They're not like most candidates. For one thing, they're younger.
For another, they see in Union College an untapped potential to change the political, economic and social landscape of Schenectady.
They are Loralynne Krobetzky '00 and Mike Welch '02, Green Party candidates for Schenectady City Council and Schenectady County Legislature, respectively. They are, at least in some memories, the first young alumna and student to seek local elected office.
“The potential of Union has been completely ignored in all the debates and discussions we've had as candidates,” said Krobetzky. “Students have money and time,” adds Welch. “They can be some of the best consumers and (political activists) around.”
“We want to entice Union students to have a say about what's going on in Schenectady,” said Krobetzky. “This is their home for most of four years.”
The challenge, they acknowledge, is to get students more involved off campus. “A lot of (students) think Schenectady ends at the wrought iron fence,” said Krobetzky. So, things like field trips for first-year students to retailers on Upper Union and Jay Street would go a long way toward getting students out in the community, they said.
Krobetzky and Welch say that having just 10 Union students show
up at a City Council meeting would send a strong message to city officials that Union students are a political factor.
Krobetzky, a native of Peekskill who lives in Schenectady, says a key element of her campaign is to restore cooperation between the city council and the mayor. “One of the tenets of my campaign is to take back the city council for the people,” she said.
She said she also would like to see a comprehensive plan for revitalization of Schenectady that focuses more on getting funding for neighborhood organizations and parks, and low-interest loans for small neighborhood businesses.
Krobetzky, who majored in English, has been a tutor at Yates Elementary School, and a volunteer at a number of community organizations. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. and teach literature at a college. Of her political life, she says, “Now I can't leave behind my new role as community leader. I feel I have an obligation to continue this campaign after the election.”
Welch, a junior physics major from North Andover, Mass., became politically active for ecological reasons, having organized a recycling program in the physics department. “I had a narrow view of the Green Party,” he said, “but after meeting with some people, I began to see what a grassroots organization can accomplish.”
As a candidate for county legislature, he opposes the proposed Glenville Power Plant and favors the development of fuel cell technology. He also wants to push for the remediation of six “superfund” sites in the county.
“If we raise the issues, the other parties will have to respond,” he says. Adds Krobetzky, “Even if the officials and candidates don't take action, the public will.”