By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
ALBANY — The incumbent county executive, sheriff and comptroller announced their re-election bids Saturday.
The trio — Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, Sheriff Craig Apple and County Comptroller Susan Rizzo — joined forces to launch their campaigns at a rally at the Carpenters Union Local No. 291 Training Center.
All three are Democratic incumbents seeking a new four-year term in office.
McCoy spoke at the rally of his work on the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, his support for renewable energy industries and electric vehicle infrastructure, and his efforts to keep Plug Power, along with its 1,600 jobs, in Albany County.
Improvements to Lawson Lake County Park, Albany International Airport, the MVP Arena and Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center were also the focus of McCoy’s announcement.
McCoy has been in office for three terms and is seeking a fourth.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as county executive over the last nearly 12 years, and together we’ve overcome some of the toughest challenges imaginable and transformed Albany County for the better in the process,” McCoy said. “We dug ourselves out of the Great Recession and built up our reserves to put us on the right footing to respond to COVID, without cuts to services or layoffs. We have cut taxes while investing in economic development, making our community more affordable for hardworking families and making it a more attractive place to do business.”
McCoy said the county has made progress over the years, but there is more work to be done.
“We continue to deal with a mental health and opioid epidemic, global warming, workforce shortages, inflation, a looming economic downturn, and historic economic and social inequities,” McCoy said. “And we will answer that call as we have before, in a partnership as one community. I hope the people of Albany County continue to put their trust and their faith in me to lead for another four years.”
Apple, who has been sheriff since 2011, ran for re-election unopposed in 2019. He also briefly ran for state senate in 2022 before dropping out of the race.
He spoke of his department’s response to the opioid epidemic and coordination of COVID-19 vaccination initiatives in rural areas. Apple’s team brought the coronavirus vaccines to local residents at Senior Projects of Ravena during the pandemic when vaccines were first made available to older New Yorkers.
Rizzo was first elected county comptroller in 2019 when the former comptroller, Michael Conners, declined to run for re-election.
Albany County Democratic Party Chairman Jake Crawford said in a statement that the three candidates have a record to be proud of.
“It should be no surprise to the voters of Albany County that County Executive McCoy, Sheriff Apple, and Comptroller Rizzo are seeking re-election in 2023,” Crawford said. “Their record over the past four years has been that of exceptional and exemplary service to the residents of our community. I look forward to their continued leadership for Albany County and leading a Democratic ticket to victory in 2023.”
At this time no Republican candidates have announced a bid for the three offices.
