Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s chief of staff is lending a helping hand to Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
David Galin is bound for North Carolina where he will serve as one of four deputy directors for operations for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign efforts there.
Galin, an eight-year city hall veteran who also serves as deputy mayor when Kathy Sheehan is out of town, says he appreciates the third-term Democrat’s willingness to allow him step away from his daily duties.
“I’m scheduled to leave Albany on Friday and start work in Raleigh on Saturday," said Galin. "My plan is to work straight through Election Day, give or take, 40 days. And you know, I'm really excited for the challenges, the new opportunity, being able to utilize the skills that I developed here in the mayor's office. You know, I think I don't know at the moment which of the specific departments I'll be overseeing, just because they are adding a fourth deputy position. So my understanding is we're, when I get down there, we're going to figure that part out. But I think, you know, regardless of what subsections I'm assigned to, it's a lot of the work I do here at city hall every day, and the work that I've done as part of the mayor's campaign, whether it's communications, organizing, volunteers, logistics for events, making sure that every last detail is buttoned up and that we're doing everything we can to get Kamala Harris and Tim Walz elected.”
Galin’s assignment was first reported by the Times Union. Deputy chief of staff Alyson Baker will assume Galin's duties while he's away. Sheehan calls Galin's trip south "a phenomenal opportunity."
“This is a really important campaign for me as well and for the city. The trajectory that we're on is a positive one, and it's a positive one because of the policies of the Biden-Harris administration. And so for the future of the various programs that we've been able to start, the infrastructure investments that are being made, I think it's really important that we win this election. And so having my chief of staff down in one of the battleground states as the Deputy Director of Operations, I think, is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make, because it's really important work, and it does, I think, speak to the fact that here in the city of Albany, we're focused on making sure that the advances that we've seen, the recovery that we've seen continues,” Sheehan said.
No stranger to voter mobilization efforts, Galin says he's learned from past experiences.
“In 2016 I participated in volunteer events to help get Secretary Clinton elected, and obviously the outcome was not what we wanted," said Galin. "And I remember afterwards thinking that there was a lot more that I could have done. That I took it for granted that Secretary Clinton would win and in 2020 obviously, the pandemic derailed most of the campaign, so there was a tremendous amount of opportunity to help, but given the you know, we'll call it a, basically a rematch with Donald Trump running again, I felt really strongly that I needed to do everything I could to help get the Democratic candidate elected. And I'm really looking forward to working hard in North Carolina to make sure that Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, not only that they win in North Carolina, that they win the Electoral College, but also to try to ensure that the governor's mansion remains in Democratic hands, as well as all the other races up and down the ballot.”
Galin expects to return to city hall shortly after Election Day. The non-partisan Cook Political Report considers North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes one of seven toss-up states.
