of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who had never held elective office but who promised to spend $500,000 of his own money on the race. However, Powers died on June 22. Powers's son (Frank M. Powers) was also in the race, running as a Libertarian; however, the Libertarian Party did not endorse him. Robert Straniere was on the ballot for the Republican Party, and Susan Overeem was the Libertarian Party candidate. McMahon won the election on November 4, 2008, and replaced Fossella in Congress on January 3, 2009.

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