A retired Army colonel and son of an NYPD detective announced Saturday that he is running for the New York State Assembly in Southern Queens, putting public safety and tax relief at the center of a race that will help determine how far Republicans can extend their midterm message into New York City’s outer boroughs.
Col. (Ret.) Tom Sullivan, who is seeking to represent Assembly District 23, told Breitbart News Saturday that his three decades in uniform and his family’s law enforcement lineage set him apart in the contest. It is his third attempt at the seat.
“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.”
Sullivan’s opponent is Democrat Pesach Osina, who won the June primary by defeating attorney Mike Scala by roughly a two-to-one margin. Osina is vying for an open seat after incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, a Democrat, decided to step down this year.
A Family Steeped in Service
Sullivan, who described himself as a product of a New York City police family, laid out a service record that stretches across multiple agencies. 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, according to Sullivan. He himself served 30 years in the Army Reserve, including combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
He said he has been endorsed by the Police Conference of New York, an organization he said represents roughly 50,000 officers statewide. The PBA’s endorsement of Osina, he acknowledged, stung.
The 2022 race between Sullivan and Pheffer Amato was extraordinarily close. Sullivan lost by just 15 votes, according to certified results — a margin that has fueled his decision to run again as the seat opens up.
Public Safety and the Trauma Center Gap
Sullivan tied his campaign directly to a high-profile tragedy in the district. He pointed to the 2024 killing of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway and then driven roughly nine miles to Jamaica Hospital.
The Rockaway peninsula has lacked a Level 1 trauma center since Peninsula Hospital closed nearly a decade ago. Sullivan argued that the absence may have cost Diller his life.
“Within my district alone, we don’t have a level one trauma center,” he said, adding that a trauma center “might have saved his life.”
The issue has become a recurring theme in local politics, with residents on the peninsula long complaining about lengthy transport times for critical injuries. Sullivan’s campaign is betting that the combination of public safety concerns and the trauma center gap will resonate with voters who feel the district has been overlooked.
Taxes First, Then Cuts
On fiscal policy, Sullivan said his first move in Albany would be to push for a tax freeze, followed by an outright cut. He argued that no state taxes its residents more heavily than New York — a claim that has become a staple of Republican messaging in the state.
New York Republicans have been leaning into affordability and public safety as they head into the midterms, portraying themselves as a check on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. Sullivan’s district, which includes parts of Southern Queens, is seen as a potential bellwether for how well that message travels in a city where Democrats hold a significant enrollment advantage.
Osina, who won the Democratic primary in June, is expected to carry the party’s institutional support. But Sullivan’s near-miss in 2022 — a 15-vote loss — has Republicans hopeful that a third run, with the seat open and no incumbent on the ballot, could flip the district.
The general election is set for November. Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/19/exclusive-army-colonel-sullivan-runs-for-state-assembly-on-cutting-taxes-improving-safety/