NYC Council District 26 Election: Sultan Maruf Seeks LIC Seat

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Democratic voters in New York City's 26th Council district, which includes Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Dutch Kills, and parts of Astoria, will see 15 names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election — making it one of the most crowded primary races in the city.

One of those names will be Sultan Maruf, a former IT director.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Maruf's responses are below.

<b>Age (as of Election Day)</b>

48

<b>Position Sought</b>

CITY COUNCIL

<b>Party Affiliation</b>

DEMOCRAT

<b>Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)</b>

LONG ISLAND CITY

<b>Family</b>

N/A

<b>Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?</b>

NO

<b>Education</b>

MASTER DEGREE

<b>Occupation</b>

HEALTH AIDE

<b>Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office</b>

N/A

<b>Campaign website</b>

WWW.SULTANMARUF.COM

<b>Why are you seeking elective office?</b>

I'm a victim, so I want to make a better place for all our communities regarding the issues that I have face, such as housing

<b>The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.</b>

Housing and Homelessness

<b>What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?</b>

I am the only candidate in NYC who will DONATE 50% COUNCIL SALARIES (Almost $74,000) to the charities.

<b>If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)</b>

Never asked our issues or problems.

<b>How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?</b>

Poorly. Local people utilized their own resources to help the needy people. Later on, those elected officials performed their duties.

<b>Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.</b>

MTA should be completely free with 1.2% wealth tax.

<b>What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?</b>

I advocated for Rohinghya issue at the United Nations and UN Refugee agencies started their operations afterwards.

<b>The best advice ever shared with me was:</b>

Raise your voice regarding pressing issues.

<b>What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?</b>

Victims will better understand the necessity of the our communities. So vote for them.