Albany County district attorney candidate Lee Kindlon has picked up the support of Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

Kindlon, a defense attorney, is seeking to unseat Albany County District Attorney David Soares in the Democratic primary.

Sheehan said she has known Kindlon for many years and sees how passionate he is and works to ensure that he is upholding the law.

“I have admired his integrity. I have admired how hard he works,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday morning. 

Kindlon said he is running to restore accountability to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. Soares has been under fire for giving himself a $20,000+ bonus using grant funds. He later returned the money.
Kindlon said that Soares has not filed campaign disclosure forms since 2021.

“I know that he’s had fundraisers. I know he’s taken in money. He’s probably spent money, but there’s no record of that. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the law. If we can’t count on the senior-most law enforcement official in the county of Albany to follow the law, that’s one of the reasons I got involved in this election.”

Soares blasted Sheehan’s endorsement in a statement:

“Less than 24 hours since the latest (but not the last) attempted murder happening within the City of Albany, with the scourge of retail theft closing businesses across the city, and so much more, its feckless leader in that of the Mayor and political cronies decided to ‘wag the dog’ and endorse a defense attorney who spent last week defending a murderer in Schenectady.”

“Once again, Mayor Marie Antonette [sic] is trying to pull wool over the eyes of its residents by offering this stained public cake to deflect from violence happening within her city.”

While the Albany County Democratic Party did not make an endorsement in this race, Kindlon has picked up some endorsements in the race, including Assemblyman Phil Steck.

The primary is June 25.