PLATTSBURGH — Christopher Rosenquest is one of two candidates hoping to secure the Democratic nomination in the City of Plattsburgh’s Ward 3 primary race.

Rosenquest, 48, is the current city mayor and first took office in 2021. He will be facing off against Democratic candidate and incumbent councilor Elizabeth Gibbs in the primary June 25.

Early voting for the primary starts Saturday, June 15.

On his decision to run for the Ward 3 seat, Rosenquest said:

“Well a lot of it was Ms. Gibbs had announced multiple times, not only in public, but also in the Democratic committee meetings that she was not running for the seat. That certainly played a factor into this. Also, just the opportunity to see some continuity, see some of these projects through.”

“I think it’s pretty normal for a mayor to come in and spend the time in the office and just kind of walk away and wherever the chips fall, that’s where they fall after the fact. Having somebody who’s willing to not only be the mayor, but then see it through, at least for the next several years, … to see what has come of the work that’s been done over the last four years, that’s unique. and that’s also an opportunity, I see, as a great benefit for us as a municipality to have somebody that’s willing to put in the work after the fact, not just walk away from the office and walk away from the work that’s been done, but also there’s some continuity there.”

On the projects he started as mayor and hopes to see through in a potential term as councilor, Rosenquest said:

“A lot of the infrastructure work that we’ve been doing, certainly the Cornelia Street redevelopment. That’s something that my opponent did not support from the beginning. The Parks Renewal work, again, my opponent voted no in almost every single aspect of those parks improvements, and those are things that people have been asking for. Those two projects are major.”

“The bike infrastructure improvements that we’ve been making over the last several years, I’d like to see those through as well, a lot of the road redesign for Court and Brinkerhoff, those are projects that really connect SUNY and downtown as well as improved quality of life for Center City. Those are important. A number of economic development projects: Harborside Master Plan improvements, as well as the Comprehensive Master Plan and the zoning code improvements that we’re making right now that have yet to be passed. Those are critical growth opportunities for the city. Then certainly, the beach improvements that had been ongoing and some of the other waterfront improvements that we’ve been making or trying to make certainly at Sailor’s beach in the feasibility study that were received to make a difference there as well.”

“Given four more years of any time and in a position like this, you can certainly continue the process and find new problems to solve and new initiatives to create. I think, if anything, the parks are really, really critical for us, and that’s not only for the quality of life piece for our residents, but it’s also an attractive piece for tourists and then recreation as well. That’s something we’ve been continually chipping away at: improving recreational opportunities for the city and city residents.”

“Given four more years, we’d be looking at more street improvements, more infrastructure improvements, full-depth reconstruction, looking at the water treatment facility and hopefully replacing that, not just fixing it up … in which we’ve been doing. It’s an extremely old facility, it’s working, but it could be working better. If we can find a new facility for that, that’s something that I would like to see happen in the next several years. But those are projects that we started and like to see some continuity.”

On building a good working relationship with the rest of the council and mayor, Rosenquest said:

“I know the stresses of the job. I know the obligations of the job. It depends on who wins: there’s one person that can come in with a significant amount of experience that can hit the ground running vs. another person coming in that may not have the amount of experience that’s needed to really impact change right away.”

“So I won’t be the mayor, it’s not my responsibility to do those things or to do operational or provide executive decisions, but it’s certainly something that I can provide guidance on or insight into historical decisions as to why decisions were made or why actions were taken, provide some insight into that from that perspective as well. and I think again, that that serves well for anybody who’s going to serve on council to have that kind of experience as well.”

“But again, at the end of the day, it’s the council’s job to partner with the mayor to find opportunities for growth and expansion in either policy or financial decision making from the council’s perspective, and that’s just something that’s been missing for quite some time on this council.”

“Some people just have different approaches to how they work and how they have intrapersonal and professional relationships and I’ve always been somebody who doesn’t hold a grudge and certainly, I’m here to do the work and that’s the goal that I’ve had since day one. Even moving in and losing the election 2013, I made it clear I’m here to make a difference. I’m here to impact what I’m doing at home, use my skill set for home and to make improvements here and to advance Plattsburgh. I think that’s critical for anybody who’s going to serve public life is that we want people who can believe in Plattsburgh and who do believe in Plattsburgh and are looking for opportunities for growth and expansion as well as good partnerships and good working relationships.”

On what he would bring as an advantage to the Ward 3 seat, Rosenquest said:

“Certainly the relationships that I either have professionally or personally with our contacts in New York state, all of the information that we’ve been working on through NYCOM in terms of community revitalization, and the relationship that we have with our SUNY campuses, bringing and continuing to bring that depth of knowledge and information. I do serve on the College Council so there’s an opportunity to bridge that gap a bit there as well.”

“And again people know my voting record, they know that I’ve supported major economic improvements, major economic investments from outside parties. They know I support all the parks improvement projects that we’ve been doing, all the quality of life projects that we’ve been doing, and I’ll continue to do that. I think that’s something that people deserve from a councilor.”