Mclaughlin announces campaign for mayor
Albany County legislator cites housing affordability, gaps in municipal programs
ALBANY — Highlighting what she sees as major gaps in city services, former Albany Common Council president and current Albany County Legislator Carolyn Mclaughlin announced her second run for mayor of Albany in the 2025 election Thursday.
“For the past 25 years I have devoted my life to working for my hometown,” Mclaughlin said, before listing the issues she planned to address in her campaign.
Housing affordability and gaps in senior and youth programming were key matters, she said. To illustrate housing issues, Mclaughlin drew attention to the plight of a senior citizen who lives in Selkirk because she cannot afford to live in Albany, despite spending most of her time and energy in the city. Mclaughlin bemoaned the closure of a senior center in downtown Albany while noting that she is senior citizen.
She said that as mayor she would take on the city’s relationship with the Capitol and gaps in state funding the city received, especially in comparison to other upstate cities.
“Per capita, Utica gets more money than we get from New York state,” Mclaughlin said. “That makes no sense to me.”
On public safety, she touted the importance of increased after-school programs for young people and a greater commitment to getting guns off the street.
Mclaughlin is challenging City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs for the Democratic nomination to succeed Mayor Kathy Sheehan, which would have to be decided in a June 2025 primary. She served for nearly two decades on the Common Council, including two terms as council president, the first Black person to do so.
She was elected to the County Legislature in 2020. She ran for mayor in 2017, coming in third behind Sheehan and Frank Commisso Jr.
Mclaughlin announced her campaign at the Kenmore apartments. Mclaughlin drew attention to the fact that when the building was the city’s most luxurious and elegant hotel, it was owned and operated by Adam and Catherine Blake, two of the city’s first Black entrepreneurs.
“We are here in this historic place,” Mclaughlin said. “We are taking in all the vibes, all the energy, that comes from being in a building that was run by people that looked like us and who wanted to move this city forward.”