President Andrew Johnson appointed Zulick Collector of Internal Revenue for Essex County, while in 1879 he was elected Surrogate Judge of Essex County. Zulick was a delegate to the 1880 Democratic National Convention and campaigned for his party. At the same time he turned down offers for political nominations to be Governor or a member of Congress as he had developed business interests in Arizona and planned to move to the territory. By late 1884 he had moved to Tombstone, Arizona Territory.