Despite floating the possibility of leaving for Congress or to run the Albany Airport or Hudson Valley Community College, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin has launched his reelection campaign.
Launching his bid at a North Greenbush business Thursday, the Republican touted his work over the last eight years — addressing aging infrastructure, supporting the county’s youth and elderly population, and boosting sales tax revenues.
McLaughlin says he has worked to grow and revamp the county by monetizing it, echoing themes from his State of the County address a week earlier.
“That's all quality of life because it allows our people to do a better job. So, there's not a single thing that we've done that has not in some way made the people's lives better,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin says last year, the county invested $92.8 million on the renovation and building of several county offices and the correctional facility, senior centers in Hoosick Falls, East Greenbush and Troy, and water infrastructure in Schodack.
The Republican says 2025 projects total $132 million and include renovating several county-owned nursing home facilities like Van Rensselaer Manor, highway garage upgrades and builds in Cropseyville and Spicer, and eight new pickleball courts at the county office building in East Greenbush.
Looking forward, McLaughlin says his work isn’t done.
“Every building the county owns will have been renovated or reconstructed,” McLaughlin said. “Pretty amazing to get that done in eight years. By the way. When we went for decades, nothing was getting done, nothing. So, this county needed to be transformed, and we're not done yet. There's so much more to do here to just make it the best place we can for people.”
Also this term, in 2023, McLaughlin was found not guilty of campaign finance charges dating to his time in the state Assembly in 2017.
McLaughlin has been linked to two high-profile positions in the region. He is a potential candidate for Congress in New York’s 21st District as fellow Republican Elise Stefanik prepares to be confirmed as UN Ambassador.
Stefanik has served five terms in the district that stretches across 15 northern New York counties. McLaughlin told reporters he’s focused on his current role.
“You never say never in life. I mean, they say, ‘Man plans, God laughs,’ that's for sure. I would say I'm fully focused on this job,” McLaughlin said. “I have been since day one, when I first ran for it, when I was still in the Assembly, when I ran for when I ran for county executive. So, you don't ever say never in life. I would think if the president calls me, hard to say no to a president of the United States. But short of that, I don't see anything changing at all.”
If Stefanik is confirmed, Governor Kathy Hochul must call a special election to fill the term. A number of potential candidates are seeking the nomination from county party leaders.
McLaughlin also confirms he applied to lead Hudson Valley Community College. McLaughlin highlighted record investments to the SUNY campus during his State of the County Address last week.
“We were very happy to provide some funding to the college, along with our sponsored funding. We provided some extra funding as well, about $2.9 million that is helping them along the way with some studies that they needed to have done in order to move forward, and we're happy to have been able to do that,” McLaughlin said.
Several state and local officials in the county voiced their support for McLaughlin saying they “Believe in Steve.” Schodack Town Supervisor Charles Peter, a fellow Republican, says McLaughlin has transformed the county.
“The partnership is just unbelievable,” Peter said. “The amount of infrastructure work that Steve's team has led millions of dollars into the local communities here to benefit them, to help them out, to spur growth, to help the tax base. And that's really what it comes down to here in a county like Rensselaer, is what can we do to help the people who live here afford to live here?”
Republican state Senator Jake Ashby of the 43rd district says McLaughlin’s priorities align with what he would like to see done at the state level.
“You start to hear about priorities, and it's apparent what the priorities are in Rensselaer County,” McLaughlin said. “It's apparent what Steve's priorities has been here based on what he's invested in and based on what he's accomplished, working through the legislature, working through town government, working with the state and federal partners.”
County Democratic Party Chair Mark Streb tells WAMC the party is considering potential candidates to run in the November 4 election.