By Howard Koplowitz
Glen Oaks resident Bob Friedrich said he is banking on an anti-incumbent wave and a platform of reforming Albany in his Democratic primary election battle with state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck).
“I’m trying to change the culture of corruption in Albany,” Friedrich said during an interview at his campaign headquarters on Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks. “It’s about ethics and it’s about integrity. It’s not about raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside income.”
Friedrich is proposing that income legislators receive from outside employment be limited and that being a state elected official become a full-time job.
“If you don’t think your legislative pay is enough, don’t run for office,” he said. “I’m the only candidate in Queens who is not a lawyer, not a politician and doesn’t work for one. I’m an accountant and I have a record of decades-long civic involvement.”
Friedrich, the president of Glen Oaks Village, is also running on the Conservative line. Bayside resident Timothy Furey is running as a Republican.
Friedrich argued that incumbents have “destroyed the state economy” and said they are not worthy of re-election.
“Sending the same people to Albany will get you the same results. Why not give someone else a chance?” he said. “I come with a two-year warranty. If not completely satisfied after two years, put me back in the private sector.”
Friedrich said the state budget, which included the suspension of the sales tax on clothing under $110, will hurt families and “kills small businesses.”
“We can’t afford to have government in our pocket,” he said.
If elected, Friedrich said his first order of business would be to call for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s (D-Manhattan) resignation.
“Certainly, he is part of the problem. I don’t need Shelly Silver’s pat on the back,” said Friedrich, noting he was not worried about any ramifications for calling for Silver’s ouster.
“I drive a small car. I live in a small apartment. I can work perfectly well out of a small broom closet in Albany,” he said.
While Friedrich has no legislative experience, he said his tenure as president of Glen Oaks Village is evidence that he can get results.
He credited himself with working with banks to get the Glen Oaks co-op into a healthier financial situation after being on the brink of bankruptcy and helped co-op residents expand on their homes by allowing them to reclaim attic space as an extension to their dwellings.
Friedrich said jobs were the most important issue in the district, which covers Bellerose, Bayside, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Holliswood, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village.
Friedrich said the state should not impose a sales tax on any clothing and said the mobility tax that needs to be paid by the many livery or cab drivers who live in the district hurts their livelihood.
As a way to boost the small business community in the district, Friedrich proposes making the first hour at parking meters free with a six-minute grace period when meters run out.
“The state is really killing the small businesses in this state,” he said.
Friedrich is also calling for reforming the state pension system, saying pensions should be based on regular pay, not overtime.
If elected, Friedrich said he would think about opening a mobile office, which he would park in a different community in the district each week.
“This can create the access that people need,” he said. “I want the office to be about solving constituent problems.”
Friedrich is no stranger to running for office.
He ran against then-Assemblyman Mark Weprin for the City Council seat vacated by David Weprin last year.
David Weprin, who was against the change to the term limits law, mounted an unsuccessful campaign for city comptroller that year and then entered a February special election against Friedrich to replace his brother in the Assembly.
When asked if he would run again should he be unsuccessful this time around, Friedrich was coy.
“If we really can’t harness the electorate to come out and vote for change, then we have nobody else to blame but ourselves,” he said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
