Bay Ridge

Gounardes says he’ll run against Golden for State Senate seat

Lawyer is 2nd Democrat to announce candidacy

November 20, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Andrew Gounardes is hoping to face state Sen. Marty Golden for a second time. Photo courtesy of Gounardes campaign
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A Democrat who ran against Republican state Sen. Marty Golden in 2012 and shocked the political establishment by earning more votes than Golden in the incumbent’s backyard in Bay Ridge, announced on Monday that he will run against Golden again in 2018.

Andrew Gounardes, a lawyer and a Bay Ridge civic activist, declared his candidacy for the state senate’s 22nd District in an email to supporters in which he attacked “fraudulent politicians” who he said “have repeatedly failed the people of southern Brooklyn.” 

The 22nd State Senate District includes parts of several Southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach. 

Gounardes, who currently serves as chief counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, is the second Democrat to announce a run against Golden, a longtime legislator who first captured the Senate seat in 2002. 

Ross Barkan, a freelance political journalist, announced his run last month and is busy on the campaign trail speaking to political clubs and raising money for his campaign.

Barkan and Gounardes could wind up facing each other in a Democratic Primary next year. 

Five years ago, Gounardes ran against Golden and surprised many political observers by earning more votes in the Bay Ridge end of the Senate district.

Golden managed to win re-election on the strength of support in other areas of the district, particularly in Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach. 

In an email sent to supporters on Monday, Gounardes presented his reasons for running.

“For far too long, politics in our state has valued big-money interests over working-class families, leaving us with underfunded schools, a failing transit system and worse,” Gounardes said. “It’s time we put a stop to that.”

In his role as the borough president’s chief counsel, Gounardes said he has helped Adams craft legislation to combat illegal conversions. Gounardes is also the organizer of a group called “Concerned R Train Riders” to fight for transit improvements. He said he also worked with parents to advocate for legislation for school-zone speed cameras. 

A graduate of Fort Hamilton High School, Gounardes earned a degree from Hunter College. He is also a graduate of the George Washington University Law School.

He is a former aide to Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst) and is a former member of Community Board 10.

Gounardes represents Adams on the Board of Trustees for the New York City Employee Retirement System, where he works to protect the pensions of 350,000 active and retired city workers.

Gounardes is also active in grass-roots community endeavors in Bay Ridge, where he lives. He is a co-founder of Bay Ridge Cares, an organization that assists victims of natural disasters, as well as families of children with cancer. 

Speaking about his chances, Gounardes noted that there are nearly 49,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state senate district, a margin that has grown by more than 10 percent since 2012. 

“Throughout Brooklyn, and across America, people are energized as never before because the stakes have never been higher,” Gounardes wrote in his email. “This energy will help the people of Brooklyn finally retire an incumbent who empowers the special interests corrupting our capitol.”

 

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