Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy earned the Democratic primary seat against challenger Dan Egan Thursday, Sept. 10. In a county with an overwhelming population of Democrats, this win likely means McCoy will go on to win a second term in office.
Albany County voters gave McCoy 9,815 of their votes — a 59 percent majority — in last week’s Democratic primary elections. The victory is a clear one amidst a weak voter turnout, as Dan Egan received 37 percent of votes, or 6,118 ballots.
McCoy said the win reflects his work decreasing costs in the county’s budget, increasing reserves and expanding youth projects, while not increasing taxes.
“We kept our promises. We turned around our budget and we did that by working together,” said McCoy during his victory speech at Martel’s Restaurant in Albany. “The other side was throwing bricks at us,” said McCoy, in reference to Egan. “This campaign was challenging. It was a long summer and I apologized to my kids for that… but we kept our chins up.”
Egan was vocal about his dissent for McCoy throughout his push for the Democrat’s bid, alleging McCoy of improprieties associated with campaign contributors, and accusing the incumbent of failing senior citizens for trying to privatize the Albany County Nursing Home.
This objection to McCoy had even attracted a few legislators in office. Six of the 29 sitting Albany County Legislatures voiced their support for Egan’s campaign. These included Legislators Tim Nichols of Latham and Doug Bullock of Albany – both very vocal dissenters of McCoy – as well as an additional three County Legislators from Albany, and Dave Mayo of Latham.
Also, two new Democratic primary winners, Paul Miller of Guilderland and likely Democratic primary winner Sean Raleigh of Bethlehem, endorsed Egan against McCoy.
Egan’s platform included ambitious plans to raise the minimum wage, eliminate tax breaks for large corporations, ban oil trains from entering the county, reduce property taxes, ensure all counties have access to broadband internet and enroll more eligible seniors in supplemental nutrition assistance programs.
“We’re stuck with another four years of corruption and incompetence,” said Egan. He went on to call McCoy’s administration the “angry remnants of an old machine,” but added that he respects the verdict of the voters.
McCoy, on the other hand, had the support of bigger names in this primary election: U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko. He also counts Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan as two of his closest supporters, and all fellow Democrats.
Before introducing McCoy at his victory celebration, Sheehan said, “Dan and I figured out pretty early on we can build a better community when we work together, and that benefits everyone.”
During his victory speech, McCoy thanked her and the other local leaders who have supported him, his family and his campaign volunteers.
Egan, however, has not given up hope entirely. Of his very young and diverse campaign members, he is sure that, “one of them will lead the future.” It was these supporters that he felt the most regret toward. “I’ve apologized to them. Any fault (in this campaign) is my own.”
Now that McCoy has the seat for the Democratic primary, the race for county executive pits Democratic and Independent candidate Dan McCoy against Republican candidate Francis Vitollo of Coeymans and Green Party candidate Dan Plaat of Albany in the upcoming elections.
