Ulrich Won’t Run Again for Public Advocate

Councilmember Eric Ulrich tweeted that he will not run for public advocate in the fall. Photo via Ulrich’s campaign

By Jonathan Sperling

Ozone Park Councilmember Eric Ulrich will not run for public advocate again, he announced in a tweet on Friday.

Ulrich, who finished in second to Brooklyn Councilmember Jumaane Williams in the Feb. 26 special election, said that he would “respectfully decline” the GOP’s nomination ahead of the June primary. Petitioning has begun for prospective candidates to appear on the ballot in the primary election.

“I will not be a candidate for Public Advocate in the Fall. The GOP is circulating petitions with my name on it because the process started on the day of the Special Election,” Ulrich tweeted. “I will respectfully decline the nomination and allow the committee to fill vacancies to make a decision.”

Despite losing the special election, Ulrich proved to be a formidable candidate in the race to replace former Public Advocate Letitia James, who was elected state attorney general.

Ulrich, the only Republican elected official in the race, won the vote in Queens. He captured 27,442 votes in the borough, compared to Williams’ 21,785 votes, according to the New York City Board of Election’s unofficial results. In total, 402,778 New Yorkers cast their votes in the first-ever special election for citywide office.

Ulrich particularly dominated the vote in the assembly district that overlaps with his council district, which includes Ozone Park, Broad Channel, Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, Lindenwood and the Rockaway Peninsula.

“New Yorkers have spoken and they have elected [Jumaane Williams] the public advocate of the city of New York and I’m going to work very closely with him,” Ulrich said in his concession speech Tuesday night. “The good news is, we came in second place … We also won Queens and Staten Island.”