Schenectady City Council President Gary McCarthy has been an active member of the Democratic party for years. But he says that acting as Schenectady's Mayor was never really on his radar for this point in his life. Now it is a reality as he and the city prepare for a big transition.
"It's challenging and I look forward to that," said McCarthy.
Feelings of optimism from Gary McCarthy as we walked down Van Vranken Street in Schenectady Sunday evening. The man that will become acting mayor first thing Monday says that his focus will continue to be on stability and growth for the city.
"We've spent a lot of time as a community investing in downtown and we've seen a dramatic turn around in the last several years in downtown Schenectady," he said.
He says that the neighborhood we were walking in should be no different.
"As you walk up and down this neighborhood this is a neighborhood in transition. It was a stable middle class neighborhood but you see some deterioration, abandoned buildings. That is going to be the focus," said McCarthy.
Another priority, the financial state of the city.
"Schenectady is going to go through a difficult year this year," said McCarthy.
He says that the city is just finding out how much state money it will get and Schenectady still doesn't know how much federal grant money it will receive. But he says it will be less and that any loss will be significant.
McCarthy will begin his first day at midnight Monday by visiting the Schenectady Police Department, another place where he has a plan.
"I want to now focus on the delivery of service of putting cops on the street so they are making arrests and creating an environment where people feel safe in their neighborhoods," said McCarthy.
He says he thinks the police department has done a good job of increasing the public's confidence in terms of discipline within the organization.
McCarthy also plans to meets with other city employees throughout the day Monday, an effort he says to make this change smooth.
"I just want to reinforce a position of stability. I want people to go out do their job, do it well. I want them to take ownership in what they do. I want city employees to be respected and treated fairly by the public," said McCarthy.
He will end his day with a city council meeting Monday night. He will fulfill the duties of mayor part time while continuing his job at the DA's office. He says that by April 26th a plan for how the mayor's office will move forward will be outlined. The people of Schenectady will elect a new Mayor in November. McCarthy would not tell us if he is planning to run.
