Political newcomer Quincy Smith announces mayoral run

ALBANY — Quincy Smith doesn’t just walk into a room. He storms it, charges the air in it, takes control of it.

So when he visited the offices of The Albany Herald last week and declared his candidacy for mayor of the city, he left a lasting impression.

“I’m the man for the job,” Smith declared shortly after getting brief introductions out of the way. “Dorothy Hubbard is a great, great woman, but she’s not strong enough to get the job done. Henry Mathis, he’s not strong enough either and he has too much history weighing him down.

“I’m not a groomed politician, nor do I apologize for not being one. I’m just a guy with a vision, the right man to do this job. Mayor Hubbard is tired. Henry Mathis is tired. I’ve got the energy and stamina it takes to do this job right.”

Whew!

After taking a quick breath, Smith starts back in with a little background:

— He was born in Sylvester but graduated from the Dougherty County School System;

— He studied Sociology with a concentration in Gerontology at Albany State University;

— His family is full of preachers, and he attended the Turner Theological Seminary in Atlanta;

— He preached for a while in the African Methodist Episcopal Church but no longer brings the word;

— After a divorce, he started working as an independent trucker, delivering loads in a big rig in “all of the United States except Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico”;

— He says he’s a veteran of the United States Air Force Reserve;

— He says he got to meet Barrack and Michelle Obama (“A really beautiful, graceful woman!”) at the White House;

— He started his own nonprofit — Smith Family Recycling and Trucking Service — in 2014 when he returned to Albany to help take care of his mother.

Oh, and he says he has a plan to “clean up Albany, both figuratively and literally.”

“When I came back to Albany, I was stunned at the high crime rate here,” Smith says, and he’s off again. “I talked to so many citizens who just don’t feel safe. So I got a little political and decided I’d run for mayor and make some changes around here. And the primary platform of my campaign will be zero tolerance for crime. That’s my top agenda.

“I plan to make sure the citizens of Albany are safe, and you can take that to the Bank of America. When I get into office, I plan to call (Georgia Governor) Brian Kemp and tell him I will support him just as long as he supports capital punishment.”

Smith said his cleanup campaign will not stop with law enforcement. He said he has a plan to clean up the city’s pollution as well.

“We’re going to clean this city from top to bottom, from the crime on the streets to all the trash people throw onto the streets,” Smith said. “Again, Mayor Hubbard hasn’t been able to get this done. I will.

“And we’re going to recruit top law enforcement personnel and pay them what they deserve to do the job. And I will personally help train them.”

His platform clearly defined, Smith poses for a photo or two and then heads out in a whirlwind, just the way he’d come in.

“I’m going to talk to people, let them know that I have the ability and the stamina to be this city’s mayor,” Smith said. “I’m only 40, and I’m ready to go. I’m going to inject some energy into this city, bring some happiness to people who have been sad too long. I’ve got folks out there creating signs for me, generating support as we speak.

“I know I’m ready, and I think this community is ready to support a mayor who will do something for a change, not just sit around and wait for things to happen.”

And as he walks out to spread the word, his energetic voice still hanging in the air, the oxygen level rises back to normal.