James Calnon has served in Plattsburgh city leadership positions since 2007 when he was appointed to the common council by then-Republican Mayor Donald Kasprzak. Calnon, who is an independent with Republican endorsement, was elected mayor in 2013. He lost his re-election bid this year to political newcomer Democrat Colin Read. As he serves his last days in office, Calnon says he and the city are ready for the transition.
"Mayor-elect Read, soon to be Mayor Read, has been spending time talking to the councilors and meeting with department heads. We’ve been having transition meetings every Wednesday. The last session we had was about two hours long and it was entitled 'What don’t I Know I Don’t Know’. And we got to talk about an awful lot of things, some of them minor but exceptionally important, something that might come up once every three or four or five months but might have very lasting ramifications. A lot of those kinds of conversations. So this is probably as smooth a transition from one mayor to another as you’ll see.”
Mayor James Calnon’s term ends on Saturday. An extended conversation with the outgoing leader of Plattsburgh is below.
