Councilors Kelly, Bopp not seeking reelection

Mar. 10—PLATTSBURGH — This time next year, the City of Plattsburgh Common Council will have some new faces.

Both the Ward 2 and Ward 5 seats are up for grabs this November, and both incumbent councilors are not running for reelection.

Current Ward 2 Councilor, Mike Kelly, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election this year due to term limits.

Kelly has held the seat since 2013, but was first elected in 2008 when he served a single term until 2011.

BOTH 'QUITE STRONG'

In regards to the upcoming election, Kelly believes both Jacob Avery and Damion Gilbert are "strong" candidates.

"Both those candidates are quite strong, just in terms of their ability to be elected," Kelly said.

"Damion Gilbert is a family man. He has five children. He's been a union worker his entire life. He knows city infrastructure issues quite well. He works for the Department of Public Works in the City of Burlington, and he's done that job for years. He's done all sorts of things. So more than anyone on the council currently, he knows city infrastructure. He would be such an asset to the community."

In his last year on council, Kelly said he was specifically excited to see the city continue to invest in improving infrastructure.

"I'm really, really excited that we have the money now to start improving infrastructure. It looked like the previous couple of terms, we were in a state of severe austerity, where we didn't have the money to do infrastructure improvements," Kelly said.

"Well, we've done several since Mayor Rosenquest came in, you know, the economic climate changed, we've gotten all this assistance from the federal government and we've been able to save some taxpayer dollars so that we have a healthy surplus. So it is time to invest in our city. People who are afraid of spending too much money just aren't seeing the big picture."

FUTURE HOPES, PLANS

He also hopes to see the continuation and completion of several long-term city projects this year.

"Let's rebuild the parks, you know, take care of our water problems. The Margaret Street improvement is a great project right now for our Downtown to make it much more attractive ... I'd (also) love to see the dream of downtown housing be achieved," he said.

"This is our opportunity to change things. To make things better in our parks and in our streets and roads and our water systems, anything that we can do at this point, you know, help sustain our city, I see that as a good thing ... We have to be fiscally prudent, of course, but it's our time and we need to jump on the opportunity to help our community."

Kelly said he's unsure what involvement he'll have in the community after this year.

"I haven't decided yet. I think I probably will, because I love Plattsburgh so much. It's hard to think about not being a part of something."

BOPP PLANS

Current Ward 5 Democratic Councilor, Caitlin Bopp, announced on her Facebook page that she would not be seeking re-election.

Bopp is from the Capital Region and is looking to possibly move back there with her husband to be closer to family, if a job opportunity arises.

"Now that I have shared this with the Democratic Committee, council, and mayor, I wanted to publicly announce that I will not be running again for the council seat for Ward 5," Bopp wrote Jan. 23.

"This was not an easy decision to make and I come to it with a heavy heart. I love the work of Council and serving in public office, and I am excited for the future of the City of Plattsburgh. However, it appears likely that the direction of my and my husband's careers, and a desire to be closer to our families, will take us out of the region as early as 2024."

Bopp first joined the Council in 2021 when she was appointed to the seat following the resignation of former Councilor Patrick McFarlin. She then ran unopposed in the fall 2021 election for the seat.

"I don't like the idea of leaving Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh is definitely a place that, I have found, feels like home," Bopp told the Press-Republican.

"I actually was speaking to a friend and I said, if my path does take me away from Plattsburgh ... there's no doubt I'll be up here all the time. I mean, part of the reason I moved here was because I was visiting so much."

Because of the uncertainty of her future in the area, running again didn't seem like the responsible thing to do, she said.

The seat needs someone who has a definitive future plan to be in Plattsburgh, which Ward 5 candidate David Monette has, she said.

"I think he's a really great candidate. and I think he has a lot to bring to the table as far as representation. So I'm excited for that," Bopp said in support.

"When he did come speak to the Democratic Committee, the issues that he mentioned, being things that are priorities for him, I think are things that would be a priority, not only for residents of Ward 5, but for everybody in Plattsburgh. Things like safety, traffic mitigation, investment in the parks, making sure that we have great outdoor spaces."

BRIGHT FUTURE

Bopp added that she believes the city has a bright future ahead with several projects on the horizon.

In the last year of her tenure, Bopp wants to add to that bright future by finishing out the rest of her term strong with a focus on developing a community needs assessment, specifically related to substance use and mental wellness.

"That is something that would be a project that would be near and dear to my heart if I could get it off the ground," she said.

"I'm hopeful that with some work, we can get it going."

Bopp, like Kelly, said she would like to continue being involved with Plattsburgh.

"As for what comes next, you know, even while I am here, my story isn't over," she said.

"I plan to continue to be active in the community and even though I will be done on council, I'm going to remain an active member of the Democratic committee both at the city and county level. I'm certainly going to look into other opportunities to continue to participate in things."

Email: cnewton@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: CarlySNewton