Upper East Side City Council Race: Mark Foley Challenges Menin

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Voters in New York City's 5th Council district, which covers much of the Upper East Side, will see two names on their ballots when they vote in the Nov. 2 general election.

One of those names will be Mark Foley, a businessman running on the Republican and and Liberal Party lines.

He is facing Julie Menin, who triumphed in a hard-fought Democratic primary in June against six other candidates. They are running to replace Ben Kallos, who has represented the district for two terms but is prevented by term limits from running again.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

60

Position Sought

City Council

Party Affiliation

Unaffiliated, running on the Republican and Liberal ballot lines

Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)

Upper East Side

Family

Wife Tina

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

MBA

Occupation

Analyst/ business consultant, 30 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

N/A

Campaign website

FoleyforCouncil.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

We have a failed administration and a city council that voted to defund the police of $1B. This city and city council needs change, not status quo.

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

Public safety. I intend to RE-fund, restore, reform and respect the police. This includes bringing back the 600 person plain clothes anti-crime unit.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Not a politician, I have 35+ years of real-world business experience, the ability to solve problems and find solutions while sticking to a budget. I am creative and bring fresh ideas and independence, while my opponent is part of the status quo; a 20-year bureaucrat, candidate and political patronage appointee serving 2 terms with Bill de Blasio and is supported by billionaire real estate developers.

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

Poorly. I would have actually followed the science, rather just claiming to while governing by fiat. For example, we knew early on that it was unlikely to spread from surface contact. We also know that restaurants were overall safe, with only 1.4 percent of cases traced to restaurant spread, even at the heights of Covid, yet were kept closed by our government

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Quality of life/ clean streets/ homelessness; Reviving small business; Restore G&T ; Remove motorized vehicles from sidewalks and illegal dirt bikes from the avenues.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have successfully co-founded and run two businesses; an asset management firm and a business consultancy that helps residential buildings cut costs to make it more affordable to residents, and also help them become "green" and more environmentally friendly.
I have been elected and re-elected to several boards, including an international health care charity that works around the world, with special attention to low-and middle-income countries.
I am a creative thinker known for getting things done, as well as always helping others, doing the right thing and treating everyone equally, regardless of their status or position in life. I am not a politician and am completely independent.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

As a young boy, asking my grandfather why I shouldn't do something even if it wasn't technically wrong- "Because it just wouldn't be right."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Please check my website FoleyforCouncil.com, where you can get more information as well as my detailed 7-Point Economic Plan for the city.