Businesswoman B.J. Fletcher seeks third term on Albany Commission

EDITOR’S NOTE: First in a series on the nine candidates who are running for three seats on the Albany City Commission in the Nov. 2 municipal election.

ALBANY — Incumbent Ward III Albany City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher, who is seeking a third term on the board, has been a part of the city government now long enough to narrow the gist of the job down to a simple statement.

“You deal with limitless problems with limited resources,” the businesswoman said.

Fletcher, who is being challenged by first-time candidates Vilnis Gaines and Daa’iyah Salaam, said her knowledge gained from eight years on the board and her understanding of the business world in the time of COVID are ample reasons to keep her on the commission for another four-year term.

“I knew there was a learning curve, but it really takes a good three or four years to learn the ins and outs,” Fletcher said. “It takes time — if you really want to do this right and represent the people who elected you — to learn the policies and procedures.

“I’ve got that experience now, and quite frankly, I feel that I can continue to be an effective commissioner.”

Ward III includes the heart of Albany’s downtown district, and Fletcher said there are issues that impact the ward in particular, and the city as a whole, that she wants to keep top of mind.

“First is the safety of families on the Avenues,” she said. “And, no, I’m not talking about crime here, although that obviously is important. I’ve always supported Chief (Michael) Persley and our police department, and I don’t believe we as a city commission should micromanage what he does. We should get him the equipment and manpower he needs to do his job.

“What I’m talking about is vehicle safety. We have cameras now that do a good job of catching speeders, so a lot of these people are getting off the main roads and driving fast down the avenues, where people are walking with their families or walking their pets. Our neighborhoods have become unsafe. We have to use tools like speed bumps to slow people down. Of course, to get speed bumps takes signatures of people in the neighborhoods, and unfortunately 65-70% of our housing is rental. But you have to be persistent. I’m walking with a lady on Monday to help her get the signatures she needs to get speed bumps in her neighborhood.”

Fletcher said fairly compensating the city’s 1,100 employees and restoring the downtown Harlem district also are primary concerns.

“A few weeks ago, the results of a study showed that we pay our employees about 50% of what cities of similar size and demographics pay,” she said. “I was taken aback. We’re an entitlement community — and what I mean by that is that we’ve been recognized by state and federal governments as a community whose population is largely poor and can’t pay its bills — and we’re demanding a lot of our employees. We must pay them a fair wage.

“And I think the (recent) groundbreaking for the Transportation Center offers us a chance to revive a lot of this community’s rich history and turn the old Harlem District into an anchor for downtown redevelopment. I’ve talked with people like (Realtor) Lula Davis, people who are a part of that district’s history, and I believe we should create a board that could turn that into a successful small business district.”

Fletcher, a restaurateur, says much of the opposition she’s encountered while campaigning is race-related and directed by people whose agenda has nothing to do with her performance while on the commission.

“Many of these people who are making false claims are doing so from the pulpit,” she said. “I’m an open book, and if people who call themselves pastors choose to make these accusations do so in their church … well, that’s not a church I want to go to. These people need prayers. One of them even called one of my opponents in and told that candidate she should drop out because (the pastors) had decided who they would support to unseat me.

“These people have labeled me a ‘white, racist Republican’ who was in Washington (during insurrectionist riots perpetrated by supporters of Donald Trump) on Jan. 6. First of all, my record shows that I am not a Republican — I am an Independent who makes decisions based on people, not party. As for being in Washington on Jan. 6, I was at 222 Pine Ave. (in downtown Albany) at noon that day, at my doctor’s office at 1:15 (p.m.), at BJ’s (restaurant) at 5 o’clock and delivering food after that. My phone was hacked, and some of those claims may have come from that, but I can only guess they think I have access to some kind of magic that can put me in two places at one time.”

Fletcher decries the “hundreds — some of them good, some of them very bad” — who “have their hand out” any time the city receives any type of grant or COVID relief funds.

“We try to explain, but I guess some people just won’t understand that we get these grants for specific things, and if we don’t use the funding for those specific things — and prove that we did — we are acting illegally,” she said. “People — and even some on the commission — say things like ‘infrastructure is not as important as (personal entitlements),’ indicating they’re not aware that if we don’t fix our infrastructure — get our water separation situation fixed — we could be paying fines of up to $50,000 a day. Plus, ask the people in Flint, Michigan, how important clean water is.”

In the end, Fletcher said she wants to serve the citizens of Albany on the City Commission because she loves the community.

“That’s another lie people tell,” she said. “They say I’m an ‘outsider.’ I was born right here in Albany, and even though I left for a while, I chose to come back because I love this community. I take this position seriously.

“A couple of days before my mother passed away, she said to me, ‘I hope I’ve been a good mother.’ That’s the way I feel: I hope I’ve done good by my constituents. One thing they can count on, though: Yes, I am commissioner B.J. Fletcher, but I’m B.J. Fletcher first. And I know how and when to separate the two.”

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher