Debate night
Debate touches on deadly police shooting scandal, state of city’s infrastructure
Troy’s mayoral candidates discuss their top priorities for the city./
Discussi ng t hei r top pr ior it ies at t he Troy 100 For um Monday nig ht , t he cit y ’s t hree mayora l c a ndidates i n t he Nov. 5 elec t ion st uck to c a mpa ig n platfor ms t hat saw t hem eit her ma k i ng t he c ustoma r y appea l s to st ronger public sa fet y or, i n t he i ncu mbent ’s c a se, his record of restor i ng t he cit y ’s f i na ncia l hea lt h.
“I need to conti nue work on t he f i sc a l st abi l it y of our cit y,” sa id Mayor Pat r ic k Madden, t he Democratic a nd Work i ng Fa milies Pa r t y c a ndidate.
Republic a n- Conser vat ive c a ndidate Thomas Rea le a nd Green- Independence c a ndidate Rodney Wilt sh i re, a n en rol led Democrat , each st ressed i mprov i ng public sa fet y a s a mong t hei r main pr ior it ies du r i ng t hei r appea ra nces at Russel l Sage Col lege before about 100 people.
Madden told t he crowd t hat cr i me ha s d ropped 25 percent i n t he cit y over t he l a st f ive yea r s.
But t he public sa fet y i ssue a l so ser ved a s a way for Rea le to i nt roduce t he cit y ’s ha nd l i ng of t he fat a l Apr i l 2016 shooti ng of DW I suspect Edson Thevenin by Sg t . Ra nda l l French. Rea le sa id t he matter ha s not been ha nd led w it h t r a nspa renc y. He a l so wou ld add t hat t he cit y needs to reconstit ute it s def unct Police Objective Rev iew Committee to rev iew i nter na l a f fa i rs i nvestigat ions.
Madden sa id t he Thevenin shooti ng ha s been polit ici zed a nd joi ned t he ot her c a ndidates i n condemning for mer Rensselaer Count y Dist r ic t
At tor ney Joel Abelove’s r ushi ng t he c a se to a g ra nd ju r y w it hi n f ive days of t he shooti ng. Madden sa id t he fac t s of t he c a se shou ld come out du r i ng t he Thevenin fa mily ’s federa l r ig ht s l awsuit aga i nst t he cit y. He sa id he would relea se repor t s t hat a re bei ng w it h held a f ter t he c a se i s decided i f t hey a re not made public du r i ng t he t r i a l .
Wilt sh i re sa id t he cit y shou ld not have hi red for mer Glenv i l le Police Chief Michael D. Ra na l l i to w r ite a st i l l- secret memo rebut t i ng t he 69- page i nter na l a f fa i rs repor t w r it ten by Capt . Joseph L . Cent a nni, which concluded French was not just i f ied i n usi ng dead ly physic a l force aga i nst Thevenin.
The ot her top pr ior it ies cited by Rea le were opening t he cit y ’s closed pools a nd keepi ng a n eye on f i na nces. Wilt sh i re, a for mer cit y cou nci l president , wa nt s to lower t he cit y ’s t a x burden a nd end t a x g iveaways to developers who receive suppor t f rom t he cit y Industr i a l Development Aut hor it y.
Madden sa id he wa nt s to ma ke work on t he cit y ’s i n f ra st r uct ure — which ha s been neg lec ted i n t he pa st — a pr ior it y. Madden repeated ly ha s sa id ba l a nci ng t he cit y ’s budget a nd st abi l i zi ng it s f i na nces have been t he main ach ievements of his ad ministration. Madden i s schedu led under t he cit y cha r ter to relea se his proposed 2020 cit y budget by Thursday.
It was t he second t i me t he t hree c a ndidates have faced each ot her. A t hi rd debate w i l l be held on Oct . 16 at t he Troy Neig hborhood Action Counci l c a ndidates event .
Wilt sh i re appea red to be reach i ng for suppor t f rom Republic a n suppor ters a s he repeated ly mentioned helpi ng La nsi ngburg h, a GOP st rong hold i n t he cit y. He a l so spoke rega rd i ng public sa fet y, a not her appea l to Republic a n voters, a nd to his endorsement by t he Troy Uni for med Fi ref ig hters A ssociat ion.
In t he t hree- way race, Madden’s i ncumbenc y a nd r unning a s t he Democratic c a ndidate places hi m i n a sol id posit ion i n a cit y where Democrats out number Republic a ns by nea rly 3- 1. W hen Madden was elec ted fou r yea rs ago, he won a t hree- way race. He beat for mer Counci l man Ji m Gordon, t he Republic a n c a ndidate, a nd Wiltsh i re, t he Work i ng Fa milies Pa r t y c a ndidate, i n t he 2015 mayora l contest . Madden has defeated Wiltsh i re i n t he 2019 a nd 2015 Democratic mayora l pr i mar ies.