Tom Stanten

Tom Stanten is the Republican and Conservative Party candidate challenging incumbent Andrew Gounardes. A U.S. Navy veteran and retired NYPD Detective Investigator who now owns a motorcycle shop in Sunset Park, he describes his priorities as funding law enforcement, protecting gifted and talented programs, and fixing the R train. Ballotpedia lists no prior elected office for him.[1][2]

Tom Stanten was born and raised in New York City and Clinton, Connecticut, according to his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.[1] He reports an associate degree in HVAC from New England Institute of Technology, a bachelor's degree from New York Institute of Technology, and a master's degree in security, emergency, and public administration management from CUNY John Jay College.[1] Stanten served in the U.S. Navy from 2000 to 2003, including aboard the USS Carl Vinson; he says he took part in the carrier's first counter-offensive operations in the Arabian Sea after the September 11 attacks, a 120-day deployment.[1][2]

After the Navy, Stanten joined the NYPD, starting at the 75th Precinct in East New York, and later served as a Detective Investigator in the Brooklyn South Organized Crime Control Bureau (narcotics); his assignments included dignitary protection with the Intelligence Division and Narcotics Borough Manhattan South, and he is a retired K9 bomb detection handler, per his survey.[1] His campaign website describes more than 20 years serving in uniform and says he owns a motorcycle shop in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.[2] He advanced to the general election after the June 23, 2026 Republican and Conservative primaries were canceled, and his survey lists endorsements from the New York Young Republican Club, Brooklyn Conservative Party, Brooklyn Republican Party, and Bruce Blakeman.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.