Mayoral elections in Albany, New York

Elections are held every four years in the off-year immediately after United States presidential election years in Albany, New York, to elect the city's mayor.

2005

2005 Albany mayoral election

← 2001 November 8, 2005 2009  →

Nominee Gerald Jennings Alice Green Joseph Sullivan Party Democratic Green Republican Popular vote 15,367 5,548 1,465 Percentage 68.65% 24.79% 6.54%

Mayor before election Gerald Jennings Democratic Elected mayor Gerald Jennings Democratic

The 2005 Albany mayoral election occurred on November 8, 2005. Incumbent Democrat Gerald Jennings was reelected to a fourth consecutive term.

Primaries

Primary elections were held on September 13, 2005.

Democratic

Candidates

• Gerald Jennings - incumbent mayor
• Archie Goodbee - retired broadcasting executive ^[1]

2005 Albany Democratic mayoral primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	10,223	68.32%
	Democratic	Archie Goodbee	4,741	31.68%
Total votes			14,964	100%

Conservative

2005 Albany Conservative mayoral primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Gerald Jennings (write-in)	22	81.48%
	Conservative	Joseph Sullivan (write-in)	3	11.11%
	Conservative	Paul Latimer (write-in)	1	3.70%
	Conservative	Joseph McElroy (write-in)	1	3.70%
Total votes			27	100%

General election

In the general election, Jennings defeated Green Party candidate Alice Green, and Republican Party candidate Joseph Sullivan, a perennial candidate and local activist. ^[3] This was a great result for Green who, 7 years earlier as the running mate of Al Lewis, helped the nascent Green Party of New York to achieve automatic ballot access by winning over 50,000 votes in the 1998 New York gubernatorial election. ^[4]

2005 Albany mayoral election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	14,295	63.86%
	Independence	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	561	2.51%
	Conservative	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	511	2.28%
	Total	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	15,367	68.65%
	Green	Alice Green	5,548	24.79%
	Republican	Joseph Sullivan	1,465	6.54%
		Benzie Johnson (write-in)	4	0.02%
Total votes			22,384	100%

2009

2009 Albany mayoral election

←  2005 November 3, 2009 2013  →

Nominee Gerald Jennings Corey Ellis Nathan Lebron Party Democratic Working Families Republican Alliance Conservative Popular vote 10,466 4,801 1,178 Percentage 63.52% 29.14% 7.15%

Mayor before election Gerald Jennings Democratic Elected mayor Gerald Jennings Democratic

The Albany, New York, mayoral election of 2009 occurred on November 3, 2009. It saw the reelection of Democrat Gerald Jennings to a fifth consecutive term.

Democratic primary

The Democratic Party primary was held on September 15, 2009. Incumbent Mayor Gerald Jennings defeated Corey Ellis, a city council member, by a vote of 8,130 to 6,301. ^{[6] [7]}

2009 Albany Democratic mayoral primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	8,130	56.34%
	Democratic	Corey Ellis	6,301	43.66%
Total votes			14,431	100%

General election

In the general election, Jennings (running on both the Democratic and Conservative Party lines) defeated Ellis (running as the Working Families Party candidate), and Republican Party candidate Nathan Lebron. Jennings got 10,466 votes in total, Ellis came in second with 4,801 votes, and LeBron got 1,178 votes; there were also a few dozen write-in votes. ^[8]

2009 Albany mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	9,953	60.41%
	Conservative	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	513	3.11%
	Total	Gerald Jennings (incumbent)	10,466	63.52%
	Working Families	Corey Ellis	4,801	29.14%
	Republican	Nathan Lebron	1,178	7.15%
		Write-ins	31	0.19%
Total votes			16,476	100%

2013

2013 Albany mayoral election

←  2009 November 5, 2013 2017  →

Nominee Kathy Sheehan Jesse Calhoun Party Democratic Republican Alliance Parties Independence Working Families Popular vote 13,134 1,025 Percentage 83.49% 6.52%

Mayor before election Gerald Jennings Democratic Elected mayor Kathy Sheehan Democratic

The Albany, New York mayoral election of 2013 took place on November 5, 2013. The general election was preceded by the primaries on September 10, 2013. The winner of the election was Democratic nominee Kathy Sheehan.

Incumbent Democratic mayor Gerald Jennings did not seek reelection.

Background

The 2013 mayoral election was the City of Albany's first open-seat mayoral election since 1993. Incumbent mayor Gerald Jennings announced on May 14, 2013, that he would not run for a sixth term. ^[9] Jennings is the second-longest-serving mayor in the history of Albany (Erastus Corning 2nd was the city's longest-tenured mayor). ^[10]

Democratic primary

On November 17, 2012, Sheehan announced herself as a candidate for mayor. ^[11] On September 10, 2013, Sheehan defeated Corey Ellis in the Democratic primary. ^[12] According to official returns released on October 9, Sheehan won the Democratic nomination with 7,468 votes (65.72%) to Ellis's 3,294 votes (28.99%), with 601 write in votes (5.29%) and a few void and blank ballots. ^[13]

2013 Albany Democratic mayoral primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Sheehan	7,468	65.72%
	Democratic	Corey Ellis	3,294	28.99%
		Write-ins	601	5.29%
Total votes			14,431	100%

General election

In addition to Sheehan, who ran on the Democratic, Working Families, and Independence Party lines, Jesse D. Calhoun was the candidate of the Republican Party, Joseph P. Sullivan ran on the Conservative Party line, and Theresa M. Portelli (a former Albany City school board member) ran on the Green Party line. ^[14]

On November 5, Sheehan won the general election in a landslide, receiving over 83% of the total vote. ^[15]

2013 Albany mayoral election ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Sheehan	11,884	75.55%
	Working Families	Kathy Sheehan	826	5.25%
	Independence	Kathy Sheehan	424	2.70%
	Total	Kathy Sheehan	13,134	83.49%
	Republican	Jesse D. Calhoun	1,025	6.52%
	Green	Theresa M. Portelli	715	4.55%
	Conservative	Joseph P. Sullivan	681	4.33%
		Write-ins	176	1.12%
Total votes			15,731	100%
	Democratic hold

2017

2017 Albany mayoral election

←  2013 November 7, 2017 2021  →

Nominee Kathy Sheehan Frank Commisso Jr. Party Democratic Independence Alliance Parties Women's Equality Working Families Popular vote 11,520 3,687 Percentage 70.42% 22.54%

Mayor before election Kathy Sheehan Democratic Elected mayor Kathy Sheehan Democratic

The 2017 mayoral election in Albany, New York, was held on November 7, 2017, and resulted in the incumbent Kathy Sheehan, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a second term over Conservative Party candidate Joseph Sullivan, Green Party candidate Bryan Jimenez, and Independence Party candidate Frank Commisso Jr. ^{[16] [17]}

Democratic primary

Sheehan won the Democratic primary election with less than 50 percent of the vote. Frank Commisso Jr., a member of the Albany Common Council; and Carolyn McLaughlin, the president of the Common Council, also ran. ^[17]

2017 Albany Democratic mayoral primary ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Sheehan	6,650	49.37
	Democratic	Frank Commisso Jr.	4,446	33.01
	Democratic	Carolyn McLaughlin	2,056	15.26
		Write-ins	317	2.35
Total votes			13,469	100

General election

Commisso ran again in the general election as the candidate of the Independence Party. He criticized Sheehan over her handling of the city's finances and on the issue of tax breaks. Sheehan responded to Commisso's criticism through television advertisements, which were funded by a $387,000 loan from Sheehan to her campaign. ^[17]

2017 Albany mayoral election ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Sheehan	10,247	62.63
	Working Families	Kathy Sheehan	994	6.08
	Women's Equality	Kathy Sheehan	279	1.71
	Total	Kathy Sheehan	11,520	70.42
	Independence	Frank Commisso Jr.	3,687	22.54
	Conservative	Joseph P. Sullivan	709	4.22
	Green	Bryan Jimenez	374	2.29
		Write-ins	70	0.43
Total votes			16,360	100
	Democratic hold

2021

See also: 2021 New York state elections

2021 Albany mayoral election

←  2017 2 November 2021 2025  →
Turnout	14,015
Candidate Kathy Sheehan Alicia Purdy William Atlee Party Democratic Republican Independence Alliance Conservative Popular vote 8,837 2,385 2,374 Percentage 63.05% 17.02% 16.94%
Mayor before election Kathy Sheehan Democratic Elected mayor Kathy Sheehan Democratic

The 2021 mayoral election in Albany, New York, was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Democratic mayor Kathy Sheehan won re-election to a third term in office. ^{[20] [21]}

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kathy Sheehan, incumbent mayor ^[21]

Eliminated in primary

• Valerie Faust, reverend and write-in candidate for mayor in 2009 and 2013 ^[22] (continued as a write-in candidate) ^[23]

Disqualified

• Marlon Anderson, advocate ^[24] (continued as a write-in candidate) ^[25]
• Lukee Forbes, activist ^{[22] [26]}

Declined

• Dorcey Applyrs, Chief City Auditor of Albany (endorsed Sheehan) ^[21]
• Corey Ellis, president of the Albany Common Council and candidate for mayor in 2009 and 2013 (endorsed Sheehan) ^{[21] [27]}

2021 Albany Democratic mayoral primary ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Sheehan (incumbent)	3,688	63.8
	Democratic	Valerie Faust	2,093	36.2
Total votes			5,781	100

Republican primary

Nominee

• Alicia Purdy, radio host ^[28] (also nominated by the Conservative Party) ^[26]

Third-party and independent candidates

• Greg Aidala, comedian and activist (Independence Party) ^[29]
• Ved Dookhun (Socialist Workers Party) ^[25]

General election

2021 Albany mayoral election [30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New York Democratic Party	Kathy Sheehan (Incumbent)	8,837	63.05%
	New York Republican Party	Alicia Purdy	1,862	13.29%
	Conservative Party of New York	William Atlee	523	3.73%
Total		William Atlee	2,385	17.02%
	Independence Party of New York	Greg Aidala	2,374	16.94%
Write-in			419	2.99%
Total			14,015	100%

2025

The 2025 mayoral election in Albany, New York will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent mayor Kathy Sheehan is retiring after winning three terms as mayor. The primary election will take place on June 24, 2025.

2025 Albany mayoral election

←  2021 November 4, 2025 2029 →

Incumbent Mayor Kathy Sheehan Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dorcey Applyrs, Albany Chief City Auditor ^[31]

Eliminated in primary

• Marlon Anderson, community advocate ^[32]
• Dan Cerutti, former tech executive ^[33]
• Corey Ellis, Albany Common Council President and candidate for mayor in 2009 and 2013 ^[34]
• Carolyn Mclaughlin, Albany County Legislator ^[35]

Declined

• Kathy Sheehan, incumbent mayor ^[36]

Endorsements

Dorcey Applyrs

Statewide officials

• Letitia James, Attorney General of New York (2019–present) ^[37]

State legislators

• Carl Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly (2015–present) from the 83rd district (2001–present) ^[38]
• Gabriella Romero, state assemblymember from the 109th district (2025–present) ^[37]

Individuals

• Ana Maria Archila, activist and co-director of the New York Working Families Party ^[39]

Organizations

• Citizen Action of New York ^[40]
• College Democrats of America ^[41]
• College Democrats of New York ^[41]
• Working Families Party ^[39]

Newspapers

• Times Union ^[42]

Dan Cerutti

Local officials

• Gerald Jennings, former mayor of Albany (1994–2013) ^[37]
• Susan Rizzo, Albany County Comptroller ^[37]

Republican primary

Nominee

Rocco Pezzulo, entrepreneur ^[43]

Results

2025 Albany mayoral Democratic primary ^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dorcey Applyrs	6,331	52.03%
	Democratic	Dan Cerutti	3,419	28.10%
	Democratic	Corey Ellis	1,286	10.57%
	Democratic	Carolyn Mclaughlin	892	7.33%
		Write-ins	239	1.96%
Total votes			12,264	100.00%

Third Party and Independent candidates

Withdrew

• Michael Crook, freelance writer (Independent) ^[45]

General election

Results

2025 Albany mayoral general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dorcey Applyrs
	Working Families	Dorcey Applyrs
	Total	Dorcey Applyrs
Total votes

External links

• Dorcey Applyrs (D) for Mayor
• Dan Cerutti (D) for Mayor
• Corey Ellis (D) for Mayor
• Carolyn McLaughlin (D) for Mayor

References

1. Feliciano, Kimberly. "Archie Goodbee to challenge Jennings for Albany mayor". The Free Library.
2. "2005 Albany Primary Election" (PDF).
3. Fries, Amanda (16 January 2019). "Albany's Joe Sullivan, a frequent political candidate, has died". Times Union.
4. "New York State Green Party has best showing ever". Green Party of New York.
5. "2005 Albany Mayoral Election" (PDF).
6. "2009 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
7. Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan (September 16, 2009). "Ellis falls short of win by at least 1,600 votes". Albany Times Union . Retrieved February 6, 2013.
8. "2009 General Election Results" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. p. 171. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
9. Benjamin, Ian (May 15, 2013). "DOCUMENT: Officials react to Jennings' decision not to run for re-election". The Record. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
10. Sanzone, Danielle (May 16, 2019). "Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings' decision to retire was not made lightly". The Saratogian. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
11. Kristen V. Brown (November 19, 2012). "Sheehan announces bid for Albany mayor". Times Union (Albany) . Retrieved September 11, 2013.
12. Danielle Sanzone (September 10, 2013). "Sheehan wins Albany Mayor primary; Shahinfar is the city's next treasurer". The Record (Troy) . Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
13. "OFFICIAL RECANVASS (2013 primary)" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. September 25, 2013. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
14. "The Voters of the County of Albany: The Following is a complete list of all candidates nominated for office to be voted for at the General Election to be held in the county of Albany, N.Y., on November 5, 2013". Albany County. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
15. "Election Results". Albany County. November 27, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
16. "Democrat Kathy Sheehan re-elected Albany mayor". NYup.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
17. Fries, Amanda (22 December 2017). "Four more years for Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan". Times Union . Retrieved December 18, 2018.
18. "Albany County Election Results". app.albanycounty.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
19. "Election Results". Albany County. December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
20. Pickus, Ian (17 November 2020). "Hinting At Run For Third Term, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan Says 2020 "Changed Everything"". WAMC-FM . Retrieved 2020-12-08.
21. Lucas, Dave (22 December 2020). "Sheehan First Into 2021 Race As She Seeks A Third Term". WAMC-FM .
22. Hughes, Steve (January 16, 2021). "Third candidate enters Albany mayoral race". Times Union .
23. Lucas, Dave (July 13, 2021). "After Losing Democratic Primary, Rev. Valerie Faust Launching Write-In Campaign For Albany Mayor". WAMC-FM . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
24. Lucas, Dave (7 February 2021). "Marlon Anderson Enters Albany Mayoral Race". WAMC-FM .
25. Lucas, Dave (28 May 2021). "Albany's Mayoral Candidates Discuss Pressing City Issues as Campaign Season Nears". WAMC-FM .
26. "Mayoral election in Albany, New York (2021)".
27. Lucas, Dave (13 November 2020). "Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis Could Mount 2021 Campaign". WAMC-FM . Retrieved 2020-12-08.
28. "Alicia Purdy enters Albany mayoral race". WHEC-TV . February 25, 2021.
29. Lucas, Dave (28 January 2021). "Local Actor/Comedian Joins Albany Mayoral Race, But Won't Run In Democratic Primary". WAMC-FM .
30. "Albany County Election Results". app.albanycounty.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
31. Starr, Tamara (2025-02-13). "Race for Albany mayor heats up as candidates make their case". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
32. Starr, Tamara (2025-02-13). "Race for Albany mayor heats up as candidates make their case". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
33. "Political newcomer Dan Cerutti launches bid for Albany mayor". WAMC. 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
34. Cavanaugh, Sean (2025-01-07). "Albany mayoral race heats up as candidates vie for top spot". WRGB. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
35. Cavanaugh, Sean (2025-01-07). "Albany mayoral race heats up as candidates vie for top spot". WRGB. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
36. "Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan won't seek fourth term". WNYT . February 15, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
37. Jefferson, Austin (May 27, 2025). "The upstate mayoral primary races you should know about". City & State . Retrieved May 27, 2025.
38. Reisman, Nick (May 27, 2025). "HTC's primary plans". Politico . Retrieved May 27, 2025.
39. Monaco, Charles (2025-02-25). "NYWFP Announces Endorsement for Albany Mayor and Other Candidates". Working Families Party. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
40. "Our Endorsements" . Retrieved June 23, 2025.
41. "New York and College Democrats of America Endorse Dorcey Applyrs for Mayor of Albany". April 7, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
42. "Editorial: For Albany mayor: Dorcey Applyrs". Times Union . June 13, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
43. https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/meet-rocco-pezzulo-the-republican-running-for-albany-mayor-applyrs-gop-candidate-race-election-ny-wrgb
44. "Albany County Primary Election 2025 June 24, 2025" . Retrieved June 25, 2025.
45. "Cancer diagnosis forces Albany mayoral candidate to exit race". WAMC. 2025-03-26. Retrieved 2025-03-27.