Dorcey Applyrs is poised to become Albany’s first Black woman mayor.
The 43-year-old has been serving as the city’s chief auditor since January 2020, and she served two terms on the Albany Common Council, from 2013 to 2020.
Speaking at a rally Tuesday ahead of today’s election Applyrs said she is the right person for Albany.
“This historic election is about writing a new chapter in our city’s history, a chapter in which residents across the city can see their mayor and see the pathway to becoming mayor as something attainable to everyone,” Applyrs said.
In June, she won a definitive victory in a four-way Democratic primary, earning 52 percent of more than 12,600 votes citywide.
Dan Cerutti, who is not on the ballot was Applyrs’ closest competitor, earning 28 percent of the vote.
Applyrs is facing Republican entrepreneur Rocco Pezzulo in the general election. But it’s worth noting that Albanians have not voted for a Republican mayor in more than 100 years.
Still, Applyrs says she and her team are not taking anything granted.
“And while we know what history has told us about who wins the Democratic nominee wins in November, but even with that, since June, since winning the primary we have approached campaigning with the same level on intensity,” Applyrs said.
Applyrs has promised to create the Albany Office of Violence Prevention, which would bring together police officers, mental health professionals and community leaders to address violence in the city.
The Democrat has also promised to strengthen the city’s housing regulations to hold landlords accountable for the condition of their properties. She’s also talked about growing Albany’s summer youth employment program.
“People want Albany to be vibrant and fun, we have businesses closing, we have a downtown that we need to breathe life back into and so I am uniquely prepared to hit the ground running with a broad-based coalition of support to ensure that we are moving our city on a new path forward, and I am ready to do that day one,” Applyrs said.
For Pezzulo, Albany’s improvement begins with addressing its crime.
“It’s causing a lot of blight, it’s causing a lot of businesses to not want to be here, obviously not stimulating businesses to come in the area,” Pezzulo said.
He wants to more heavily support the police department, noting that police say they feel like their hands are tied when it comes to enforcing the law.
“They’re under scrutiny at times and you know, based on what I am hearing right from the horse’s mouth, they are a little bit concerned that the current administration does not support them, if god forbid, they are under some sort of scrutiny,” Pezzulo said.
Before taking a hiatus from his job as director at Pinnacle Behavioral Health to run for mayor, Pezzulo implemented Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy, or TMS, at the facility.
TMS is a treatment for those who have moderate to severe depression and uses electromagnetic pulses to increase or reduce activity in certain parts of the brain.
He also earned a bachelor’s in business from Siena University, formerly known as Siena College.
Pezzulo, recognizes there hasn’t been a Republican mayor in Albany in more than a century and says it is time for a change in leadership.
“What I am advocating is there is approximately 100,000 residents in Albany, 56,000 or so give or take are registered to vote and on a very, very good election year, Jess, only 11,000 come out. What I am here to say is for those 40,000 or so. I get it - it’s the same thing over and over so they’re probably complacent and saying it’s not even worth it because we know what the outcome is going to be. I’m here to say let’s make history together. Get out there and vote,” Pezzulo said.
Polls close at 9 p.m.
