MADDEN DECLARES VICTORY
Patrick Madden wins re-election as the Democratic candidate
TROY, N.Y. » It appears Mayor Patrick Madden will be in office for another four-year term after declaring victory Tuesday night.
According to the Rensselaer County Board of Elections, Madden, the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate, received 3,627 votes (43.98%), while the Green Party and Independence candidate Rodney Wiltshire earned 3,122 votes (37.86%) and the Republican and Conservative candidate Tom Reale earned 1,455 votes (17.64%).
The new term will be the last term that Madden can serve as mayor since the City Charter states the mayor can only serve two terms.
“I’m humbled by the outcome tonight [election night],” said Madden in his victory speech at Ryan’s Wake. ”I thank the voters of Troy for the opportunity to serve for another four years.”
“We ran an honest campaign,” Madden added. “We talked about issues; we talked about what we had accomplished, what we had not yet accomplished and what we wanted to do in the future and that approach resonated with
the voters.”
Wiltshire did not officially concede Tuesday night but thanked his supporters from his speech at the Troy Uniformed Firefighter’s Union Hall.
“It’s been a tremendous road and it’s been an uphill battle,” Wiltshire said.
“We ran a grassroots campaign, an insurgent campaign if you will, politically. We ran a campaign for the people. We ran a campaign for the people in this city, the voters and the neighborhoods and the families and the taxpayers. We didn’t run a campaign for the parties. We ran a campaign for Troy and the people who live here and an honest one,” Wiltshire added of the independent campaign run.”
Wiltshire didn’t place the blame on a leaked recording to the Times Union between Rensselaer County Republican leadership and Reale but acknowledged Reale’s re- entry as a factor which certainly didn’t help his cause.
“I don’t even know to be honest with you if the recording so much had an impact or if Tom Reale saying I’m back in the race had the impact? I don’t necessarily think the recording had an impact, but I think him rejoining the race might’ve said [to the voters], OK, I’m a viable candidate,” Wiltshire said.
Madden touted his administration’s work on improving the city’s municipal budget, revitalizing neighborhoods, and attracting new businesses. During his tenure as mayor, the city passed three consecutive balanced budgets approved with bipartisan support. In the past two years, Troy has also received municipal bond rating improvements from Moody’s Investors Services.
He also cited investments in the city’s water and sewer infrastructure systems, including the replacement of a major water main which ruptured in 2016, as well as rebuilding Troy’s waterfront, including the revitalization of the downtown seawall to protect vital infrastructure.
“I and my staff are relentlessly optimistic about the future of this great city,” said Madden.
“Things take time; everybody would love to come in on day one and fix everything, but you can’t do that,” said Madden. “You need to lay a foundation, and you need to build on top of that foundation to fix the things that have been neglected for so long.
“We’re just getting going, we have a ways to go.”