Government of Staten Island

Main articles: Staten Island and Government of New York City

Boro Hall

The Staten Island Ferry runs between Staten Island and Manhattan.

The Government of Staten Island, or Richmond County, like the other boroughs which are contained within New York City, includes no county government. Counties within New York City lack the county courts of other counties in New York State. Richmond County is part of a state Supreme Court (general jurisdiction) district shared with Brooklyn, but has its own Surrogate's Court and judges of the Criminal Court, Family Court and the New York City Civil Court, the last having a similar jurisdiction to New York State County Courts for disputes under $25,000, small claims and housing cases. Criminal and Family Court judges are appointed; the others are elected. Also popularly elected are the District Attorney (public prosecutor) for Richmond County, currently Daniel Donovan (Republican), and the Borough President, James Molinaro (Conservative).

Politics

Staten Island politics differ considerably from the rest of the city, being far friendlier to the Republicans than other boroughs, although Democrats have a substantial majority in registration. According to the New York State Board of Elections, as of April 1, 2005, there were 119,601 registered Democrats in Staten Island versus only 82,193 registered Republicans.

Party affiliation of Staten Island registered voters

Party	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996
Democratic (%)	44.70	44.76	45.19	45.39	45.63	45.47	45.51	45.60	46.38	46.15
Republican (%)	30.64	30.47	30.77	30.55	30.68	30.76	31.17	31.60	30.80	31.28
No affiliation (%)	19.00	19.10	18.46	18.54	18.67	18.84	18.67	18.25	18.43	18.48
Other (%)	5.66	5.67	5.58	5.52	5.02	4.93	4.65	4.55	4.39	4.09

Local politics

Since New York City's consolidation in 1898, Staten Island has been governed by the New York City Charter that provides for a "strong" Mayor-council government. The centralized New York City government is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services in the Bronx. The Borough has three appointed Community Boards with advisory and limited administrative powers.

Staten Island representation in the state assembly has 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans. The 60th district [1] is represented by Republican Nicole Malliotakis, and the 62nd [2], which encompasses most of the south shore of the island, by Louis Tobacco. But both the 61st [3] and 63rd [4] districts have elected Democrats, Matthew Titone and Michael J. Cusick. Staten Island is split between two State Senate Districts. Most of the island used to be represented by Republican John J. Marchi [5], the longest-serving legislator in state history; but is now represented by Republican Andrew Lanza; while the North Shore belongs to the Brooklyn-based district of Democrat Diane Savino [6].

National politics

Presidential election results

Year	GOP & Conservative	Dem. & Liberal
2008	51.7% 86,062	47.6% 79,311
2004	56.4% 90,325	42.7% 68,448
2000	45.0% 63,903	51.9% 73,828
1996	40.8% 52,207	50.5% 64,684
1992	47.9% 70,707	38.5% 56,901
1988	61.5% 77,427	38.0% 47,812
1984	65.1% 83,187	34.7% 44,345
1980	58.6% 64,885	33.7% 37,306
1976	54.1% 56,995	45.4% 47,867
1972	74.2% 84,686	25.6% 29,241
1968	55.3% 54,631	35.2% 34,770
1964	45.5% 42,330	54.4% 50,524
1960	56.5% 38,673	43.4% 50,356

In the national elections, Staten Island is not the Republican stronghold it is in local elections. However, it is not a Democratic stronghold like the rest of the city. It can be considered as a swing county with a slight Republican lean, though it seemed to become increasingly Democratic in the 1990s, like Long Island and Westchester County.

The island has only voted for the Democratic presidential nominee three times since 1952 — in 1964, 1996 and 2000. In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush received 57% of the island's votes to 42% for John Kerry; by contrast, Kerry outpolled Bush in the city's other four boroughs cumulatively by a margin of 77% to 22%.

Staten Island is currently in the 13th Congressional District, which also includes part of Brooklyn. It has been held by the GOP from 1981 until 2009 when Democrat Michael McMahon won the seat. It was previously held by Vito Fossella, an outspoken conservative. Michael Grimm, a Republican, won back the seat for the GOP in 2010. The seat has always been targeted by Democrats, but Fossella always won with little trouble until 2004, when he lost the Brooklyn portion of the district by seven points. However, he won Staten Island by 26 points, undoubtedly helped by Bush's win in the borough. Before Fossella, Staten Island was represented by Susan Molinari, a moderate Republican who made the keynote speech at the 1996 Republican National Convention. Her father, Guy, held the seat from 1981 to 1990, when he was elected borough president.

The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Staten Island. The Staten Island Main Post Office is located at 550 Manor Road.

See also

• Government of New York City
• New York City mayoral elections (with borough-by-borough results since 1897)
• Government and politics of the Bronx (for comparison)