Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan's Chief of Staff is banking on years of public service to help win the race for Chief City Auditor.
David Galin has made the transition from public servant to political candidate, hoping to fill the city hall position now held by mayoral candidate Dorcey Applyrs. Galin, a Democrat who hails from the Greene County town of Hunter, is graduate of the University at Albany and Albany Law School.
Galin is an eight-year city hall veteran who also serves as deputy mayor when Sheehan is out of town. He headed south in late September, spending more than 40 days serving as one of four deputy directors for operations for then-Vice President Kamala Harris' North Carolina campaign efforts.
"Definitely my first long-term political experience," said Galin. "ou know, I had knocked doors for then-Secretary Clinton, when she was running for president in 2016 we had, you know, we'd organized bus trips with various local officials to go down to Pennsylvania. I've obviously worked on several campaigns here locally in Albany County, but that was my first long-term political experience."
Galin says his interest in the presidential race blossomed over the summer, as there was a lot of uncertainty about how the election would pan out and the conversation began ramping up as to whether President Biden should remain the candidate.
"I said to the mayor, like, look, in 2016 I went down to Pennsylvania, and, you know, once knocked on some doors, made some phone calls here locally, and I think I said this when I when we announced that I was leaving,"Galin said. "I really felt like there was a lot more that I could have done. And I and I took it for granted that Secretary Clinton would win. And I told the mayor, I was like, I don't want to do that again. I don't want to sit here and think to myself that I took it for granted, that I didn't do my part. And so the mayor, from the get go, was very supportive of me trying to become a member of the campaign. We went to Chicago, to the DNC, had a great experience there, met a lot of people. Really, with Vice President Harris becoming the nominee, [I] was really invigorated."
Galin says he eventually connected with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's former regional director, who was already working on the campaign in North Carolina and helped land the interview that got him hired. He left for North Carolina September 28th, the day after Hurricane Helene hit, working every day straight through a week and a half after the election. His initial responsibilities included helping western North Carolina communities and local businesses that were reeling from the immediate aftermath of the storm.
"The last month of the campaign was heating up. You were getting an influx of surrogates from all over the country," said Galin. "We had former President Obama, former President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Tim Walz, Kamala Harris, the First Lady, all coming to North Carolina. And so I was put on part of the team that was responsible for organizing the ‘trips,’ to make sure that there were either three or four events for every day that the individual was in the state of North Carolina."
Galin says some people had been working on the campaign since February, putting their lives on pause to work for a cause that they believed in. In the end, he says it wasn’t the outcome they were working for. Harris lost the key state to President Donald Trump, who earned 51 percent of the vote.
Regardless, Galin says the experience boosted enthusiasm and determination. He adds working for the city of Albany has been the greatest opportunity of his lifetime.
"I'm very focused on running for Chief City Auditor," said Galin. "I think my experience, my dedication to public service, I you know, it's, it's what drives me every day. I'm going to work as hard as I can to meet as many neighbors and residents as possible and share with them the same thing - why I come to work every day, why I want to make sure that the city of Albany is a flourishing capital city."
Galin, who has never held elective office, has Sheehan's backing. Also running in June’s Democratic primary are Albany County Legislator Sam Fein and former Common Councilor John Rosenzweig.
