Albany Common Councilor Jack Flynn is among a number of Democrats running for for the 109th district state Assembly seat.
Assemblywoman Pat Fahy is running for state Senate to replace retiring 14-term Senator Neil Breslin in the 46th District, a fellow Democrat. Flynn says he’s ready to make the leap to the nearby capitol.
“I've always wanted to move up from my current position, you know, whether it was a citywide elected official or was or the Assembly seat," Flynn said. "So I've always had future aspirations to move up, you know, besides the Common Council, but when I heard the news that Neil was moving out, and when they heard that Pat Fahy got the endorsement, I felt it was a good opportunity to throw my hat in. Obviously, when you run for office, you have to talk to your family first. You have to look at the pros, the cons, you have to look at numbers, you look at what is the district. So I looked at all those factors, and I felt that I would be a good candidate to run for the 109th due to the fact that I've lived in Albany, most of my life. I worked for the movie theater in Crossgates for 16 years, and that's Guilderland, and I do a lot of volunteering and refereeing basketball out in Voorheesville and the New Scotland area. So I just looked at those three areas, I thought it was a good fit for me to run."
First elected to the Common Council in 2013, Flynn says he gauged his prospects carefully before throwing his hat in the ring for the June 25th Democratic primary.
"I looked at what I would think I would need to win the race," said Flynn. "You know, in a race like this with six or seven candidates you feel, you know, 4,000 or 5,000 is the number. So I feel that right now, before campaigning, I feel I got about 3,000 to 3,500 votes before I even walk out the door to introduce myself to more residents in the 109th. So and also, talking to my family, I had to get them behind me because. On disclosures, I do work for the Senate during the day. So I actually have to take off three months, once petitions are filed. So I will I will not be working. I will be 100 percent campaigning for three months, for April, May and June due to Senate rules and policies."
Flynn says he's on the same page as Fahy regarding issues she's championed that impact the 109th. He says his ability to work with others will earn him votes over the competition.
"The more the merrier," Flynn said. "You know what I mean, I think I have already, I think I have a base of people right now. So I think, again, when you run for office, there's two things I would say, can you win? And are you qualified? And I think those two issues, those two factors are, I think I can win and I think I'm qualified to do the job."
Flynn says life as a local Democrat has no dull moments: the candidates have until April 4th to fill up their petitions, and he's already out knocking on doors.
"So one of the things I want people to know that is, I've been involved here for my district for years. I'm very accessible. And one of my one of my attributes is, in politics, just get back to somebody, you know, I try my best when you call just to get back, give them an answer right or wrong. Obviously, I get a lot of issues and I say sorry, there's nothing I can do, something I can do. And so that's one of the things I want people know about myself. The other thing is, I've worked in the private sector for 15, 16 years of my life. Recently, I've been working in the government the last few years. I worked for Bill Drafting. I work for the Senate now. So I worked out on a daily basis now. So I'm used to the culture of the assembly in the Senate. And I saw I feel it's, I feel it's a good fit for me right now," said Flynn.
Other candidates in the field so far include fellow-councilors Gabriella Romero of the 6th Ward, Sergio Adams of the 7th, Owusu Anane of the 10th and Ginnie Farrell of the 13th. Three Albany County Legislators are also running: Sam Fein of the 6th district, Andrew Joyce of the 9th and Dustin Reidy of the 30th.
