Haryl Dabney has been grooming himslef for commission run

ALBANY — Since Haryl Dabney is one of three first-time candidates among the five vying for the Albany City Commission’s Ward II seat Nov. 7, many might assume he is something of a novice. But Dabney insists nothing could be farther from the truth.

“I’ve been an advocate for this community since I was 17,” the 29-year-old candidate said. “But there are limitations to what you can do if you’re operating on the outside. Since about 2012, I’ve been grooming myself for a position on the City Commission. I think the time has come.

“I want to make it clear that I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide I’d run for the commission. I’ve been involved in the community, working for Habitat for Humanity, serving as an ambassador for the Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Library and Crime Stoppers boards. Things like budgets and other issues of government that hinder some do not limit me.”

Dabney, who is a manager at the Albany Walmart, said he continues to refer to himself as an advocate as he campaigns for the commission seat, eschewing the word “politician.”

“Politicians, a lot of times, are thieves and liars,” he said. “I am not politicking, I am advocating. I’ve watched the mood of the American people change in recent years, and that’s why, I believe, you’ve seen Donald Trump and Barack Obama before him elected president. The American people — and the people of Albany — want to see change.”

Dabney said he’ll effect that change on the commission, focusing on three key areas.

“Job creation, transparency and crime are areas that I believe impact our community dramatically,” he said. “For us to create jobs, though, the city, county, EDC, chamber and other organizations must work together. And I’ve been an advocate for some time for local government meetings to be televised. That’s the easiest way to make sure elected officials are being good stewards of taxpayer assets.

“I know no community is ever going to completely alleviate crime, but we can make a huge dent in it by offering people without jobs or with low-paying jobs opportunities to earn more livable wages.”

Dabney cites his youth, energy, passion, optimism and innovative thinking as qualities that make him the best candidate to join the City Commission. He said certain issues in the city need to be addressed to bring immediate improvement to the city.

“We need radical change in Albany,” he said. “We, as a commission, need to start owning the city manager rather than the other way around. And we need to make Albany State University part of the community, not continue to treat it as an outside entity. The university has a huge economic impact, but it’s also important to get students involved so that they want to remain here and be our future leaders.

“We also need to reach out to innovators like Pace Burt, who took a leap of faith in bringing a housing development to downtown. That’s the No. 1 thing that was needed. We’ve got to reach out to people like Pace, work with them so that they want to be a part of downtown redevelopment. Unfortunately, a lot of times our leaders see the forest, but they don’t see what’s behind the forest.”

Dabney admits that he’s outspoken, especially on social media, where he’s been openly critical of some actions taken by the city’s government. He says he will continue to voice his opinion as a member of the commission, but in a constructive way.

“I’m an outside-the-box type of person,” he said. “I don’t have all the answers right now, but I am someone who believes in doing his homework. It’s not that difficult to look at other communities similar to ours that have done some of the same things we are considering to find out what kind of impact it had there. That’s just common sense.

“I look at the neighborhood where I stay in East Albany, and the same two streets near there have flooded regularly for the last 10-12 years. Three separate commissions have been in office during that time. Someone should have been mitigating that situation. Someone asked me how I see Albany 10 years from now. I look at situations like that and say, if we don’t make changes, I see Albany going to hell in a handbasket.”