TROY — County Executive Kathy Jimino officially announced Wednesday that she will be seeking a third four-year term.
“I believe we have done a good job over the last eight years providing the services people have come to expect,” she said. “And we want to continue to grow in a community sensitive way so we have more businesses and more jobs for people in Rensselaer County.
Jimino was appointed to the position in May of 2001 and she successfully ran for a full four-year term in November of that year and again in 2005.
Jimino is a former county Legislature, Troy city manager, budget director and assistant director of the state Senate’s Office of Budget Studies.
As a member of the New York State Association of Counties, Jimino has been a vocal opponent of mandates handed down by the state to the localities.
“As the state looks to county government to balance their budget we will look to speak very loudly for the property taxpayers,” she said, adding that state wide property taxes are 79 percent higher than the national average. “We will continue to push back the state’s tendency to push the burden on property taxpayers.”
Asked what she was most proud of during her tenure she said two things: managing the county’s finances and providing services particularly to the county’s youth, seniors and veterans.
“We have engaged youth to make responsible decisions and we’ve worked hard to ensure our seniors stay in our communities and we’ve also provided services to the veterans for the services they have given us,” she said.
As of Wednesday the Democrats have not named a candidate to run against Jimino and county Chairman Tom Wade could not be reached for comment about potential candidates or to comment on Jimino running.
“I always run for the office, not against anyone else who is in the race,” Jimino said. “I’ll put my record out there and let the voters decide if they want me to serve another four years.”