Before we get down to business, we’d like to establish one simple ground rule that we will adhere to throughout this column:
This is an endorsement of City Councilman Eric Ulrich’s third and final term representing the 32nd District (Howard Beach, Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Broad Channel, Lindenwood, Neponsit, Richmond Hill, Rockaway Park, Roxbury, South Ozone Park, West Hamilton Beach and Woodhaven) on the council – not an indictment of his opponent.
We often hear phrases like “drain the swamp,” “elect outsiders, not entrenched politicians,” etc., during campaign season. And for the most part, we firmly agree with those sentiments. Career politicians can often be constituent-ignoring, money-grubbing, slick-tongued brokers who coast through decades of tenure asleep at the switches at the highest levels of power.
The Forum can proudly report that Eric Ulrich is not one of these enemies of the people. He is “entrenched” in the most positive connotation of the term. He has proven, time and again over the past eight-plus years, to be the passionate gadfly, speaking truth to those – regardless of political affiliation – who have been elected to lead the City, State, and country, but who often have left much to be desired.
“If you as the mayor who on the City Council annoys him the most,” Ulrich said on Tuesday at the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Candidates Forum, “he’ll tell you it’s me.”
He’s got a track record of standing up for his constituents, something many politicians forget should be Number 1 on their daily to-do list:
In the summer of 2016, Ulrich took Mayor Bill de Blasio to task over his work regarding Build It Back – which has affected thousands of Council District 32 residents. He lambasted the mayor for his “poor handling” of the Superstorm Sandy reconstruction program, and the de Blasio administration “for not delivering on their promise to help people get back into their homes after Superstorm Sandy.”
In March, Ulrich ripped de Blasio and “Turning the Tide on Homelessness, Neighborhood by Neighborhood” – the City’s latest plan to get a hold of the crisis: “Mayor de Blasio set expectations so incredibly low today that you have to wonder if he was even being serious. Over the next four years, he aims to move a mere 2,500 people out of the shelter system. This is an insult to the 60,000 plus New Yorkers who are desperately waiting for permanent housing. Homelessness is at an all-time high. It is a serious issue and deserves serious, thoughtful solutions. Instead of feuding with the governor, the mayor should be fighting in Albany to bring back Section 8 vouchers. Instead of building more shelters, the mayor should be investing in transitional housing programs that actually work by encouraging rehabilitation and upward mobility. The mayor should also fire his DHS Commissioner, Steven Banks, for doing an abysmal job running this agency. Until there are real programs, real solutions and real accountability – we will not see real progress or help for the people who need it the most.”
On Tuesday, Ulrich had one request.
“I’m asking you to vote for me so I can serve this district for four more years.” We are too.
Vote Ulrich on November 7.
