With Councilman Joseph Addabbo poised to try for higher office, the race for his seat is shaping up as a generational showdown between a grad student and a grandpa.
Fresh-faced Republican Eric Ulrich, 22, and elder Democrat Frank Gulluscio, 60, won't face each other until February 2009 if the Democrat Addabbo dethrones state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) - or until November 2009 if Addabbo loses.
But the civic-minded men are already exchanging potshots over who should represent Howard Beach, the Rockaways and other parts of southern Queens in the Council.
"A 60-year-old man like Frank against a guy like me who can knock on more doors [to get votes]? That's a no-brainer," fired Ulrich, who studies at St. John's University and became a Republican district leader in September.
Gulluscio shot back with his résumé: an English teacher in the 1970s, franchisee of two Brooklyn roller-skating rinks in the 1980s, nearly a decade as Democratic district leader and two years as Community Board 6 district manager.
"I've been 22. I know how 22-year-olds act and walk and talk," Gulluscio said of his rival. "We need somebody in that job who's competent. . . . We need someone from Day One who's not going to ask where the bathroom is."
Ulrich has raised $18,565 for his run over the past two years, with donations from several civic leaders and the wife of former Councilman Thomas Ognibene, according to city Campaign Finance Board records.
Gulluscio has garnered a comparatively slim $4,575, records show, but he stressed he hasn't truly started fund-raising.
"Look at me in July, which is the next filing [for campaign contributions]," he said.
But the candidates agree on some things: Both are proposing ferry service and cleaner, safer beaches in the Rockaways.
Losing 2006 Assembly candidate Stuart Mirsky, now vice president of the Rockaways Republican Club, figured Ulrich's dynamism would help him put up a formidable fight against Gulluscio.
| Eric Ulrich (R) | Name | Frank Gulluscio (D) |
22 | Age | 60 |
B.A., St. Francis College (2007); M.A., St. John's University (Expected 2009) | Education | B.A., SUNY (1968) |
Engaged for four months | Family | Married for 35 years, grandfather of two |
District leader for five months | Experience | District leader for nearly a decade |
| George W. Bush (2004) | First presidential candidate voted for | Eugene McCarthy (1968) |
"Shawshank Redemption" (1994) | Favorite movie | "Patch Adams" (1998) |
Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" (1979) | Favorite pop song | John Lennon's "Imagine" |
"You don't have an incumbent in place," Mirsky said. "It makes things a lot easier for a challenger."
And Democratic district leader Lew Simon, who lost to Addabbo in the 2001 primary, said he hasn't ruled out entering the race.
