McMahon’s got the name and the dough.
In his 2010 reelection bid Mike McMahon has the advantage of political tenure and the mountain of cash that comes with incumbency.
His two potential opponents are relatively unknown and frantically shaking hands and taking donations across the borough.
Mike Grimm is a former FBI agent and Gulf War veteran. His first run for office is fueled by a passion for conservative principles and a urge to uproot the current regime in Congress.
“I believe our country is on a very dangerous path,” Grimm told me last week, over the phone. “People are angry. People are more conservative here and they are not for a Nancy Pelosi agenda.”
Mike Allegretti is a relatively young former Brooklynite and political staffer who is making a name for himself in his new home, out on the borough of Staten Island.
“This is a values-based community,” Allegretti said. “I believe McMahon is a political member of Congress. With him people come second, politics comes first.”
While there are slight shades of difference between these political neophytes, their biggest challenge is to raise awareness, and money, on a borough very much neglected by Manhattan media — except, of course, when the ferry crashes.
As election day gets closer McMahon’s campaign will unlock the vault and let that ocean of cash flood Staten Island with poltical ads. And it is unclear whether the Republican candidates will sink or swim.
(according to OpenSecrets.org)