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Staten Island GOP Picks Lawyer Ron Castorina for South Shore Assembly Seat

By Nicholas Rizzi | February 5, 2016 12:19pm
 The Staten Island Republican party unanimously chose lawyer Ron Castorina Jr. to run in the special election for the 62nd Assembly district.
The Staten Island Republican party unanimously chose lawyer Ron Castorina Jr. to run in the special election for the 62nd Assembly district.
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Facebook/Castorina for Assembly

STATEN ISLAND — The Staten Island Republican Party chose lawyer Ron Castorina Jr. to run for the vacant South Shore state Assembly seat.

Castorina — the former Republican commissioner for the Board of Elections — was unanimously selected to run and was endorsed by Borough President James Oddo, Councilman Joe Borelli and former Councilman Vincent Ignizio, the Staten Island Advance reported.

"I have a passion for public service, I can't explain why, it's not about fulfilling some egotistical notion inside of me, it's not about having to see my face on a website or having to see my name on a sign," Castorina said after the vote, the Advance reported.

"I have passion for my community, I have passion to do good. I have said from the beginning, I will do this because I want to do good."

He will run in the April 19 special election for the seat vacated by Borelli, who was elected to the City Council.

Borelli replaced Ignizio, who resigned from his post to take a job as the CEO of Catholic Charities of Staten Island.

Castorina served on the Board of Elections since 2013 until he resigned in December to prepare for the race.

This will be his first time running for office. He previously made headlines after he worked pro bono in a lawsuit that forced Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set a date for a special election to fill Michael Grimm's former congressional seat.

The Democratic Party has not yet chosen a candidate to run against Castorina Jr.