A retired Army colonel and self-described son of a New York City police family said Saturday that he is running for the state Assembly in Southern Queens on a platform of public safety and lower taxes, arguing his decades in uniform set him apart in the race.
Col. (Ret.) Tom Sullivan, running to represent Assembly District 23 in Southern Queens, told Breitbart News Saturday that his military and law enforcement background reflects the kind of experience the district has lacked, as he mounts his third bid for the seat.
Sullivan said his family’s service record is what separates him from his opponent.
“My opponent never put on a uniform. His family would never put on a uniform,” Sullivan said. “But yet the Police Benevolent Association, the PBA, just recently endorsed my opponent. It’s hard not to take it personally.”
The retired Army colonel detailed the record. His father was an NYPD detective, one brother served in the Secret Service, another was an inspector with the Port Authority Police, and his youngest brother joined the NYPD, Sullivan said. He served 30 years in the Army Reserve, including combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
Sullivan said he has been endorsed by the Police Conference of New York, which he said represents roughly 50,000 officers statewide.
The candidate tied his message to public safety in the district, pointing to the 2024 killing of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was fatally shot during a stop in Far Rockaway and driven to Jamaica Hospital, roughly nine miles away. The Rockaway peninsula has lacked a Level 1 trauma center since Peninsula Hospital closed nearly a decade ago.
“Within my district alone, we don’t have a level one trauma center,” Sullivan said, adding that a trauma center “might have saved his life.”
Sullivan said the first move would be a tax freeze, followed by an outright cut. He argued no state taxes its residents more than New York.
The 2022 race was close, with Sullivan losing to then-incumbent Stacey Pheffer Amato by 15 votes, according to certified results. Pheffer Amato is stepping down this year, setting up an open-seat contest between Sullivan and Democrat Pesach Osina in November.
New York Republicans are leaning into affordability and public safety heading into the midterms, casting themselves as a check on socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Osina won the Democratic primary in June, defeating attorney Mike Scala by roughly a two-to-one margin.
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