The upstart candidate for Albany County executive has gotten a boost from a populist Democratic leader.
Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout, who led an electoral revolt and beat Governor Andrew Cuomo in Albany County in last year’s Democratic primary but fell statewide, is throwing her support behind Dan Egan. "There's a bunch of reasons I'm excited about Dan. One is his real commitment to public education, to building a system where teachers are trusted and children have the resources they need. Another is his real commitment to public financing of elections, which is what I think we need to deal with corruption in Albany and in the state as a whole."
Egan paints himself as one who will deliver “progressive leadership” — if he can topple first-term incumbent Dan McCoy in September’s Democratic primary and then get through the general election.
Teachout depicts Egan, the former Albany school board president, as a "serious public servant" whose record defending public education and advocating for the public financing of elections make him the true progressive pick in the race.
She claims sitting County Executive Dan McCoy has aligned himself with conservative factions, resisted transparency, and has "repeatedly hired his close friends and family for county jobs, which Albany County could not afford, being under financial pressure." She says "what happened more recently was that the redistricting plan which he was supportive of was actually thrown out by a federal judge because it didn't take into account the needs of minority constituents, and it violates the voting rights act. So there's a pattern here over his entire tenure, of somebody who I don't see as fighting for the constituents."
Teachout's sole positive comment about McCoy: his stance against oil trains.
In overwhelmingly Democratic Albany County, Egan says his campaign is grateful to have the support of Teachout. "Albany Democrats really are ready for change, and they care about transparency, they care about openness, they care about inclusion, they're tired of the corruption."
The McCoy camp did not respond to calls for comment. Early this year, McCoy was endorsed by several powerful Democrats, including U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Paul Tonko and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. " He and I are working together on a number of initiatives to try to reduce costs, to try to work together to avoid duplicating services. We've been working very closely on the oil trains issue, on housing homeless veterans, and I look forward to continuing to work with him," said Sheehan.
McCoy also has an edge in fundraising and name recognition.
- Teachout's "letter of endorsement"
