City Council District 32 has a new contender.
Lew Simon, leader of the 23rd Assembly District, has officially declared his candidacy as a Democrat for the upcoming race, where he will vie with incumbent Republican Councilmember Eric Ulrich.
Simon was backed by the Queens Democratic Party on Monday, May 20 after announcing his candidacy last week. State Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder have also endorsed him. “I’m very honored and I’m very proud,” Simon said.
He is running on a platform of Sandy reconstruction and restoring the Long Island Rail Road’s Rockaway Beach Branch.
“The playing field is very different,” he said. “I was not happy with the services and the responses we’re getting from any of the city agencies, our mayor or our councilmember.”
This will not be the first time Simon and Ulrich face off in an election. They ran in a 2009 special election to fill the council seat vacated by State Senator Joseph Addabbo.
“I’m very excited,” Simon said of this year’s run. “I’m going to do the very old fashioned way of grass roots. I plan on being everywhere you see.”
Simon has begun reaching out to different neighborhoods in District 32, including Woodhaven and Lindenwood. He said he previously worked with Woodhaven residents when the neighborhood was part of the assembly district.
“It was like going back to my family,” he said. “I’ve never left Woodhaven. I’ve always been there working closely with them.”
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