In the Press
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TIMES UNION: 'Game changer' — Matching funds alter state legislative races, by Joshua Solomon
Excerpts:
Albany Common Council Member Gabriella Romero is leading the field with $173,570.
Romero qualified for the second-most public funds of any Assembly candidate in a primary slate, only trailing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently departed policy director, Micah Lasher — who hit the max amount of public dollars in a campaign cycle, $175,000 — for his race in Manhattan.
In matching funds math, Romero is just a $128 contribution short of reaching the maximum contribution limit although she is technically $1,230 short of the cap.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Romero said in an interview Friday. “Looking at that in the campaign account, it just changes the whole campaign.”
Romero said she expects the money to help her reach voters that many candidates for public office typically do not prioritize or outright ignore.
Generally, campaigns with limited expenses focus on voters that public records show are extremely likely to vote and then spend less time (and money) on those who tend to not vote. A June state legislative primary at the top of the ballot is a race in which political strategies would usually focus on voters who are very likely to cast a ballot, as opposed to higher-turnout elections during presidential or gubernatorial campaigns.
“Now, we actually have the ability to reach every voter as opposed to the restrictions” on highly likely voters, Romero said. “Every single door should be getting a mailer … every neighborhood, regardless of turnout, socio-economic status.”
The strategy, Romero said, could help to curb the cycle of having voters feel as though politicians don’t value their vote.
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WAMC: Albany Common Councilor Gabriella Romero among many Democrats running for 109th state Assembly seat, by Dave Lucas
Excerpts:
“Let me tell you what I want to do, because there's a lot. There's a lot of work and I'm excited to do it. It's so unaffordable to even live right now. Rents increasing, gas increasing, price of food is increasing. It's difficult to even purchase a home. As a young person, I'm scared. I'm not sure how we'll be able to save enough money to put down a down payment. You need a fighter to make sure to increase the minimum wage to $25 an hour. We need a fighter that's going to make sure that healthcare is free and accessible. We need a fighter to make sure that everyone has access to childcare so they can work and thrive,” Romero said.
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Spectrum News: Quest to 'ban the beg button' would give Albany pedestrians a turn to cross the street, by Josh Conner
Excerpts:
“I’ve got to walk 10 blocks to get my kid to school; that’s 40 minutes of wasted time for what?” Neidhardt said. “It really adds up.”
That’s why Neidhardt has brought the issue to someone who he thinks can make a change – Albany Common Councilor Gabriella Romero.
“The next step is putting together a local law, or an ordinance that would be binding on the city. It would affect all the city’s infrastructure and new development going forward,” Romero said.
The campaign, which has been titled “Ban the Beg Button,” is already in motion. Romero is working with the council and other local leaders on the resolution.
But the pedestrian buttons won’t be going away.
“That’s something we want to keep. What we are trying to change is pushing the button to allow for a pedestrian signal,” Romero said. “We want the pedestrian signal to be automatic and be prioritized, instead of requesting the ability to cross the street.”
“That should be the starting point of the conversation,” Neidhardt said. “I’m not asking for the world here. I’m asking for a walk signal.”
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Times Union: Housing advocates call on Hochul to protect right to shelter, by Molly Burke
Excerpts:
For housing advocates, the move would be a “very scary precedent,” Albany Councilwoman Gabriella Romero said at the rally. Romero, who also works as a public defender, said that taking away the right to shelter would turn areas across the state into tent cities as homeless individuals are forced to sleep on the streets.
Rally attendees set up two tents on the southern steps of the Capitol to demonstrate the alternative they said many homeless individuals and migrants would face if forced out of shelters. Protestors emphasized that when temperatures plummet as winter weather approaches, sleeping in tents is not a viable option.
“Everyone deserves to have a home, a coat, a meal, an education, a job, happiness, joy,” Romero said.
One woman, who was experiencing homelessness following her eviction, stopped by the rally and interrupted it to share her experience, warning Hochul that voters like her would take action.
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WAMC: Capital Region Amazon workers join growing union movement, by Dave Lucas
Excerpts:
Amazon Labor Union founder and President Chris Smalls says workers need to make $30 an hour to start just to meet the cost of living. Smalls helped lead a successful union drive at an Amazon facility in Staten Island earlier this year.
"I'm here to show support on the ground and also make a demand to Amazon that they're not going to give up," Smalls said. "They're ready to fight. And what they're fighting for is the same thing we're fighting for down in Staten Island, which is better wages, longer breaks, better medical leave options, job security, a pension for themselves, and also free college for themselves and their children as well.
Albany Common Councilor Gabriella Romero says the city has been a strong union town and the struggle continues.
“We have seen this trend of the wealthiest staying at the top and keeping that wealth for way too long," Romero said. "So, unionization is obviously about taking back workers’ rights, but also addressing the wealth inequality kind of within our workforce. So it's exciting. We did it with Capital Roots. We're going to do it with Joseph House and we're going to do it with Amazon workers here in Albany.”
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Albany County: Albany County and City of Albany Officials Unveil New Mental Health Alternative Crisis Response Pilot Program
Excerpts:
Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy today announced a new alternative mental health crisis response model in partnership with Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Albany County Legislator Matthew Peter and Albany Common Council Member Gabriella Romero. The new pilot program is an eight-week collaboration between Albany County’s Mental Health Department and the City of Albany Police Department designed to assess the needs of mentally ill, addicted and unhoused individuals in the Lark Street neighborhood of Albany. The assessment will help determine the path forward and how this kind of targeted street-level interventions can be utilized in the future.
“I am thrilled to be bringing the Lark Street Treatment pilot program to Albany’s 6th Ward, and I applaud my partners in government – County Executive McCoy, Mayor Sheehan, and County Legislator Peter,” stated Councilmember Gabriella Romero. “It is vital that we move towards a model of public safety that provides resources and care for the most vulnerable people in our city. This program will help people in the Lark Street corridor that struggle with mental health issues, housing insecurity, and substance abuse by placing an Albany County mental health social worker in the community.”
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Times Union: “Lark Street Treatment” pilot program launched in Albany to serve troubled people, inform future processes, by Dave Lucas
Excerpts:
6th ward Common Councilor Gabriella Romero emphasizes the program's concept of meeting people where they are and addressing their issues instead of criminalizing them.
"It's so exciting to see this finally come to fruition a program that addresses underlying issues, whether it's mental health, substance abuse, housing insecurity, and really aims to mainly collect data, on what's going on in the Lark Street corridor, and then report back on the best way to address it, how many people they were able to connect to services, and then create a plan going forward on how they can either implement this in a sustainable way in the corridor or implement this type of program throughout the city," said Romero.
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Albany mayor directs closing of Washington Park road
Excerpts:
Motorists traveling at high speeds threaten pedestrians, other cars on Lakeside Road, Sheehan says
Jeff Crumpton, president of the Washington Park Conservancy, said the organization was "wholly in support" of both closings, saying it would improve pedestrian safety, open the park to more visitors and reduce silt erosion into the lake.
"It's ceding the park back to pedestrians and visitors as was originally intended," he said.
Sheehan credits community organizations that are working with the city of Albany, including the Washington Park Conservancy, Washington Park Neighborhood Association, Hudson Park Neighborhood Association, Center Square Association, Park South Neighborhood Association, Walkable Albany, Lark Street Business Improvement District, ParkAlbany, the late Albany County Legislator Matthew Peter, and city Councilmember Gabriella Romero.
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News 10: Advocates hold teach-in ahead of vote on panhandling resolution, by Carina Dominguez
Excerpts:
“This resolution offers no solution to the current housing, drug, and mental health crises we face. I have heard from several service providers that work directly with unhoused individuals and people asking for money in the City of Albany, and they do not believe this resolution nor were consulted.
I am proud to have successfully fought for greater funding for proactive caseworker street teams that will connect those who are unhoused with services. This newly proposed city-county partnership program grew out of the Lark Street treatment pilot from this summer.
As we enter a very important budget session I hope our Common Council can regroup to focus on funding evidence-based programs and initiatives that will help our most vulnerable, make our streets safer, and ensure Albany is a protected, beautiful city for all of its residents.”
