This opinion piece is part of a series written by community members from New York’s 22nd state senate district, explaining why they are voting to reelect Senator Andrew Gounardes in the 2020 election. Early Voting begins Saturday, October 24 and runs daily through Sunday, November 1. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Find your polling site at: https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/
With all my shameless references, you may know that the Gounardes family are my distant cousins. You may also know how proud and grateful I was to move to Bay Ridge with my now-husband in 2016, which gave us the chance to know them better and spend time together.
Having Andrew and the Gounardes clan as part of my family affords me the opportunity to see sides of him that others might not. That’s what I want to share with you: I’ve had the honor to see his father serve the community with his dental practice, and to see his mother give her time and strength to supporting our neighborhood’s most vulnerable citizens through Bay Ridge Cares. When you can see first-hand the values he was raised with, Andrew’s commitment to his neighbors isn’t a surprise. It’s in his blood.
In their faith, Andrew and his family are truly and earnestly committed to their church, which only makes it more admirable to see how respectfully and graciously he speaks to his neighbors of different traditions. His is an open mind, always eager to keep learning with an intellect that is robust and vibrant — I can honestly say he’s one of the few people with whom I’ve discussed Constitutional law on the R train.
Elections here in District 22 aren’t just about District 22 alone. The past four years have shown that we are all part of a bigger conversation happening in homes and shops, in neighborhoods and communities across the country. We are all faced with a singular question, one greater than speed cameras or garbage pickups or bus routes. We have all had to ask ourselves, “What kind of person do we want to best represent us?”
We are a fundamentally decent community. That is what I firmly believe. And if you believe it too, you can be proud to vote for Andrew Gounardes: a fundamentally decent person, who brings the best of all of us to Albany.
