In the Albany mayoral race, Democratic City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs is facing Republican entrepreneur Rocco Pezzulo.
While Applyrs wants voters to see her years of experience in local government as the mark of a prepared, experienced candidate ready for the next step, Pezzulo is branding himself the newcomer who, while a Republican underdog in a blue city, is less focused on party and more focused on governing.
Applyrs moved to Albany 21 years ago for graduate school, and she and her husband ultimately decided to raise their family in the city and become involved in community issues, which she describes as the seed which led her to eventually run for office.
“I am prepared in this moment to lead, I am made for this moment,” Applyrs told Spectrum News 1. “Albany has its public safety challenges, so we want a safe city, a city that is robust with economic opportunity, access to jobs and affordable housing. A city that invests in our most vulnerable. We have an aging population and a lot of youth who need and deserve our attention and a city that has strong neighborhoods that are safe and healthy, but we can’t neglect the fact that people want a city that is fun. What I’ve heard on the campaign trails is that people want a thriving, bustling downtown with thriving businesses. People want a nightlife.”
Pezzulo, an Albany native and former restaurant owner who is now involved in mental health care, is leveraging Applyrs’ connections to outgoing Mayor Kathy Sheehan to argue her victory could lead to political stagnation for the city.
“I’ve been all of my life in Albany and I really see that the city definitely needs change,” he said. “I’m looking at this as more non binary politics, it’s not really Democrat or Republican it’s who is capable of doing what needs to be done for the city. With this current administration, it’s just going to be more of the same thing. There is no eyes and ears for the residents because there is only one team.”
Applyrs told Spectrum News 1 that while she values her connections with the current administration, especially work that was done in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she is prepared to take on a host of unsolved issues in the community.
Top of mind in Albany as in many cities across the state is public safety. It comes as the state is investing $1.5 million in bolstering the police force.
Pezzulo emphasized that Albany’s police force must feel better supported by the city, and that’s part of why he entered the race.
“I really believe there should be a trust among the residents, the police force, and the administration and there is definitely a rift between all of those,” he said. “There is a sense of uncertainty, feeling unsafe, and that does not lend itself well to having a city prosper— so first and foremost we have to handle the crime and work alongside law enforcement and I’m willing to work on any side to make this come to fruition.”
Both agree that some form of outside expertise to address the city’s mental health and substance use issues is needed — Pezzulo offered that he has made connections with former members of law enforcement in the metal health space whom he would lean on for expertise, but Applyrs stressed that supporting the city’s law enforcement and addressing crime must incorporate comprehensive trauma and mental health response services in addition to expanding the police force and improving relations with the city.
“As we look nationally at some of the efforts by this president, just putting bodies on the street doesn’t equate to community safety. My ideas around public safety are rooted around a more comprehensive public health approach. I have a masters and a doctorate in public health and in the field of public health we focus on prevention and addressing root causes of violence not just the end result and the symptom of violence,” she said. “In addition to having more officers, and recruiting more officers and making sure they are trained, making sure officers feel supported to do the tough work.”
When it comes to the $400 million investment Albany received as part of this year’s state budget, both agree that it’s important to focus on smart investments, but in vasty different ways.
Pezzulo wants to see monetary investment as a means of strengthening the city’s coffers and its ability to take on future projects.
“That’s a pretty good lump sum of money, I would definitely consider doing some sort of investment where there is a certain amount of interest that comes back from that,” he said. “With that interest we can do a lot of the things this city needs to do. I would also like to work with the state to incentivize businesses to come into the area.”
While Applyrs retorted that such a plan is an indication of Pezzulo’s inexperience, and countered that she would invest in the form of targeted projects.
“It can’t wait. If you look around, look at our downtown on any given day, there are very few people. Our businesses are struggling, some of our businesses who have invested in Albany, the entrepreneurs they are packing up and leaving because the foot traffic isn’t there,” she said. “It is our responsibility collectively to ensure that the 200 million invested in downtown and the 200 million that we’ll see play out as investments to the museum and other areas— that there is a return on investment. We have to be very strategic, we have roll up our sleeves and really put the work in to make sure that the investments are catalyst in nature and they help to spur additional economic development.”