A few vocal students are hoping to raise political awareness about Schenectady’s mayoral race by electing former Union College President Roger Hull to Schenectady City Hall.
On Nov. 8, the 50,000 residents of Schenectady will have the opportunity to voice their opinions in the Mayoral General Election. Various Union College students hope to add to the vote totals for Hull, who is running as a nominee.
The goal of the Take Back Our City initiative, spearheaded by Nick D’Angelo ‘14 and Charlotte Lehman ‘14, is to register 50 Union students and turn in the registrations by the deadline, which is tomorrow, Oct. 14. D’Angelo and Lehman plan on marching with other Union students to the Schenectady polling place with the intent of supporting the 17th President of Union College President. Hull is running against current Democratic nominee Acting Mayor Gary McCarthy. While D’Angelo is the President of the Union College Republicans, the project is not affiliated with the group, despite the fact that some of its members have taken an active role in it.
The Alliance Party, a bipartisan political party formed in July 2010, was established in part by Hull. In addition to his Alliance Party support, Hull is an Independent appearing on the Republican and Conservative party. D’Angelo believes that Union students should play an active role in Schenectady politics since students call the city their home for 10 months of the year.
“Schenectady is our city. We live here for the majority of the year, invest in the city’s businesses and take advantage of the city’s resources. We should care about where we live,” D’Angelo said. “We should care about improving education, reducing crime and providing for ordinary, everyday citizens. If you’ve ever referred to the city as ‘Sketch-nectady’ or thought twice before stepping off campus, then you should also think about the reasons the city is the way it is. Government is the problem. And we can change it.”
D’Angelo believes that electing Hull for Schenectady Mayor would improve the city going forward.
“The city has failed in the basic functions of government. Schenectady refuses to pay the full city share of school tax revenues, a legally mandated share, and owes the city public school district $3.7 million for Fiscal 2009-10 alone. Schenectady is also the only municipality in NY State that has refused to disclose full costs of retiree health care benefits,” D’Angelo said.
The “Take Back Our City” initiative will be held in the Reamer Campus Center during common lunch hour and will offer registration forms and information on the 2011 mayoral elections. At 7 p.m. this evening, Roger Hull will discuss his candidacy at Golub House.
The initiative is also receiving help from The Leadership Institute (TLI), a nonprofit organization that helps train students in “political technology.” Members of TLI will be on campus on Thursday, helping with the drive, and will also be present for the Dinner & Discussion at Golub on Thursday night.
“This isn’t about Democrat or Republican or partisan politics at all,” Lehman said. “This is simply about creating a clean and effective government that works for the people.”
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