Recchia raises over $1 million for congress race

October 16, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Call him Richie Rich. Or how about Recchia Rich?

Term-limited Councilman Domenic Recchia, who is setting his sights on congress, boasted this week that he is breaking campaign fundraising records.

Recchia said his campaign has raised more than $1 million to date. And the race doesn’t take place until 2014.

Recchia, a Democrat, announced several months ago that he will run against Republican-Conservative incumbent Michael Grimm in the 11th Congressional District (Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Staten Island) next year.

Recchia submitted a filing on Oct. 15 which showed that his campaign raised over $304,000 just in the third quarter of this year.

The Staten Island Advance reported that Grimm has a total of $827,711 on hand.

Recchia released a statement expressing gratitude for the donations he has received for his congressional campaign. “I’m very humbled and proud of the broad base of support we are building on this campaign. The energy and momentum on the ground is palpable and incredibly inspiring,” he said.

“I hear from people in Staten Island and South Brooklyn every day that they want new leadership in Congress. They are tired of the obstructionism, they want results. In congress, I’m going to be a leader who focuses on solving problems and who puts the people first. That’s the kind of leadership this district deserves,” Recchia said.

Recchia (D-Coney Island-Gravesend-parts of Bensonhurst) also boasted that as chairman of the council’s powerful Finance Committee, he helped pass four on-time, balanced, and fiscally responsible budgets, all without raising taxes.

Recchia, a lawyer, has served on the council for 12 years. Due to the city’s term limits law, he cannot run for re-election. He has been accused of being a political dilettante in the past by some political observers. He reportedly flirted with the idea of running for city comptroller, then when that didn’t pan out, he set his sights on running for Brooklyn borough president. He later changed his mind and announced that he wasn’t running.