Eramo to run for State Assembly

City Councilman Anthony Eramo, who was elected as part of a Democratic sweep last November that strengthened the Democratic majority on the council, announced Tuesday that he would run for State Assembly. Lido Beach resident Robert Solomon, a former school board trustee and attorney, also announced his candidacy this week.

Eramo and Solomon could face former Assistant U.S. District Attorney Todd Kaminsky in a September primary. The Assembly seat will be vacated in December by Harvey Weisenberg, who announced last month that after 25 years in the Assembly, he would not seek another term.

Eramo, 40, a field technician for Verizon and a former lobbyist and political director for his union, the Communications Workers of America 1104, announced his candidacy at a press conference on Tuesday, pledging to fight for residents of the 20th Assembly District, which encompasses the Long Beach barrier island, Island Park, Oceanside, the Five Towns and parts of East Rockaway and Valley Stream.

“Folks on the South Shore feel like Albany isn’t working for them,” said Eramo, who is also a member of the Working Families Party. “We’ve struggled to get back into our homes after Sandy and we've been left without all the resources we need to defend our community from future disasters. We need a strong Democrat who is dedicated to fighting for a resilient South Shore with good middle-class jobs, who can get taxes under control — especially for seniors on fixed incomes — and fight for great schools for our kids.”

Eramo was elected to the council in a landslide that gave Democrats a 5-0 majority. Eramo, whose West End home was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy — he is currently rebuilding, and hopes to return in July with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children — said that he was motivated to run, in part, by the opportunity to advocate on the state level for storm victims and for funding for resiliency projects.