With November’s general election looming in the not too distant future, candidates running in Mid and South Queens have been touting political endorsements to jog support for their campaigns.
Middle Village civic activist Craig Caruana, a Republican challenging Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), announced last Friday that he had landed the endorsement of city Fire Marshals Benevolent Association in the race for the 30th Council District, which covers Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood and Woodhaven.
“The 30th Council District lost nearly $300,000 in discretionary funding, which gave only 47 of the 88 community organizations the necessary funds to operate,” William Kregler, president of the city Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, said in a statement. “The rest had to seek funding elsewhere while cutting services to the community. That eroded our community’s quality of life.”
The $300,000 cut to Crowley’s discretionary spending came after the councilwoman ran for Congress against now U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), the Democratic party favorite, which has been said to have angered Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan).
Crowley herself has said strained relations between her office and the speaker’s has resulted in a decrease in funding for her district and called Quinn “brazenly vindictive” in a recent New York Times article.
Crowley, who has been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, and the Detectives’ Endowment Association, has said that despite the cut in funding she has still managed to bring needed resources to community organizations.
In South Queens, the Working Families Party threw its support behind City Councilman Eric Ulrich’s (R-Ozone Park) bid for his 32nd Council District seat that covers Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Hamilton Beach, Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Park, South Ozone Park, South Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven. Ulrich is being challenged by Democratic District Leader, Lew Simon.
While the labor-backed WFP doesn’t usually endorse Republicans, the group has said Ulrich often supports issues for which it advocates, including a paid sick leave bill that passed the Council this year but was vetoed by Mayor Bloomberg.
Simon, meanwhile, is being backed by the Queens Democratic Party, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and state Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park).
By Anna Gustafson
