March 31, 2013
The introduction of Dorcey Applyrs, a rumination on representational politics and discovering the
Plumeri Complex near my house
Damn that Dominick, how can he do this. He’s been the best thing politically that has happened to the the City of Albany during these long, torturous years of the Jennings administration, the guy who got elected to the Common Council in 2001 and immediately became the only politician in the City that the public trusted and considered honest. Now after twelve years of public service he plans to retire from politics.
That’s right folks, Dominick Calsolaro is not running for a fourth term on the Common Council, and he’s not running for another office. He’s still the same guy who entered politics because he was tired of tripping over the heaving sidewalks on Second Avenue when he walked his dog in the morning. But thanks in large part to his work, the political landscape in Albany has cracked apart like a neglected sidewalk and is about ready to be replaced by something better.
Dominick Calsolaro And His Very Understanding Wife Mary
But let’s face it, he’s twelve years older than he used to be. This past last Wednesday in March Dominick held what I guess you would call a press conference in the parking lot of the new Plumeri Sports complex on Frisbee Avenue. The weather, which has been rather dicey lately, turned out to be the best one could have expected, sunshine and upper 40s F. When someone complained about the cold, I heard Dominick reply, “It’s Spring, I expected today would be in the 60s!”
The purpose of this event was not to conduct a funeral service for the man, we weren’t gathered there to drop him in a six foot hole dug overnight in the playing fields. He’s still our Common Council representative until the end of the year. But I guess he wanted to end the speculation.
Remember, this is the guy who promised to serve only two terms on the Council. A bit later, when he was giving his prepared remarks, he mentioned that he believed that when politicians stay in office too long they “tend to get too comfortable and become stale.” Suddenly he looked up from his notes, remembering the half dozen or so career politicians standing behind him. “Present company excepted, of course,” he added unconvincingly.
Standing Behind Dominick Calsolaro: Sheriff Craig Apple, Luci McKnight, Candidate Dorcey Applyrs, Carolyn McLaughlin, Neil Breslin, Kathy Sheehan, Cathy Fahy, Don Applyrs, Richard Conti, Barbara Smith
But more important than discussing his own retirement from elected politics, Dominick wanted to introduce to the Ward and to the City the person he considered his successor on the Council, Dorcey Applyrs. For most of us present, including the media, this truly was an introduction because we were seeing her and hearing her speak for the first time. It turned out to be a good introduction, everyone I talked to afterwards was impressed with her remarks and with her strong character.
Dominick is already impressed with her. As he said in his remarks:
The decision to not seek re-election was made easier for me after I met Dorcey Applyrs. We spent much time together discussing the issues affecting the First Ward and the whole city. I talked to people who knew her, both in her professional and in her academic life. The more I found out about Dorcey, the more comfortable I became with my decision not to run for a fourth term. I firmly believe that Dorcey has the energy, passion and commitment for working on ways to solve the issues that negatively impact the quality-of-life of the citizens of Albany.