 |
| So
much to do: Calsolaro surveys his ward. |
2009:
A Mayoral Odyssey
Speculation
about the 2009 Albany mayoral race has started early, and
the prospect of one undecided Albany councilman filling the
role has people talking
By
David King
Photos
by Chris Shields
“Nothing
has changed,” says Albany Common Councilman Dominick Calsolaro
(Ward 1) on a bright June morning as he stands in front of
a dilapidated brick building on Second Avenue, just feet away
from his own home. The building’s broken walls curve inward,
its windows are boarded up with plywood, and weeds are growing
unchecked from around its foundation. It was here in front
of this building six years ago that Calsolaro announced his
run for a council seat in the ward he had lived in for more
than 20 years.
But things have changed. The building is tilting a bit more
to the right, there are fewer businesses open on Second Avenue,
and, as Calsolaro points out: “Every house on that block now
has some type of fence in front of it. It wasn’t there five
or six years ago, but they all have them now. And that is
not a good sign.” A number of the houses now have “No Trespassing”
signs, and shootings in the neighborhood are getting to be
an all-too-regular occurrence. Fourteen years ago there were
400 abandoned buildings in Albany, Calsolaro notes. Today
he estimates there are at least 1,000.
Calsolaro himself has changed. No longer simply a respected,
lifelong member of the community, Calsolaro now has six years
of experience on Albany’s Common Council, where he has spoken
out without regard for the feathers he might ruffle—six years
of discovering the realities that impinge on efforts to improve
a neighborhood: money, influence, power . . . and money again.
The stocky, sometimes awkward Calsolaro, whose passionate,
occasionally stuttering speeches at the council meetings draw
applause from the crowd and make less-interested council members
quietly leave, has won more recognition and public support
than most of his peers, who do not speak out of turn.
If a number of public figures and constituents have their
way, Calsolaro will soon be facing an even bigger change.
They want him to consider changing jobs—to run for mayor of
Albany. Calsolaro has a decision to make. It is a question
put to him by radio-show hosts, constituents, journalists
and politicians alike: “Will you run for mayor of Albany?”
“People
on the street ask me,” says Calsolaro. “[New York Post
columnist and WROW radio host] Fred Dicker asked me, people
from groups around the city ask, and I think part of it is
because I say what I think is right. I speak my mind, and
I think that’s part of it. People like to hear somebody actually
come out and say something that may not be agreeable, or at
least say something at all. I think that’s a lot of it. They
want someone who is not afraid to speak up.”
Calsolaro is not power-hungry or extremely ambitious. In fact,
when on his radio show Dicker asked Calsolaro if he would
run for mayor, Calsolaro told Dicker he wasn’t sure he has
the energy. And he harbors far less contempt for Albany Mayor
Jerry Jennings than their sometimes contentious relationship
might suggest.
Calsolaro told Metroland that he is unsure about his
political future. He may not run again for his council seat
because he feels that politicians get stale, and there is
a need for new ideas. But by the same token, he says he feels
that “it is time for a change” when it comes to the position
of Albany’s mayor. “A lot of people have come to me about
that. I mean, it is always a possibility. I haven’t made my
mind up on that either, but if there is enough support, it’s
possible.”
“It
never changes in Albany. Politics is its primary spectator
sport,” says Common Council President Shawn Morris. “The conversation
[about the 2009 race] really started six years ago or seven
years ago. The political scene in Albany is kind of like fantasy
football.”
“It’s
obvious a lot of people are speculating about the 2009 election,”
says Helen Desfosses, former council president and professor
of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany.
“The fact Jennings already announced he is running in 2009,
after he made the statement that he wasn’t going to run again,
clearly indicates he wants to run again but that he wants
to scare off potential contenders.”
Some pundits insist that Jennings has “circled the wagons”
since a defeat last year to State Assemblyman John McEneny
(D-Albany) in a race for a position on the Albany Democratic
Committee, and the loss of his two close allies, former Gov.
George Pataki and former Congressman John Sweeney.
“Jerry
has insulated himself some,” says Calsolaro. “His circle of
power, to my mind, has shrunk. A lot of it is the people have
been expecting more. He’s been in 14 years, and that is a
long time to wait for change.”
In fact, Calsolaro says, the Albany Democratic machine as
a whole is slowly being eroded. “I’m not afraid to speak up.
A lot of people would like to speak up, but there is such
a long tradition of political punishment I guess people are
still afraid. But more and more people are getting to that
point. More and more people haven’t grown up under the system,
they aren’t intimidated by party politics or machine politics
anymore, and I don’t think the system works for them. When
I was a kid, everything went through the ward leaders. You
didn’t go to the assessment officer; you went to the ward
leader. People have learned now that the government agency
is supposed to work for me.”
McEneny says he sees an interesting parallel between Jennings
before his initial run for mayor and the position Calsolaro
is currently in.
“Dominick
serves a fitting role in the City Council. It’s the same role
Jerry Jennings had when everyone was following Mayor [Thomas]
Whalen in lock-step. There are a lot of parallels between
them. Jerry was the one person openly speaking up on the issue
of the Pine Bush. That role is now occupied by a City Council
person, and this time it is Dominick. People respect him.
He does not talk for the sake of talking. There is true passion
in the issues he espouses.”
“In
a city as old as Albany, yesterday’s outsiders become today’s
insiders,” says Desfosses. “You may remember Jerry Jennings
ran as an outsider. He ran to challenge the system. He has
now been in for four terms. He announced he wants to run again
in 2009, and now he is an insider, and other people will be
presented as outsiders.”
Calsolaro says neighborhood revitalization efforts
such as the Arbor Hill Plan and the ReCapitalize Albany
Committee were needed before Jerry Jennings was elected mayor,
but should have been instituted much earlier under his watch.
As
a lifetime resident of Albany, Calsolaro says he watched as
the construction of the Empire State Plaza and I-787 uprooted
neighborhoods, drove the middle class to the suburbs and fractured
the city. “When the city got broken up by the plaza, it might
have started problems with the uptown-downtown thing. You
have a shooting at the South End the other day, and then an
hour later you have someone shot in the North End. Maybe that’s
because the city got cut up by highways and the plaza. You
have to go around streets where you used to be able to go
all the way from the South End to the North End. I’m not a
planner or anything, but it just seemed like all that stuff
happened around the same time. The highways, the plaza . .
. and it put the poor people in one part of the city, and
everybody else is separate, and it wasn’t that way before.”
Morris adds that there has never been a citywide effort to
counteract the sectioning off of Albany and the departure
of the middle class from the city.
“There
really has not been a concerted effort, citywide,” she says.
“People are actively addressing the issue on a neighborhood
level, in neighborhood associations, trying to keep people
in the city, to hold on to the middle class we have. But we
are losing the middle class of all races and all color. Poverty
levels in the city are increasing, and that’s what is gonna
make it hard for Albany in the long run. There just is not
that focus citywide. What neighborhoods end up doing is chasing
people from one neighborhood to the next, and when urban issues
pop up, people leave again.”
 |
| Working
together: Jennings and Calsolaro announce Saint Rose's
plans for Hoffman Park. |
Some
pundits say that they feel Jennings’ decision to run again
for mayor after announcing he would not seek another term
was fueled by his desire to see the Albany Convention Center
project through to completion. Calsolaro has been a harsh
critic of the project from day one. In fact, according to
Calsolaro, before the convention-center authority ever existed,
he was pressing for an alternative way to spend money in Albany
that would restore and rehab existing infrastructure to ensure
that, rather than attracting tourists with a convention center,
Albany could attract new residents with building-rehab programs
and incentives to home buyers. But Calsolaro says he was told
“that it was not ‘sexy enough’ to be able to get through the
state Legislature.”
But Calsolaro insists convention centers do nothing to repopulate
a city.
“Convention
centers may be sexy, but how many people are moving into a
city because of a convention center?” asks Calsolaro. “I’ve
yet to hear someone tell me they are moving into a city because
of a convention center. I’ve asked people this, ‘Have you
moved cause of a convention center?’ and they look at me like
I’m nuts. But they may move in if the block has no vacant
buildings, and the three that were vacant have been rehabbed,
and the street looks great because the sidewalks have been
done, the streets are paved, and the street looks livable.
And now as a result we have 10 more people living in Albany.
And I’m not done with that argument.”
Calsolaro’s Reconstruct Albany Authority would have taken
a smaller amount of money than the $200 million figure planned
for the convention center—around $25 million to focus on fixing
the city itself.
“It
would be a 20-year project,” says Calsolaro. “The unions would
have work—electricians, plumbers, etc. We would target, say,
20 houses a year to rehab. And we could keep doing it for
20 years. The unions would be working all the time, rather
than working on one big building that is done in 18 months.
Now what do you do? Now instead you have a 20-year plan.”
While both McEneny and Desfosses say that Calsolaro’s plan
is not truly a realistic alternative to the current situation
with the convention center, both note his interest and criticism
of the project has led to real results.
“I
think Dominick’s persistent questioning of the scale and process
of the convention center has helped result in a number of
changes,” says Defosses. “Dominick, by asking questions from
the very beginning, helped make sure the human impact on the
neighborhoods surrounding it is going to be taken into account.”
Calsolaro’s
appearance on Dicker’s radio show last month led to accusations
from City Hall that Calsolaro was the man behind the popular
political blog Democracy in Albany, a charge that both Calsolaro
and the anonymous DIA deny. But Calsolaro has been met with
accusations and criticism from City Hall whenever he chooses
to speak his mind. However, Calsolaro says other city politicians
have their own reasons to keep quiet. “They don’t want to
lose Jerry’s support. They don’t want to be threatened by
a primary if they speak out, or if they don’t vote the right
way. It still goes on; people still get phone calls and get
told they can’t vote this way.”
But the public criticism Calsolaro receives from the mayor
only seems to increase Calsolaro’s popularity. According to
DIA, the mayor’s flippant reactions are simply fueling his
opposition.
“The
mayor blames others,” says DIA in an e-mail interview. “Calsolaro
steps ups and tries to help solve the problems. It’s very
simple. And it’s what Albany needs. This is why people would
like someone like Calsolaro as mayor. This is why there is
a void in City Hall. The mayor operates in a black box, and
once a year he sends us the bill. I feel City Hall’s refusal
to engage has grown my audience. Criticism only works if you
are making legitimate arguments. So when the mayor criticizes
Dominick by saying that Dominick doesn’t understand the issue
of gun violence and that the streets are perfectly safe, that
only makes him sound out of touch.”
Some pundits suggest that the buzz around Calsolaro may be
growing because his supporters are more accustomed to modern
politics and communication than the Jennings administration.
“I
find it very interesting that the city announced its new Web
site,” says Desfosses. “The city is way behind many of its
residents in terms with its familiarity with techniques of
communicating.”
Calsolaro says he constantly hears from constituents who have
tried to contact City Hall by letter or phone and have not
heard back about their problems.
“Anybody
that writes or calls should get their letter returned. I have
called and nobody calls me back. That has been a constant
for years now, even when I was president of the neighborhood
association, and it’s still going on.” Calsolaro insists that
the city needs a 311 phone system to make sure residents can
access the information they need and have their concerns registered.
He says he hears from constituents who claim that they have
called about a problem multiple times, and when he checks
in with the proper department, he is told over and over again,
“We never got any calls about that.”
Morris says that Albany has entered a new era of citizen participation
in government, that people are more willing than ever to show
up at a meeting on planning or neighborhoods. But, she notes,
the one frustration that inhibits further citizen participation
is that City Hall rations information.
“Technology
is not just the issue,” she says. “It’s the old way of doing
business, where City Hall doesn’t want information available
for the public. That hoarding of information . . . Information
is piecemealed out to people as a favor rather than an expectation.
You have to earn the right to receive information rather than
have it available because you are a taxpayer. We are still
at the point where they don’t want to share information that
they have. More than anything else, that is a critical issue
that the current administration has. And it is a big vulnerability.
People just don’t want to put up with that.”
Communication and an ability to access generally under-represented
communities may very well determine the next election. Pundits
assert that one of the most defining factors in the race may
come one year early, during the campaign for Albany district
attorney.
“There
are the county legislative races in 2007, and the Soares reelection
campaign in 2008,” says Desfosses, “which is relevant here
because last time he mobilized an extraordinary number of
minority voters in the city that had never voted before. Lists
are all-important in politics. If you know who you brought
out and have their names and recent phone numbers, you can
tap these people. The fact they will be mobilized again for
a re-election campaign means there will be lots of live dynamism,
if you will. And that could spill over into the mayoral race.”
Calsolaro is not the only person pundits are watching closely
when it comes to the 2009 race. Other people who are considered
possible contenders are Morris, Councilwoman Carolyn McLaughlin
(Ward 2), Councilman Richard Conti (Ward 6) and Councilman
Corey Ellis (Ward 3).
“If
you go around the city, you will hear the names of many potential
contenders from all segments of the city,” says Desfosses,
“from all ethnic and racial groups, from a variety of different
neighborhoods. It all could lead to nothing, because the mayor
is perceived to be too strong as an incumbent. Very few might
fill out papers to run against him, or all this smoke and
discussion might lead to some fire.”
Morris says that in Albany, speculation is simply the name
of the game. “It’s like fantasy football. People pick up players
and drop them again. That is very much where we are right
now. But the best thing that can happen is that there will
be 15 people out there all saying, ‘This is what I’m thinking
about, this is why, and these are the issues that are important.’
”
Desfosses and Morris say any number of things might play into
the coming election, the reassessment that has some residents
none too pleased, the state of crime and gun violence in Albany,
what stage of development the convention center is in by 2008,
and how initiatives like the ReCapitalize Albany committee
and the comprehensive plan are perceived.
When asked if she might have an interest in throwing herself
into the mix of a future mayoral race, Desfosses responded:
“I continue to be actively interested in Albany politics.”
At two years away from election year, Calsolaro is unsure
whether he would really run for mayor. In fact, there are
other possibilities. McEneny suggests that Calsolaro might
one day, thanks to his long involvement with the state Legislature,
consider running for the Assembly seat McEneny currently occupies.
And that is also something Calsolaro says he has given some
thought to.
Having just come from the an nouncement of a partnership between
Albany and the College of Saint Rose to revitalize Hoffman
Park, the field where he played Little League as a child,
Calsolaro should feel a bit of satisfaction, as he had successfully
worked with the city to improve a part of his ward. Jennings
even quipped to Calsolaro at the announcement: “I’ll even
lobby for you on this one, babe.”
But now, here in his own neighborhood, the good feelings have
slipped away. The same building he stood in front of six years
ago remains empty, growing ever closer to collapse. Down the
street, a laundry and a bar that once served this South End
community are shuttered.
“This
is where it all stems from,” Calsolaro laments as he points
out other abandoned properties on Second Street. But during
his time on the council, Calsolaro has learned that, as a
councilman, he has neither the power, the influence, nor the
funds necessary to reconstruct the city where he has spent
all his 52 years.
Calsolaro says he knows it is hard to be the executive, and
he has been told it takes time to adjust to being the head
of the city before a mayor can accomplish real work. He says
he respects Jennings and thinks Jennings is “finally making
some progress now, with the South End Plan and the Arbor Hill
Plan. We have all these plans now. I just wish that stuff
was done 14 years ago. I think we are finally moving in the
direction to fix some of these things. But I have to wonder
if we had started 14 years ago, how farther advanced we would
be from where we are now? It got me a little bit upset looking
around and saying, ‘Wait a minute, I went to school here 34
years ago and nothing is getting better.’ ”
Suddenly something catches his eye. A teen rides a blue bike
down Second Avenue.
“Go
to school!” Calsolaro shouts to the teen as he glides past.
The teen stops as Calsolaro motions toward school with his
thumb. The teen mumbles something about not needing to be
there yet and Calsolaro, visibly frustrated, responds. “I
don’t want to hear it! You should be in school!”
He then confides that, a few months earlier, while doing a
report with a TV news station in the area, the same teen,
who plays on a soccer team with Calsolaro’s son, had ridden
by on the same bike at the same time of day, and at that time,
too, Calsolaro had scolded him for not being in school. The
teen smiles and rides away. Calsolaro, shaking his head, tries
to compose himself. “Nothing changes,” he says.
dking@metroland.net
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