Democrats from near and far are in Chicago for their national convention as President Joe Biden passes the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. So far, convention speakers have been praising Harris’ historic candidacy and policies while also hammering the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
One delegate for Harris who is getting ready to hear from the former California Senator herself on Thursday is the third-term mayor of Albany, Kathy Sheehan, who spoke with WAMC Tuesday morning.
So what's been the mood at the convention so far?
People are really excited. It’s great to see the level of enthusiasm for this candidate and for this historic ticket. And I'm hearing from people who are delegates from swing states about the turnout that they're seeing when they have various rallies, events, phone banking, they're seeing a huge uptick in the number of volunteers, and so we're all really focused. It's going to be a close race. We know it's going to be a close race. We've got to really focus on getting people out to the polls.
Is it your sense that the party has united behind Harris, given the fact that up until a few weeks ago, the focus was really on reelecting Joe Biden?
Absolutely. The mood and the focus of everyone's attention is about winning this election. And you know, I was at the convention in 2016 where there were still those who were supporting Bernie Sanders who made a lot of noise in that convention hall. We are seeing a completely unified Democratic Party. When you look at who was on the dais yesterday, from AOC to Governor Shapiro, across really the gamut of the Democratic Party, we cast a big tent. You saw this incredible support and determination to get this historic ticket elected in November.
You know, a lot of the convention is about discussing the platform and putting forward the policies to the American people. And you know, many Americans don't pay attention to politics on a daily basis, so it's a chance to get their attention and make a case. What would you say is Democrats’ argument in November?
I think that when you look at this platform, and I have to have a shameless plug for mayors. There were a record number of mayors on the platform committee. I think that those folks in Washington realize that mayors get things done and that we're really close to the people, and so you have a platform that is focused on the things that matter to working families. Child care is a big issue. Health care, making sure that people don't have to lose their home or worry about being evicted from their apartment because they can't pay a medical bill.
We really need to focus on the cost of prescription drugs and continue that downward pressure on prices. We know that people still feel the pinch at the gas pump or in the grocery store, so really looking at what we can do to continue to drive prices down. And then the other big focus is on housing. We want everyone to be able to achieve the American dream of owning a home if that is what they want. And we know that that is just out of reach for really hard working Americans, people who are sometimes working, you know, two and three jobs. Because when people have that stability of homeownership, guess what, they build equity, and then they have the ability to use that equity to send their kids to college, you know, to maybe start a new business. So it's a great investment. And that's what we're talking about. These are investments in the American people and in the future of our country.
What would you say to the argument that Republicans are making that the problems, some of which you identified, you know, persistent inflation, also the situation on the southern border, that Harris is a big part of the Biden administration and can't distance herself from them?
Well, the Biden administration has taken measures that has reduced the flow of people across the border. You know, we want sound immigration policy. The only place that we can get that is Congress and it is Republicans in Congress that have made that impossible, and so the Biden administration is using the tools that it has at its disposal. We need common sense immigration reform, and that is something that I know that President Harris will fight for as well. And I think when you look at inflation, we came out of a historic pandemic, and we all know what happened when we came out of the financial crisis in 2008, 2009. We didn't do enough, and we hurt for many, many years. Cities like Albany struggled financially far longer than I think that they would have. And so when you're making these decisions about how to keep the economy going, how to keep people in their homes. Those are decisions that have to be made, and then you adjust, and the Biden administration has adjusted. They’ve brought inflation down, and they've done it faster than anybody thought we would be able to but we know there's still more work to be done.
Take us inside the convention for a minute. Obviously, it's mainly a TV show for most people, and we have the nightly speeches. But what are you doing on an hour to hour basis this week?
So I'm in my seat when the convention starts. I'm in my seat as a delegate on the floor. And you know, New York is a little further back than when Hillary Clinton was the nominee, we were the home state. So, you know, the different delegations do kind of jockey for that position.
Doesn't California get enough?
That's probably what people said in 2016 about New York.
That's true.
In any event, , it's great. You're there with, you know, the governor was sitting in front of me. Leader Schumer came and sat down. You're, with people who are those who we see on TV all the time. And then you're with delegates from the North Country who you can sit down and talk to about what their issues are and what they're seeing in their communities. And so it's a really fun opportunity. And then during the day, there are a number of meetings. I'm going to get off this call and head down to a brunch where we're going to be talking about getting guns off the street, about the importance of reproductive rights, and how those ballot measures we think are going to help with voter turnout, and so, you know, we talk a lot of business as well. Then there are opportunities to sort of kick back and relax and celebrate the fact that we have all these Democrats here in Chicago, and we're all together celebrating an historic ticket that we believe is going to win in November.
Before I let you go, let me ask you about a local governance issue. The county executive and the county legislature chair have now named their appointees to the new Pine Hills Land Authority, which is going to oversee the future of the College of Saint Rose property in Albany. I know you had a call for applications for that role. Do you have someone in mind yet?
We have applications that are open. We were a little behind the county in getting that call for applications out. I look forward to seeing the applications that have come in. I have not started that review process yet, because that is just in the process of closing down, and so I'm excited for the opportunity. It's unclear whether the authority will actually ever take control of the campus, but if they do, we want to make sure that we have folks who are really invested in the city of Albany, in our Pine Hills neighborhood. It's such a central, important neighborhood in the city of Albany, and I'm optimistic that we will be able to find reuses of that campus and that we will have the opportunity to reimagine that part of the city of Albany.
It occurs to me, just to follow up about that, you know, as we speak, the Saint Rose students would normally be coming back. They'd be moving back into apartments in the Pine Hills. You know, the restaurants and coffee shops would be full. It's a different landscape in that part of the city this year. So what kind of impacts are you expecting?
Well, we're looking to assess that situation. You know, there is a huge need for housing in Albany, and so I am, you know, looking at the opportunities there when you think about the more residential parts of the campus, we have a lot of interest in creating housing, so there is this need, and I'm hoping that landlords who are no longer going to be renting to students will take the opportunity to reimagine the units that they have and get those rented and leased up. Because, as I said, there is a pretty significant demand. We have new housing that has gone up in the city, and, you know, it fills up almost immediately. So there is a real need. But we're going to be working alongside landlords. I want to hear from them, if there are any incentives that they think would help with maybe potentially rehabbing some of that student housing to make it more attractive to families, for example, we want to be able to do that.
