After serving as Colonie town supervisor for 14 years, outgoing Democrat Paula Mahan was honored Tuesday as Albany County’s “Citizen of the Month.”
Mahan was the latest recipient of the award created by Albany County Executive Dan McCoy. The Democrat says he wants to recognize hardworking people who may not otherwise get public attention and gratitude.
“So, I do want to say it's an honor to make you citizen in the month. I have never not done this for another elected official,” McCoy said. “But, I don't want to say people don't realize, just not that you're a supervisor, but the influence not that you just had on the town of Colonie, but everyone in office in the Capital District.”
Mahan did not seek re-election in November as former town justice Peter Crummey, a Republican, won one of the most hotly contested races in the Capital Region.
Speaking in Colonie after receiving the award, Mahan says she’s most proud of her effort to get people to work together to improve the community.
“It's great when you can retire on your terms, knowing that working with great people, we've all done the most that we could do in our time,” she said. “And I'm most proud of us all working together and the accomplishments are way beyond what I expected.”
The Democrat says one of the biggest challenges she faced was straightening out the town’s budget when she first was elected.
“When we got here we had really, very tough challenges with the finances,” she said. “And that was all resolved and we moved forward. At this point, I feel very good about leaving a bit of really good foundation for the supervisor-elect.”
Mahan was a teacher at Shaker Middle School in Colonie before she ran for town supervisor and she says it was difficult to leave the profession that she loved, but felt like she could help improve Colonie.
After seven terms, Mahan says she’s looking forward to travelling and spending more time with her grandchildren.
“I want to take one day at a time, but I'm just really looking forward to having more time to spend with my grandchildren and my sons and daughters-in-law and my family,” Mahan said. “We have given up a lot for me to be able to do this job the right way and they've always been a great support.”
The office Mahan has long held could be in line for another change. Mahan says she supports a push to increase the supervisor term by two years. The Town Board last week proposed legislation to change the terms of the supervisor and clerk from two years to four. The Democrat tells WAMC when you’re running every two years, you’re pretty much always campaigning.
“I won't be here, so it doesn't benefit me, it doesn't benefit the supervisor-elect and the town clerk's office, as well, because they have to run again,” she said. “So, it goes before the public in ‘22 as a referendum. The public gets to decide - it's really up to them - and then the incoming supervisor and the town clerk have to run again regardless. So, it's just a good neutral transition time to put this proposal out there.”
