Dan Egan formally declared his candidacy for Albany County Executive Tuesday at the Hibernian Hall on Ontario Street. He laid out his agenda for the county, which he says focuses on fairness and inclusion.
In the long-awaited official announcement, Egan paints himself as one who will deliver “progressive leadership” if he can topple first-term incumbent Dan McCoy in September’s Democratic primary and then get through the general election.
Voorheesville Mayor Bob Conway says,"Egan would bring a new perspective, a fresh perspective, a working relationship that I think would be positive for the village."
Egan notes he's given his adult life in service to country and community. "I was an infantry patroon leader in the army National Guard. I served for six years on the Albany School Board. I've worked all over New York State with food pantries and food banks. I helped start a gleaning program, one of the first in New York State, to bring farm fresh food from New York farms to food pantries across New York State. I spent 27 years in the Department of Health, managing projects from computer network installations to software development to lab nodes. I've also renovated houses and loaded tractor-trailers. I've jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, snaked out the sewer when I was a kid. Real good practice for this job comin' up."
County Executive McCoy is away on duty with National Guard. He issued a statement through campaign spokesperson Matt Cannon, which mentions McCoy's record of accomplishments, including his outspoken leadership in the crusade against oil trains: "The viciousness and disrespect we have seen from Mr. Egan has been unfortunate, we expect it to continue from him, and we fully believe the voters in Albany County will see through this type of negative rhetoric."
McCoy's full statement:
"We welcome today's announcement and look forward to the democratic process of an election decided by Albany County voters. County Executive Dan McCoy has an incredible progressive record of accomplishment, specifically turning around the county’s finances in the midst of a great recession, creating innovative programs to assist the county’s veterans, and standing up for the safety of residents like his efforts to protect neighbors from dangerous oil tank trains. County Executive McCoy has served his country as a member of the military, having spent a year overseas in Iraq on active duty, as a professional firefighter and as an elected official. The viciousness and disrespect we have seen from Mr. Egan has been unfortunate, we expect it to continue from him, and we fully believe the voters in Albany County will see through this type of negative rhetoric. It is important to continue the positive progress we have seen in Albany County and we are going to work hard to continue to have the people’s support throughout this campaign”
