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/
In 2015, I started becoming aware and interested in helping my local Dyker Heights community. Street safety is what pushed me into becoming active. My constant worries of how dangerously people were driving caused me to reach out to local leaders.
At a community gathering in 2018, I met Andrew Gounardes, who mentioned his intention to run for state senate. He asked me what my concerns were for the area. Instantly, I knew I found someone who could be in the senate and actually try to help our area. Sometimes electeds in Albany just don’t get the different issues we face in the boroughs.
Andrew followed through immediately by forming street safety committees and immediately after being elected, one of the several things he helped implement was school zone speed cameras. While some may scoff at them as money grabs, I say, don’t speed by school zones or at all: problem solved.
As soon as Andrew began his position in Albany, he quickly got to work helping pass the Child Victims Act, supported women’s rights and the LBGTQ community, and took steps to prevent gun violence. He is currently working on prioritizing healthcare, including our current opioid crisis, as well as improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.
It should be mentioned that Andrew has been actively helping people in our area for many years. When local crises arise, like Supertstorm Sandy or the Covid-19 pandemic, Andrew is first in line to work with organizations like Bay Ridge Cares, which he actually co-founded in the wake of Sandy. He physically and actively will be there, helping those in despair. I wholeheartedly admire him.
In the two years he has been in office, Andrew has done so much positive work. I know we need to send him back to Albany so he can continue working on the issues which are plaguing our area. Andrew inspires all around him. He has a kind heart and he cares. At the same time, he is tough about fighting against inequalities.
Andrew is someone who anyone can speak with on any topic. I witnessed a conversation Andrew had with a constituent who did not agree with him. They spoke about the topics and shared their reasonings as to why they felt the way they did. Andrew was able to effortlessly ease the tension and they had a human-to-human conversation. They both left that interaction feeling good about each other. We have not seen that with his opponents, who seem to only hold the interests of a specific, narrow group, and are not open to listening to other points of view. That is definitely not Andrew.
Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in his 2020 campaign like I did when he first won two years ago, but I want to see him continue his good work as our state senator and I am supporting Andrew Gounardes in 2020 with my vote.
