Councilman Joseph Mancini has resigned from his post on the Schenectady City Council.
Council President Marion Porterfield announced Mancini’s resignation at a city council meeting Monday.
“I asked him if there was anything he wanted to say and he said he just wanted to thank people that supported him throughout the 40 years of service that he gave to the city and that he will miss it but a new chapter in his life is beginning and he is going to embrace that,” Porterfield said.
While speaking on the phone, Porterfield said Mancini’s resignation was expected.
“We just didn’t know the timing he anticipated a little further towards the end of the month, the end of September that being,” Porterfield said.
Porterfield said Mancini is relocating after selling his home and will no longer live in Schenectady. City law includes a residency requirement which makes Mancini ineligible to serve as a non-city resident.
Mancini did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Mancini’s resignation comes nearly a month after he voted against a resolution opting the city into Good Cause eviction – a state law requiring landlords to have good reason to evict their tenants. It would have also placed limits on rent increases.
The council voted 4 to 3 against adopting the law in July, instead opting to revive legislation proposed by Mancini to create a city task force to examine housing needs.
Under Mancini’s proposal the task force will be charged with conducting a review of local housing trends, eviction filings, rent burdens and vacancy rates, as well as assessing the potential impact of Good Cause Eviction in the city.
The council passed a resolution establishing criteria for the task force’s membership at Monday’s meeting but the members have not yet been selected. That effort would have been headed by Mancini, but Porterfield says his replacement is not yet clear.
The city council will now have to vote on a candidate to fill Mancini’s seat until a special election in November 2026.
“That first of all, is the first order of business,” Porterfield said.
