NY-13: Bye Vito

Yet another House Republican drops out and goes home, but in Vito Fossella's case, it's out of necessity.

In a bombshell announcement that brings the curtain down on one of the most storied careers in Staten Island political history, fifth-term Republican Rep. Vito Fossella will not seek re-election this fall.

Mired in scandal after revelations about the secret daughter he fathered with Virginia divorcee Laura Fay became public, Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) tells constituents in a letter to be posted on his Web site tomorrow that he will no longer serve them in Congress after his current term expires on Jan. 3, 2009.

"After a great deal of consideration, I have made the decision not to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives this November," Fossella says in the statement. "This choice was an extremely difficult one, balanced between my dedication to service to our great nation and the need to concentrate on healing the wounds that I have caused to my wife and family."

The announcement comes almost three weeks after Fossella was arrested for DWI in Alexandria, Va., on May 1, and it removes one of the most recognizable faces from the Staten Island civic and political scenes.

These guys always leave to spend time with their family, when they got into trouble in the first place due to a lack of spending time with their family. Why would anyone think they'll actually put in the time now?

NY-13 Blog is all over this race. It's not a layup for Democrats, but it's yet another seat that will be hotly contested in November. Republicans are bracing for the worst.