WHY BLOOMBERG
By Tom Lynch
The Rockaway Republican Club held it's first meeting in March 2004, our single goal being to bring a Republican presence to our
community where none currently existed for the purpose of getting President Bush reelected in 2004. It was a pretty high bar but one
we feel was met when President Bush got close to 48 percent of the vote in our State Assembly district (the 23rd). Then the fun began
(for details see our club's history), especially 01/01/2005 article titled "Leadership Blues").
First it was getting a state charter, second filling county committee positions with persons who lived closer to the election districts
they served, third there was the drive to replace our past non-responsive district leaders with Eric Ulrich and Jane Deacy, fourth and
most important for any club, it was to run folks for office which we did: Stu Mirsky and Jerry Sullivan both ran for State Assembly (in
2005 and 2007 respectively).
That one of the youngest Councilman to ever serve at City Hall was elected three weeks ago with a substantial lead over his nearest
rival and that that candidate was a Rockaway Republican member, a Republican district Leader and a young Conservative
Republican all came about as a result of our efforts begun back in 2004. This is a tremendous victory and, hopefully, it will not be
short-lived though the risk that it will be is very real and prevalent. Councilman Ulrich will have to work very hard to prove to his
neighbors and friends - many, many of whom are skeptical of his competence as a Rockaway advocate and a get-stuff-done type guy.
Needless to say, his youth also weighs heavily against him.
Our local paper just crucified him in today's edition - 3 days before he's even been sworn in!!! - for stuff he may possibly do or not do
in the future. More, the overwhelmingly Democratic City Council is unlikely to embrace their newest and youngest (and one of their
brightest) - and oh, by the way, a Conservative Republican. They will, though - and you can count on it - use every parliamentary
trick to squeeze their new compadre out of any committee appointments (he seeks appointments to Transportation and Parks) and
possible legislation...including naming streets.
They'll want to tilt the odds in favor of the already announced challenger, Frank Gulluscio, a favorite son in the key section of our
Councilmanic district of Howard Beach and former chief of staff to departed Councilman Joe Addabbo. Golluscio will have the full
array of Democratic support working for him and the Democrats in the Council will be on board. He'll want to run on a platform of
"You see, this kid can't get anything done". So Eric Ulrich has to demonstrate his capacity to accomplish things right out of the box.
We also face an election for Mayor this Fall . . . a mayor of whom many opinions have been expressed in the Republican rank and
file. There's no question that Bloomberg has used us and tossed us aside but he needs a party line to run again and we can offer that,
On election day, fellow readers,what Conservative Republican or even middle-of-the-road Republican are you gonna cast your ballot
for to run our beleaguered city if the choice is between Bloomberg and one of the professional pol Democrats?
The mayoral choice - I'm sorry to say - is between a competent manager who's, granted, a flamin' liberal or two incompetent
managers, who just also happen to be flamin' liberals, too. Unfortunately, and regrettably, our five County Chairs, and our State
chair, offer us no alternative as of now. In all of NYC ... the financial capital, the media capital, the book-publishing capital, the arts
capital, the corporate headquarters capital, the money nexus of America ... our GOP can't induce a single capable, articulate
Republican to campaign to run our fair city.
So, for whom will you cast your ballot on that fateful day???
When Ulrich gets to City Hall, it may be that his sole partner in attempting to get a little something done might just be 'Mayor Mike'
(as much as I'm sure you detest the sound of those two words).
So, to make a long answer longer ... we're supportin' - reluctantly - Bloomberg; and, please believe me, there's much gnashing of
teeth over this amongst us. Maybe it's a dumb thing to do, maybe it's wrong to bend principles so much, but our commitment to
Councilman-elect Ulrich. We want to be flexible enough to help him make a name for himself as the best City Councilman Queens
and this city ever had.
Tom Lynch President Rockaway Republicans