Albany Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs is the early front-runner in the race to replace Kathy Sheehan as mayor of Albany.

Albany Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs is the early front-runner in the race to replace Kathy Sheehan as mayor of Albany.

Democrat Dan Cerutti is the second candidate to publicly declare a mayoral run in Albany.

Dr. Carolyn McLaughlin, a county legislator and former Common Council president, is among the candidates who have announced a run for mayor of Albany.

ALBANY — The claim that any election is “the most important of our lifetime” is almost always a partisan exaggeration. But I wouldn’t argue with anyone who says this city’s upcoming mayoral election is crucial.

Albany, as you may have noticed, is not in a good place. You can throw rocks downtown without hitting a pedestrian, Lark Street business owners are alarmed about mayhem, Pine Hills has a huge hole where The College of Saint Rose used to be, the undermanned police department is playing whack-a-mole, and the city’s poorest neighborhoods remain desperate for investment and hope.

That list of problems could continue, but you get the point. And the grim state of things should concern you whether or not you live in Albany, given that its future is so interwoven with the region’s.

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