Higgins resigns
Legislator, who was not running for re-election, has moved out of district
Albany County legislator who pushed for Land Bank, health issues steps down.
Christopher Higgins, a county legislator who spearheaded the creation of the Albany County Land Bank in 2014 and sponsored legislation promoting health and the environment, is resigning from his position after 12 years.
The news was announced in a press release Friday after Higgins, a Democrat, submitted a letter of resignation to Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce and County Clerk Bruce Hidley. In February, Higgins announced he would not run for re-election, saying he hoped to spend more time with his wife and son.
The County Legislature intends to tap the Albany Parking Authority’s executive director, Matthew Peter, to serve out the rest of Higgins’ term.
“I just want to thank the folks who put me into office over the last three years, and placed their confidence in me to represent them in the legislature,” Higgins said Sunday. “I hope I didn’t disappoint any of them.”
Higgins resigned as legislator after purchasing and moving to a home in Colonie.
“I can’t live in Colonie and represent downtown Albany,” he said, noting he still owns his Albany home but moved to Colonie in late August.
Representing the Fifth District, which covers a wide swath of Albany from Quail to Eagle and Holland to State streets, Higgins was the architect of 2012 legislation requiring restaurants to post the results of county health inspections, which range from “excellent” to “unsatisfactory.”
He also sponsored the 2008 law forcing box stores to provide plastic bag receptacles, the 2009 law banning texting while driving
and, that same year, the county law requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts. Among his more recent handiwork was a law banning takeout Styrofoam containers.
In a statement, Joyce said Higgins “has worked tirelessly to pass legislation that has had a meaningful and lasting impact on Albany County.”
According to the news release, the County Legislature will choose the candidate to serve out the remainder of Higgins’ term, which ends in January.
“To me, the choice for a candidate is easy,” Joyce said. “The Fifth District has spoken and named Matthew Peter as the Democratic candidate earlier this year. With no challenger in the running, it is only right
to appoint the individual the district chose.”
Peter, the Albany Parking Authority executive director and former chief of staff to city Mayor Kathy Sheehan, is running unopposed for the seat in November.
He was appointed to the parking authority position in 2016 after initially serving as Sheehan’s chief of staff, but the appointment was not without controversy as former Common Council members questioned Peter’s hiring.
Peter also served as Sheehan’s campaign manager when she first ran for mayor and was elected in 2013. He continued to do campaign work for Sheehan while serving as chief of staff, a move that was criticized by some because Peter was paid more than $7,000 for the political work in 2015 while also earning $75,000 as Sheehan’s top aide.