Editing Albany, New York (section)

==Government==
{{See also|Government of New York (state)|List of mayors of Albany, New York|Mayoral elections in Albany, New York}}
[[File:AlbanyNYCityHall.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Albany City Hall]], an 1883 [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] structure, is the seat of Albany's government.|alt=A brown and tan brick building with dark brown trim. The building has a tall bell tower on the nearest corner.]]
Albany has a [[mayor–council government|strong mayor-council government]], which functions under the [[Dongan Charter]], granted by colonial governor [[Thomas Dongan]] in 1686 when Albany was incorporated. A revised charter was adopted by referendum in 1998, but was legally reckoned as an amendment to the Dongan Charter. This gives Albany the distinction of having the oldest active city charter in the United States and "arguably the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the [[Western Hemisphere]]."<ref name="fitzpatrick" /><ref name="charter" /> The [[List of mayors of Albany, New York|mayor]], who is elected every four years, heads the [[Executive (government)|executive branch]] of city government.<ref name="Charter2">{{cite web |title=The Charter |author=City of Albany |date=November 3, 1998 |access-date=June 19, 2010 |url=http://www.ecode360.com/ecode3-back/getSimple.jsp?custId=AL0934&guid=12064948 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The current mayor, [[Kathy Sheehan]], was first elected in 2013.<ref name="mayor">{{cite web|title=Mayor Gerald D. Jennings' Biography |author=City of Albany |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/MayorsOffice/MayorsBio.aspx |access-date=May 25, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825091812/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/MayorsOffice/MayorsBio.aspx |archive-date=August 25, 2010  }}</ref> The Common Council represents the [[Legislature|legislative branch]] of city government and is made up of fifteen council members (each elected from one [[Wards of the United States|ward]]) and an [[at-large]] Common Council President.<ref name="charter">{{cite web |title=City Charter |author=City of Albany |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityCharter.aspx |access-date=May 25, 2010 |archive-date=September 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917181635/http://albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityCharter.aspx }}</ref> The current president is Corey Ellis;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil/CommonCouncilPresident.aspx|title=President – Hon. Corey Ellis|access-date=January 27, 2018|archive-date=January 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127205851/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil/CommonCouncilPresident.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> he began his term in January 2018.<ref>{{cite news |title='Spirit of the Day' Faces a Tough Road |author=Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9216035 |url-status=dead |date=January 1, 2010 |page=A1 |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030033/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9216035 }}</ref>

While Albany has its own city government, it has also been the seat of [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]] since the county's formation in 1683 and the capital of New York since 1797. As such, the city is home to all branches of the county and state governments, as well as its own. [[Albany City Hall]] sits on Eagle Street, opposite the State Capitol,<ref name="cityhall">{{cite web |title=Welcome to City Hall |publisher=City of Albany, New York |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityHall.aspx |access-date=May 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727062528/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityHall.aspx |archive-date=July 27, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Albany County Office Building is on State Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Departments and Offices |publisher=County of Albany, New York |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/departmentlist.asp |access-date=May 26, 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214183624/http://albanycounty.com/departmentlist.asp |archive-date=February 14, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The state government has offices scattered throughout the city.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Albany is in the [[New York's 20th congressional district|20th Congressional district]], represented by [[Paul Tonko]] (D) in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. The city is represented by [[Chuck Schumer]] (D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Schumer, Charles Ellis (Chuck) |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000148 |access-date=July 18, 2010}}</ref> and [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] (D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Gillibrand, Kirsten |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000555 |access-date=July 18, 2010}}</ref> in the [[United States Senate]]. On the state level, the city is in the 44th district in the [[New York Senate]], represented by [[Neil Breslin]] (D). In the [[New York Assembly]], western Albany is in the 109th district, represented by [[Patricia Fahy]] (D) while downtown and eastern Albany are in the 108th district, represented by [[John T. McDonald III]] (D). As the seat of [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]], the city is the location of the county's courts including Family Court, County Court, Surrogate Court, [[New York Supreme Court|Supreme Court]], and [[New York Court of Appeals]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Albany County Telephone Directory |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/PhoneDirectory.pdf |publisher=Albany County, New York |date=May 4, 2010 |access-date=May 30, 2010 |pages=7–8 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915113814/http://albanycounty.com/PhoneDirectory.pdf |archive-date=September 15, 2010 }}</ref> Albany is the site of a federal courthouse that houses the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of New York]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Court Address Information |publisher=United States District Court – Northern District of New York |url=http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/CourtAddress.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525045027/http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/CourtAddress.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2010 }}</ref>

===Politics===
Albany's politics have been dominated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] since the 1920s; [[Daniel P. O'Connell|Daniel (Uncle Dan) O'Connell]] established a [[political machine]] in the city with the election of [[William Stormont Hackett]] as mayor in 1922.<ref name="grondahl48">Grondahl (2007), p. 48</ref> Prior to that, [[William Barnes Jr.]] had set up a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] machine in the 1890s. Barnes' success is attributed to the fact that he owned two newspapers in Albany and that he was the grandson of [[Thurlow Weed]], the influential newspaper publisher and political boss.<ref name="grondahl165">Grondahl (2007), p. 165</ref> O'Connell's organization overcame Barnes' in 1922 and survived well into the 1980s (even after his death). In many instances, votes were outright bought.<ref name="grondahl458">Grondahl (2007), p. 458</ref>

Gerald Jennings' upset in the 1993 Democratic mayoral [[Partisan primary|primary]] over Harold Joyce, who had the Democratic Party's formal endorsement and had only recently been its county chairman, is often cited as the end of the O'Connell era in Albany.<ref>{{cite news |title=As Joyce Goes Down in Defeat, So Does the Machine |author=Jochnowitz, Jay |date=September 15, 1993 |page=A1 |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5690985 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030025/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5690985 }}</ref> In the early 21st century, Albany continued to be dominated by the Democratic Party. Democratic Party enrollment in the city was 38,862 in 2009, while Republican enrollment was 3,487.<ref>{{cite news |title=Albany contenders |author=O'Brien, Tim |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=January 10, 2009 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7354525 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030055/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7354525 }}</ref> As of 2022, every elected city position had been held by a Democrat since 1931.<ref name="mceneny201202">McEneny (2006), pp. 201–202</ref>

In November 2013, Kathy Sheehan became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Albany.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://albany.wnyt.com/news/news/554052-meet-kathy-sheehan-albanys-first-female-mayor|title=Meet Kathy Sheehan: Albany's first female Mayor|work=WNYT.com|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131118022626/http://albany.wnyt.com/news/news/554052-meet-kathy-sheehan-albanys-first-female-mayor|archive-date=November 18, 2013|access-date=November 17, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>