Mayor Bloomberg, left, joined Councilman Eric Ulrich at a June fundraiser at Vetro for the Queens legislator. File Photo
Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) has raised more than, and outspent, his Democratic challenger, Lew Simon, in the race for the 32nd City Council District, according to the most recent filing with the city Campaign Finance Board.
Ulrich, who was elected in a 2009 special election to represent the district that covers neighborhoods in South Queens and the Rockaways, raised $24,661 during the last campaign finance filing period, which ran from May 12 to July 11. He has landed a total of $32,911, has spent $20,163 and has $12,748 on hand.
Simon, a Democratic district leader who most recently ran for office against Ulrich in the 2009 special election, has raised $19,520 – all in the last filing period – in the race for the district that covers Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Bell Harbor, Breezy Point, Hamilton Beach, Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Park, South Ozone Park, South Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven. He has spent $2,077 and has $17,369 on hand.
Ulrich has landed contributions from 141 different people or groups and has an average contribution size of $233, according to the CFB. Most of his contributions – $29,861 – have come from city residents, with $3,050 stemming from individuals outside the city. Simon has received donations from 211 contributors and has an average contribution size of $92. He has secured $18,820 from city residents and $625 from people or groups outside the five boroughs.
According to the most recent filing, Ulrich has landed support from a variety of people and organizations, with some of the larger contributions coming from unions. The Manhattan-based Metallic Lathers Local 46 Political Action Committee gave the lawmaker $2,000, and the Long Island City-based U.A. Steamfitters L.U. #638 donated $1,000. Others who recently donated include the former director of the Forest Park Senior Center, a Howard Beach architect and an FDNY battalion chief from Rockaway Park, among a variety of others.
Democratic candidate Lew Simon raised a little more than $19,000 this period.
The legislator’s largest expenditure was for a fundraiser at Vetro Restaurant in Howard Beach at the end of June – which Mayor Bloomberg attended. At the event, Bloomberg called Ulrich “an honest guy with a very, very bright political future.”
Simon’s largest contributions came from Janice Selleck, a retired Breezy Point resident who gave $1,000; Crowley for Congress shelled out $500, and another retired individual from Breezy Point, Richard Ferraiolo, also gave $500. The district leader, who has been promoting an Aug. 8 fundraiser at the Irish Circle in Rockaway Park, spent most of his money this cycle – $1,400 – for campaign workers and community outreach, according to his filing. He has spent no money on fundraisers, according to his filing with the CFB.
Both candidates have been backed by a number of high-profile names. The Working Families Party recently threw its weight behind Ulrich. While the labor-backed WFP doesn’t typically endorse Republicans, the group said Ulrich often supports issues for which it advocates, including a paid sick leave bill that passed the Council but was vetoed by 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
