Sheehan’s field seems clear
Shortened political calendar, finances give mayor an edge
There was no rally, no crowd of supporters to speak over.
Instead, Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s announcement that she would seek a third term came in an exclusive interview with Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter that aired Monday evening, followed by an email blast to other media outlets.
Earlier in the evening, she hosted a Zoom call with some supporters, letting them know her plans.
Sheehan’s decision had been expected for some time. In recent weeks, she had approached other elected officials to ask for their support, and last week a virtual birthday party doubled as a fundraiser. And while her announcement was subdued compared to a typical campaign kickoff, what was noticeable was that nearly every potential primary challenger she might have faced was included in the initial list of endorsements.
Joe Bonilla, Sheehan’s campaign spokesman, said the endorsements were a recognition of what Sheehan had managed to do over her first two terms, including repeatedly securing $12.5 million in Capital City funding from the state.
“I think given the array of support from our elected leaders … they recognize Mayor Sheehan’s leadership in the capital city and they believe in her vision for the next four years,” he said.
Over the summer, there were questions in some political circles about whether Sheehan would run again. During the 2017 campaign, she indicated that she only intended to serve for two terms. A phone poll to city residents earlier this year floated three possible primary candidates — Common Council President Corey Ellis, Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs and Andrew Joyce, chairman of the Albany County legislature.
All three were on an initial endorsement list included in Sheehan’s campaign announcement and two, Ellis and Joyce, appeared alongside other elected leaders in a video voicing their support.
“For the last four years, I’ve seen the dedication that Mayor Sheehan has for our city,” Ellis said in the video.
Earlier in the year, the belief among some Democrats in the city was that Ellis was the most likely to challenge Sheehan, running a campaign focused on reducing violence in the city after a historically violent summer. Several elected officials and Democratic party members said their understanding was Ellis realized he did not have the support for a primary challenge and backed down.
Instead, Ellis is expected to seek re-election as Common Council president, with a potential challenger in Peter Hitchcock, who owns several businesses in the city.
A combination of three factors led to Sheehan, 57, an attorney, being able to clear the field six months before enrolled party voters make their choice, according to Democrats in the city.
First, the primary campaign will be shorter than her last race, thanks to a revamped political calendar. In 2019, the state Legislature voted to move the primary from September to June. That means less time to line up potential endorsements and financial backers and make a case to voters. “You basically have April and May and that’s it,” one Albany politician noted.
And hanging over this election cycle, as with everything else, is the coronavirus pandemic. The state has not yet laid out the 2021 political calendar, and the petition process to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot begins in February. But asking volunteers and campaign workers to go door-to-door in a pandemic is something several politicians and party officials said they would be hesitant to do.
Last year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo slashed the number of petitions required to get on the ballot in an effort to keep volunteers from knocking on doors and spreading the disease. A similar effort is expected this year but has not yet materialized.
Perhaps the least stated but most influential factor in some challengers’ decision-making is Sheehan’s wealth.
Sheehan has contributed heavily to her campaigns for both city treasurer and mayor. Her campaign owes her over $575,000 in outstanding loans, according to a July filing with the state Board of Elections. That type of financial firepower would be difficult for an established political candidate to match, let alone an insurgent candidate running without a broad base of support.
While the major Albany political players appear to be sitting on the sidelines, there is the possibility of other candidates stepping into the race. Third party candidates may announce a run, and activists within the Black Lives Matter movement have discussed running a candidate.
But unlike 2017, when Sheehan won 49.3 percent of the vote in a three-way primary against then-Council President Carolyn Mclaughlin and former Councilmember Frank Commisso Jr., the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary in Albany will likely be a much quieter affair.