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Schenectady City Council President Marion Porterfield kicks off bid for mayor

Marion Porterfield says she's already scoped out a new direction for the city.
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC
Marion Porterfield says she's already scoped out a new direction for the city.

A third candidate has entered the race for mayor of Schenectady.

A boisterous crowd of supporters filled downtown Schenectady’s Great Flats Brewing Thursday night for a campaign kick-off that felt more like a pep rally for City Council President Marion Porterfield, who, after publicly considering running for weeks, will challenge Mayor Gary McCarthy, a fellow Democrat seeking a fourth term.

"It's a major decision," said Porterfield. "So I wanted to make sure I took into account everything that I was gonna take. Make sure I had a team in place to move it forward. So I wasn't hemming and hawing. I just wasn't telling people what I was doing. And that's different."

The 67-year-old Hamilton Hill resident is the first Black woman to serve as council president and 11 years ago became the first Black woman to serve on the city council, appointed to the panel by fellow-councilors in 2012.

“Now, I just want to address something else that's been brought up to me like ‘race,’ like, because you're an African American woman, we all know that," Porterfield said. "But I'm not only an African American woman, I have other life experiences that I bring to the table. Connections with others, my family, your family, the people I meet in the streets, all of those things."

Porterfield says she personifies her campaign slogan "putting people first."

"Part of putting people first is making sure that people have adequate housing, making sure that people have jobs, and making sure that all the things that they need, they have," Porterfield said. "Also, increasing transparency within our government. Everyone needs to know and understand how our government works."

Voters elected Porterfield to serve a full four-year term in 2012 and she became Council President in January 2022. Lisa Oliver served on the council alongside Porterfield for nearly a decade.

"I served on the council when Marion was appointed, and the process wasn't without its struggles," Oliver said. "And in the interest of full disclosure, in fact, I supported someone else for the seat. It is that very fact that leads me to tell you why it is my honor to support Marian Porterfield and it is my pleasure to tell you that I know the city will be in excellent hands when she is elected as the next mayor of Schenectady."

Porterfield says she's already scoped out a new direction for the city.

"What I plan is that we will have a five-year plan that we will get together with the staff and residents of the city to talk about what we need to have, needs to happen, and how we do that," Porterfield said. "In 2008, Mayor Brian Stratton, that's the last time we did this, put together a comprehensive citywide plan. Went to each neighborhood, sat down with everyone and said, How do you want to do this, and that became the 2020 plan. It's now 2023. So that plan needs some updating, because things are already, some of those things have happened and more needs to happen."

Porterfield’s candidacy comes without party backing, after the city Democratic committee decided to support McCarthy for a fourth term. McCarthy tells WAMC he welcomes the contest and stands by his record:

"Again, I look forward to it. That will be a clear choice for the voters of the city," McCarthy said. "I have an impressive record in place. And I look forward to taking that message to the residents of the city and appreciate the opportunity that they've given me to serve as their mayor and look forward to continuing in this role for the next four years."

McCarthy is expected to formally launch his campaign any day now. Also running for mayor is Republican Matt Nelligan. McCarthy narrowly won a low-turnout 2019 Democratic primary against Thearse McCalmon.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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