The mayor of Schenectady has survived a close primary challenge in his bid for a third four-year term. Democrat Gary McCarthy was leading political newcomer Thearse McCalmon 52-48 percent according to unofficial tallies Tuesday. McCarthy, who does not face a Republican challenger in the fall’s general election, spoke to supporters about an hour after polls closed — and set his sights on the city council.
"When we go into November, it's important to keep that city council in place," McCarthy said. "We need to win four seats. We have some people that take that position of a chronic critic that will, no matter what we do, try to find fault with it, try and articulate a position that is not really correct. But we have to rise above that and continue to build this community so that we're all proud of the end results...it's humbling to be able to move into a third term as mayor of this city."
