I don't understand why selecting the DA that tried to secure a conviction for the police officers involved in the Garner case is a wise choice for Staten Island?
Actually the DA deliberately tried to protect the cop who killed garner from being indicted with his smoke and mirrors Grand Jury which was not even presented with all possible charges.
A District Attorney indicting a police officer is bad news politically and financially for the DA. There's a reason the PBA and police unions contribute a LOT of money to a LOT of campaigns, and Dan Donovan has certainly enjoyed big financial gifts from the PBA in each of his campaigns- and the PBA will never admit to ANY wrongdoing by a police officer even if it is caught on video.
Donovan is probably still the strongest candidate the Republicans have. The white Republican South Shore of Staten Island mostly agrees with the Garner verdict, especially since the PBA spun any criticism of it into being "anti-NYPD" and now it's all wrapped up with the hated Al Sharpton and Bill de Blasio.
I think the key to winning this race against Donovan is to use the anger over the Garner verdict to motivate black and Hispanic voters on the North Shore to actually turn out in a special election when they normally stay home in mid-terms and special elections. Barack Obama actually won Staten Island in 2012, the minority population has increased a bit since, so turning out black and Hispanic voters in large enough numbers could be enough to make up the likely deficit among white voters against Donovan.
So basically, what you're saying, Donovan is the best Republican we can field here, given the moment, and that he would probably hold Staten Island over this issue. I would have preferred to run the younger Greek lady that was here, but Donovan now makes much more sense as a candidate to me.
(Also we didn't seriously compete in New York in 2012 or 2008. A serious Republican effort might skew the results a little right wards).
