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Mayor Sheehan Discusses High School Vote

In November, voters narrowly rejected a $196 million plan for a major makeover and addition to Albany High School. A revote on a scaled-back version takes place Feb. 9.
WAMC Composite Photo by Dave Lucas

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, a supporter of the $180 million Albany High School renovation project proposal, spoke with WAMC News on Wednesday, a day after the re-vote passed.

“Well, I think it is a great step forward for the young people and for education here in the city of Albany," Sheehan said. "We need to have a building that is going to meet the needs of our growing student population, and as I have said, this isn’t just about educating our kids, it’s about educating our work force of the future, and so I look forward to the transformation that we’re going to see there, and the source of pride that it will instill in our students when they see the investment that this community is willing to make in them and their future.

“Well, you know, I certainly understand people’s concerns. I waited in line for quite a long time, and there were people who were, you know, concerned by the way that, and the wait that they had. I always look on the bright side, I got to catch up on with a lot of my neighbors and people that I hadn’t seen in a while.

“But I don’t mean to dismiss the concerns that people have. We need to make sure that when people go to the polls that the polls are ready for them and that they’re open, and so I do think that the district needs to take a hard look at, again, how it approached this, whether it was prepared, and the fact that some of those polls did not open on time. You know, I don’t think that there really is any excuse, because when people take their time out of their day to exercise their right to vote, they should have an expectation that ballots will be there and polls should be open.”

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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