Goals for 2026

If elected, I intend to try to do the following.  I recognize that the office of mayor is not one of absolute power, but I will fight to the end to make these goals happen, one way or another, during my first term.

A few of my goals will be accomplished on Day One but the others simply won’t happen overnight.

I do know the below goals might be beyond my direct power, but I do know how to play well with others in order to get things done.

Under my leadership, one way or another, most of these goals will be accomplished or I’ll figuratively die trying to make them happen, without fear or favor, and all of that for you, the voter.

“Finally!  A Crook you can trust!”

Public Safety

  • I will drastically improve the Albany Police Department.  Read more about this goal.
  • I will outlaw all breeds of vicious dogs.
  • I will implement plans designed to make Albany a safer place for residents and visitors alike.  Under my leadership, the goal is to reduce crime by 16% within my first year.
  • I will criminalize even more harshly the use and possession of ATV’s and other such vehicles within city limits.
  • I will abolish the outgoing mayor Kathy Sheehan’s 25 insane mph speed limit change, bringing back the old one, or perhaps even increasing the limit to 35 mph.  This won’t happen overnight, but it will get done one way or another.
  • I will make it illegal for sex offenders to live in Albany.
  • I will order an immediate re-evaluation of traffic lights so that those intersections where traffic lights in different directions change immediately, replacing the timing to a far safer interval.  This should reduce the number of red-light crashes.
  • I will address the pothole situation in Albany, and my changes will improve safety and quality of life in Albany.
  • I will make Albany a safer and more enjoyable city in which to live, worship and play.
  • I will improve and maintain our city’s readiness for a nuclear launch.

Taxes

  • I will reduce property taxes for residents by 5%.
  • I will reduce property taxes for businesses and private landlords by 4%.
  • I will reduce any local taxes Albany may impose on goods and services by 2%.
  • I will offer attractive tax incentives, as well as other enticements, for private landlords who maintain their properties properly.
  • I will lower any sales tax the city may collect on things such as citizens’ National Grid bills.

Finances

  • I will improve Albany’s financial standing, with the goal of efficiently running the city while at the same time saving residents as much of their tax dollars as possible.
  • I will eliminate any and all positions in city government that are useless, and believe me, there are many.
  • I will impose a citywide minimum wage of $16.50, exceeding the state’s $15.50.
  • I will spend the money saved from my cuts to, among many other things, proactively maintain our city’s water mains before bursts happen.
  • I will look at possible ways to reduce water rates while maintaining its infrastructure.

School District

Quality of Life

  • I will immediately terminate Albany’s status as a sanctuary city.  I will give ICE the keys to the city and I will force the APD to assist in finding and turning over to ICE any and all illegals.
  • I will pass a law that will enable landlords to turn away applicants if they cannot prove that their presence in Albany is legal.  I will offer tax breaks to those landlords who can prove each and every one of their tenants are here legally.
  • I will mandate that, after a reasonable grace period, ALL city employees live within city limits.
  • I will harshly punish absentee landlords.
  • I will make English the official language of Albany.  People of all ethnic backgrounds, races and cultures are always welcome in Albany, of course, but everyone who lives in and visits Albany should speak English.  After all, if I were to visit Mexico, the onus would be on me to learn Spanish.  It cuts both ways.
  • I will make massive improvements to the BID, even better than what state government wants to do.  Whatever the state can do, I will do better.
  • I will hold City Hall to the highest standards and the highest level of accountability.
  • I will address numerous quality of life issues, including, but not limited to, giving police officers, prosecutors and judges the ability to impose extremely harsh sanctions against people who violate the noise ordinance at any time of day.
  • I will address the problem, including the eyesore factor, of homeless people on our streets.  My way of addressing the problem will have minimal impact on taxpayer monies.
  • I will address the serious issue of affordable housing in a manner that is not emotional, but practical.  Under my leadership, the city will become a destination for landlords and developers, a destination that can provide affordable, safe and quality shelter.
  • I will do my part to try to ensure that we do not permit dispensaries to operate within city limits and I will, to the best of my ability, revoke any existing permits.
  • I will compel first responders who arrive on a call for aid to first check the wrist of someone who is not breathing or whose heart has stopped for a Do Not Resuscitate bracelet, as provided for under state law.  I will pass a law that comes, with a stiff jail sentence, to fail to check for and honor that bracelet.  It takes one second to check, so there would be no impact to anyone’s well-being.
  • I will rename Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.  By any means necessary.
  • If a plan to pool county and local resources goes into effect, I will rescind it and I’ll do so with a snap.

Panhandling

  • I will criminalize panhandling and I will obviously eliminate licensing for such a vile thing.  Panhandlers are an eyesore for all concerned and will, under my leadership, be eliminated.

Efficiency

  • I will assess the number of employees the taxpayers are subsidizing and I will make adjustments across the board if needed.
  • I will immediately address the Parking Authority.
  • I will ensure that our city is prepared for snowstorms, especially major ones.   I will see to it that the streets are salted in advance of a storm, not during it.  I will also make sure that the plows start rolling within minutes, not hours.  Where outgoing mayor Kathy Sheehan failed us on January 19th, I will succeed and that will bode well for the people of Albany.
  • I will look at the City Council with the goal of redrawing boundaries and eliminating the resulting dead weight.  The people would still be represented, just by fewer troublemakers.

Woke

  • I will end any and all form of wokeness within our city government.  For example, I would remove any form of official support for, among others, LGBT causes.
  • In addition to eliminating support for LGBT causes, any and all other DEI programs will be put to a sudden and permanent halt.  The FBI eliminated DEI and I will do the same in Albany.
  • I will issue an order that affirms that the City of Albany only recognizes two genders.

Culture

  • I will pay special attention to Albany’s economy and cultural environment, including the arts, making Albany more lucrative to the businesses, organizations and companies that Albany needs to make it a much more vibrant city than it is now.

 

Learn more about my Day One plans.

If you would like to invest in a better, brighter Albany, please consider donating to my campaign.