An Assembly staff member who figured prominently in a controversy surrounding Jane L. Corwin's failed congressional candidacy has resigned, the Clarence assemblywoman said Wednesday.
"I can confirm that Michael Mallia has resigned as my chief of staff and is no longer working for my office," she said. "This is an internal personnel matter, and as such, my policy is to have no further comment."
But Mallia's action on the campaign trail in the congressional campaign, won last week by Democrat Kathleen C. Hochul, was anything but an internal matter. He was identified in several reports as a volunteer who videotaped independent candidate Jack Davis outside a Monroe County campaign event.
Mallia allegedly shouted at Davis several times as to why he refused to participate in a debate sponsored by WGRZ-TV, causing Davis to appear to swat at the camera with a piece of paper, causing a series of loud grunts and groans from Mallia. Corwin and other GOP officials subsequently refused to discuss the matter in detail, and the event was seen as a key development in a campaign that led to Hochul's victory.
--- Robert McCarthy
