Outgoing Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest is running for another office. After announcing in February that he would not run for a second term, the Democrat has now filed paperwork to run for a common council seat. In a conversation with WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley, Rosenquest explains why he is challenging an incumbent for a ward seat:
When I announced that I was not going to run for re-election or seek re-election to the mayor’s seat, my primary purpose is to have more time with Myles and have more time with my family. That still is my focus. The opportunity for me to step into a council seat is to maintain some of the continuity that we've been creating over the last several years, really focus on my community work which was dedicated from day one since I moved back in 2013, that doesn't change, and really create a cohesive council that can focus on our future and focus on all the good work that we've been doing since I started this office. So I am excited. My paperwork has been filed. I don't see any obstacles at this point to push towards the primary. And we'll look forward to the primary.
Speaking of the primary, you would go against somebody who has held the Ward 3 seat for quite a while now and also somebody that you have clashed with fairly frequently on the council. Why did you decide to opt to challenge her?
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of the community feedback is just that. They're tired of the clashing. They're tired of the opposition, opposition for opposition’s sake. And really it's time to focus on the future of our community and figuring out what and where are we going to go, especially with all of the great work that we've been doing: Margaret Street, parks, Cornelia Street, Lake Country Village water replacement. All of these big projects that that we've had to take on, from years of it being kicked down the line, people have appreciated that work and people want to see more of that. They want to see a cohesive, respectful, professional counsel. That's something that I'm bringing to the table. Again, when you talk about clashing, I will say look, you know, 95% of the work that we do is approved. It's not a big deal. Sometimes I've got to split a vote. That happens. It's more of the controversial things that make the press that you guys pick up like hotels, you know, that that for some reason becomes controversial, where we really don't see the need for it to be controversial. But at the end of the day I think what the city of Plattsburgh wants and what her residents need and what the voters are demanding is is is progress and to keep this train moving and to not turn not turn back to a doom and gloom scenario and really focus on our future.
Now, there are four candidates running to replace you as mayor. Number one, how is that going and number two will that detract from you running in the ward seat?
I don't think it'll detract from me running in the ward seat. You know the council seat is much different than the mayor seat, obviously. I've met with every candidate, and some of them twice, some of them three times, to talk about issues to get information to them on their campaign. And they'll shape their campaign with that information. And just like I said to any candidate my office is open. It's not something that I had access to when I was running for office. And so I want people to come into this office with their eyes wide open and knowing the information and knowing where things stand on these issues and just regular city government and our city government operates. So you know, look, when it comes down to it, you know, I will say that it is nice to see younger people. Well, let me take a step back. I'm not endorsing anybody. Just make that clear. I'm not endorsing anybody yet. But it is good to see young people involved in politics. It's not something we normally see. And it's even better when we see qualified candidates come to the table that have experience running a municipality. That's even better, because that's again, a bigger concern that I have when we talk about replacing a mayor who may not have that business acumen, that may not have that public policy experience. And so having somebody and having a slate of candidates that can come to the table and bring that with them is really key. Again, one of the reasons why I push for city manager is for that reason and I will still push for city manager. I think that it's an important conversation for our community have. But at the end of the day, you know, I'll focus on my council run, and you know, just like anything else you take the risk and its politics. You put your name out there. You go to the voting booth and you hope for the best. You hope that you do the work to get people to turn to you.
And you're not doing a formal announcement, formal press conference, for your ward campaign?
I don't think I need to, to be honest, quite frankly. I don't think I need to. You know, I've got I think I if I if I didn't have the name recognition, if I didn't have the experience, if I didn't have the background, people didn’t know who I was, I think I'd take a different tact. But people know who I am. You know, people have known who I am since 2013 since I moved home, July 4, 2013. I remember the day clearly. But ever since then, and like I said ever since then, the work that we've been doing, the work that I'm dedicated to my community shows I'm very excited to for this new opportunity, for this new chapter and we'll see we'll see what comes of it.
Mayor Chris Rosenquest will face Ward 3 incumbent Elizabeth Gibbs in the June 25th Democratic primary.
Gibbs, a schoolteacher, has not yet responded to a request for comment. She told WCAX that Rosenquest was “disingenuous” and had violated the petition process. She added that his challenge will not deter her work for Ward 3 and the city.
Four candidates are running to replace him as mayor: Democrats Wendell Hughes and Dan Lennon, Republican Don Kasprzak and Independent Iris Cain.
