This November, there is set to be an entertaining race for mayor of Schenectady. Incumbent Gary McCarthy, Republican Matt Nelligan, and possibly the current city council president Marion Porterfield, are all in the running. The Democratic Party has controlled the office for years, but other parties have come close to winning several times. This time two Democrats means the race could come down to Porterfield debating McCarthy on issues of race and homelessness.
Democrat Marion Porterfield’s entry to the race remains speculative. She went before the city Democratic Party leaders and submitted her name seeking endorsement to run over two weeks ago. If the endorsement gets approved, she will face off against McCarthy in the Democratic primary in June.
Porterfield has been a large part of Schenectady politics and community life for decades. She has been on the Schenectady City Council since 2012 and has been President since 2021. Porterfield is widely respected in the realm of politics because of her involvement in the community. Despite not being a member, she often participates in community cleanups at the Duryee Memorial AME Zion Church. Roger Hull, former President of Union College (1995-2005) and two-time mayoral candidate, says Poterfield has a “very good chance” of winning the race because she is “well-known.” Hull predicted that if Marion Porter runs, she will likely win, but if she doesn’t incumbent Gary McCarthy will keep his seat.
If Porterfield were to run and win, she would be the first mayor of color and the second female mayor in Schenectady’s long history. Given Schenectady’s diverse demographic makeup (55.6 % White alone, 18.7% Black or African-American individuals, 11.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.1% Asian alone), the fact that there hasn’t been a mayor of color speaks to Schenectady’s qualms with race. Despite Democratic liberal leanings, persistent racism remains in Schenectady. Current members of the city council Carl Williams, Porterfield, and Damonni Farley (who are all Black) have reportedly received hate mail because of their race.
It is still not clear if Porterfield will run, but, according to Professor of Political Science at Union College, Zoe Oxley, “it seems [Porterfield] has taken serious steps” in that direction. Based on Porterfield’s presence in the community, she already has “experience, a network of donors and voters” which will help her in the race.
Third parties have had fairly successful runs for mayor in the past such as the Alliance Party (created by Roger Hull) in 2011 and 2015. Hull came close to being mayor in 2011 only losing by “89 votes” proving that a third party has the possibility of winning in Schenectady, as long as they campaign effectively. Despite efforts by current candidate Matt Nelligan, Republicans still makeup a small percentage of voters in Schenectady. There has not been a Republican mayor in Schenectady since Al Jurczynski who served from 2000-2002 in his second term, however, McCarthy has not exactly been safe in his incumbency. In 2019, political novice and Democrat Thearse McCalmon ran in the Democratic primary for mayor and nearly beat McCarthy earning 835 votes to his 940. Considering Marion Porterfield is much more politically experienced than McCalmon, the current race will be even more intense.
Roger Hull, who lost by such a small margin in the 2011 mayoral race, says he should have campaigned more at Union College to win. He then emphasized the importance of proper campaigning saying, “campaigning is everything,” so in his prediction, the most involved candidate will most likely win.
