It may be months before the November elections, but the incumbent Albany County executive, sheriff and comptroller are already eager to start campaigns to retain their seats.
County Executive Dan McCoy, Sheriff Craig Apple and Comptroller Susan Rizzo, all Democrats, each announced their reelection campaigns Saturday at the Carpenters Union Local #291 Training Center in Albany. Each intend to formerly petition for candidacy next month.
“This is a great ticket to get behind,” Deputy County Executive Daniel Lynch said at the announcement. “I know they’re going to do great things in the next four years.”
Central to each candidate’s message Saturday was their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began shortly after their current terms commenced in 2020.
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From left, Albany County Deputy Executive Daniel Lynch checks the podium while County Executive Dan McCoy and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli speak to a constituent Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 in Albany. McCoy announced he will seek a fourth term alongside Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and County Comptroller Susan Rizzo.
H. Rose Schneider
“We are in the path to recovery,” New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who introduced each candidate, said. “It is a time where we need elected leaders who bring people together.”
McCoy, seeking a fourth term as county executive, said the county was ready economically when the pandemic hit, noting a flat property tax rate for the last decade, as well as recent use of data analytics and past environmental initiatives.
Upcoming challenges include housing and mental health issues exacerbated by the pandemic, worsening weather due to climate change, and economic issues such as inflation and a possible recession, he said.
Rizzo was elected as county comptroller in 2019 after longtime-comptroller Michael Conners did not seek reelection. She said while the county “took a hit” financially in 2020 due to the pandemic, its debt was quickly paid off and it is good fiscal standing. Her goals for a second term include preparing for a possible recession and making her role as public administrator more known, she said.
Apple, who briefly campaigned for a state Senate seat last year, has been sheriff since 2011. He touted his department’s Homeless Improvement Project which houses the homeless in decommissioned jail cells, as well as an ongoing response to the opioid epidemic and coordinating COVID-19 vaccine sites in rural areas.
“Our department has become much more than a policing agency,” he said.
Neither Republicans nor other potential opponents appear to have announced campaigns. Albany County’s Democratic enrollment is about half the total, nearly 100,000 listed as active, compared with about 35,000 Republicans and nearly 51,000 not enrolled in a party, according to the state Board of Elections’ most recent compilation.
In 2019, McCoy easily defeated Libertarian Robert Porter. Rizzo outpolled two candidates and Apple was unopposed.
