In a week expected to be packed with last-minute campaigning, the candidates for the Senate District 15 have put it to the wayside as their respective districts still recover from damages caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Incumbent State Senator Joseph Addabbo and Councilmember Eric Ulrich, locked in one of the tightest races in the borough, have both said campaign operations are taking a break as they aid in assessment and recovery efforts in their areas.
Addabbo said in a statement that he was focusing on recovery and relief efforts for the district.
“As of now my main priority and that of my campaign staff is to focus on assisting my district in the clean up and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, as many areas of my district were hit incredibly hard by the storm,” he said. “The safety and well-being of my constituents are the most important to me, and I will not focus my attention elsewhere until the recovery is well on its way.”
Ulrich for Senate spokesperson Jessica Proud said the councilmember had suspended his campaign to deal with the devastation from the hurricane.
The campaign’s headquarters on Cross Bay Boulevard appeared yesterday to have been flooded from water that poured on to the wide thoroughfare. Chairs and tables were knocked over with campaign literature scattered all over the floor.
The Rockaways were projected to be a decisive factor in the election. Ulrich has represented a bulk of the peninsula since 2009; Addabbo represented virtually the same area, in the City Council, from 2001 to 2008.
