4 DECEMBER 28, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Councilman-elect Holden says he’ll keep community at forefront
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Up until Election Day, not much
had changed in the life of Councilman
elect Robert Holden
over the past several decades.
He lived in the same Middle Village
house for 40 years, held the same job
as a college professor for more than 40
years, was a member of Community
Board 5 for 30 years, and was president
of the Juniper Park Civic Association
for 25 years. He’ll be the fi rst to admit
that he doesn’t like change.
It’s one of the many reasons why Holden’s
victory over Democratic incumbent
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley back
in November came as a surprise to many
people, including himself.
“I was like a fi sh out of water as a
candidate,” Holden, 66, said in an
interview with QNS at his transition
offi ce. “I didn’t like going up to people
and saying, ‘Vote for me.’ I couldn’t
go up to somebody and say, ‘Give me
money for the campaign.’ It was very
foreign to me.”
When it became offi cial on Nov. 15
aft er the absentee ballots were counted,
Holden — who wound up with just
137 votes more than Crowley — became
the only Republican candidate to
unseat a Democratic incumbent in the
City Council this election cycle.
Holden also ran on the Reform,
Conservative and “Dump de Blasio”
lines, but getting the Republican line
proved to be the diff erence maker.
Some Democrats criticized Holden
for the move aft er running, and losing,
as a Democrat in the primary against
Crowley, but Holden has never cared
about party designations.
“I’m a Democrat, but I don’t identify
with Democrats, nor do I identify with
Republicans,” Holden said. “I identify
with community, and nobody can
understand that.”
Along with engaging in traditional
electoral tactics — Holden and Crowley
traded barbs with one another
in mailed flyers and in the press
— Holden embraced community, independence
and civic action as central
themes of his campaign.
Instead of the traditional knocking
on doors, Holden would go out and observe
neighborhoods as a civic leader,
searching for problems he could fi x
right away. Holden and volunteers
Millie and Sally Wong would call in 311
complaints about things like derelict
cars, broken curbs and loose manhole
covers. Millie and Sally would compile
a spreadsheet every night with all of
the complaints they fi led, Holden said.
Holden attended precinct meetings,
wrote to the Department of Transportation
and was able to resolve several
complaints during the campaign. His
strategy paid off , and Holden said he
felt like it helped him better connect
with people and show them who
he was.
On Jan. 1, Holden will take offi ce,
and he plans to continue being a persistent
civic advocate while serving at
City Hall. He will initially caucus as
a Republican — making him just the
fourth GOP member in the chamber
of 51 lawmakers — but plans to listen
to both sides.
Holden said he will remain focused
on constituent services, he said, with
transportation issues being the
number one problem aff ecting every
neighborhood. There’s no clear solution,
but something has to be done
to “clear up the bottlenecks,” Holden
said. He also wants to address Building
Department complaints and the
need for more police offi cers. But he
admits that making any changes in
the political system will be a challenge.
“Now I have more clout to actually
help people, the thing I don’t know
is the politics end of it,” Holden said.
“The going to City Hall and dealing
with those people, dealing with
agencies, dealing with other electeds,
dealing with legislation, so I have to
learn that part of it.”
More than anything, Holden said
that he is grateful that a grueling
campaign is over, and he’s anxious to
get started. He described it as a roller
coaster ride, and sometimes those ups
and downs came multiple times in the
same day.
Ultimately, he got through it with
his team of volunteers that dedicated
several hours every day just because
they believed in him, and his wife,
Amy, who massaged his knees at night
and never let him get ahead of himself,
Holden said. Now, Millie and Sally will
be joining his staff full time.
“This is what I learned during this
election,” Holden said. “That I can’t let
these people down. I could not give up.”
Ridgewood Property Owners
& Civic Association
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There will be no
General Membership Meeting
in January
Ridgewood Property owners are always welcome to submit a membership application,
subject to RPOCA Board approval.
For information contact: Paul Kerzner, President - 718 381 3366
RIDGEWOOD TIMES/File photo
Robert Holden is now the Councilman-elect for the 30th City Council District.
