A Farewell to
Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan
The Woman Behind the Mayor was created to acknowledge the weight Kathy Sheehan carried for twelve years as Mayor of Albany. Beaten down by scrutiny, reduced at times to moments rather than the totality of her work, she led without a blueprint as the city’s first female mayor, often without the grace or patience afforded to others. This moment was not about defending a record or revisiting policy — it was about presence. For one night, the city was invited to step past the title and meet Kathy: a woman who spoke honestly before it was rewarded, who governed before transparency and accessibility were expected, and who continued to do the work even when it came at a personal cost.
That night, Albany didn’t just say goodbye to its Mayor.
It met Kathy.
The Program Book
Rather than producing a traditional program centered on accomplishments, the farewell used a playbill format, intentionally shifting the focus from a retrospective to recognition. While Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s achievements had already been documented throughout the year, this moment was about the people who carried the work with her. The Who’s Who section highlighted commissioners, deputies, and directors who served across her twelve-year tenure, acknowledging the leadership bench that sustained the administration over time. Accomplishments were not omitted; they appeared instead as advertisements featuring the Mayor, allowing the work to speak for itself without turning the farewell into another State of the City. Structured like a true playbill, the program mirrored the evening itself: a production about leadership, teamwork, and the collective effort behind what the public ultimately sees.
What Leadership Sounds Like
The program opened with a soundscape built from the Mayor’s own voice across her years in office — early recordings, later remarks, moments of conviction, and moments of restraint. Hearing her younger voice alongside her older one made clear what changed and what didn’t: the same steadiness, the same directness, the same commitment to the work. It grounded the evening in continuity, not nostalgia, and reminded the audience that while the city evolved, the person doing the work remained the same.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
City Treasurer Darius Shahinfar opened the evening by doing something unexpected: he ran onstage wearing the Mayor’s mascot head. The moment was intentionally disarming — a way to acknowledge how caricature and perception often overshadow substance in public life.
He continued by reading a selection of critical and often harsh social media comments directed at the Mayor over the years. His tone was deliberate: “I thought I knew her — but according to social media, I didn’t know her at all.”
The moment was intentionally uncomfortable. It reflected the reality of modern leadership — where public service is often flattened into sound bites and judgment is louder than context. After naming that noise, Shahinfar shifted the frame. One by one, he recast the accusations into facts: She’s so bad, she helped stabilize Albany’s finances. She’s so bad, she quietly helped families cover funeral costs. She’s so bad, she led the city through a global pandemic.
The contrast was the point. What was labeled as failure online was, in reality, evidence of responsibility, compassion, and steady leadership. By opening this way, the program made clear what the night would do — acknowledge the criticism without centering it, and redirect attention to the work that was done, often without credit and sometimes in spite of the noise.
The Woman Behind the Mayor
Video Presentation
This video featured the staff who worked closest to Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan, speaking not just about trust, but about what that trust required. She didn’t offer confidence as reassurance — she gave responsibility as expectation. People were entrusted with real authority because she believed leaders are built by being asked to rise. That approach changed how people showed up. Staff described it as the best job they ever had, not because it was easy, but because it demanded more of them. They exceeded in their roles because they knew the Mayor trusted them to carry the work fully — and they met that trust with results.
Special Thanks from Our Friends in Government
Remarks from Patricia Fahy and Gabriella Romero brought a different kind of energy to the stage — unscripted, candid, and distinctly human. Their presence wasn’t polished or performative; it was real. In that openness, the audience saw two active women leaders navigating public service in real time.
The moment mattered because it highlighted something often left unsaid: there is no single way to lead, and there is no blueprint for this work. Placing two strong female politicians on stage alongside the story of Mayor Sheehan underscored the diversity of leadership styles women bring to public office. Different temperaments, different voices, the same commitment to service.
Together, their remarks reinforced a quiet truth of the evening — that leadership is learned in motion, not inherited. That every woman in these roles is figuring it out as she goes, guided not by a script, but by care for the work and the people it serves.
A Family Reflection
In his remarks, Jim Moran, youngest brother of Kathy Sheehan, offered a candid reflection that grounded the evening in continuity rather than nostalgia. He reminded the audience that Kathy Sheehan did not step into leadership when she became Mayor, she had always been this person. From a young age, she held herself and others to a high standard, set the bar deliberately, and expected it to be met. Becoming Albany’s first female mayor was not a departure from who she was, but a natural extension of the standards she had always lived by and consistently surpassed.
A Love Letter Returned
Earlier in the year, Mayor Kathy Sheehan wrote a love letter to Albany, setting a tone of reflection and care that carried through the year. For her farewell, the city responded. The video was voiced by City staff from across departments, allowing the city to speak through the people who carried the work, and was intentionally signed off by her husband and her granddaughter. The inclusion of her granddaughter was handled with care, honoring a family presence the Mayor has long kept private and signaling sentiment without spectacle.
The final lines completed the exchange:
Husband: “Because of you, Kathy, we are greater than the day we found each other.”
Mayor (Voice from prior Love Letter): “Forever yours, yours truly “
Granddaughter: “The City of Albany.”
At Her Side
At Her Side brought a moment of levity to the evening, as Mayor Sheehan’s Chiefs of Staff — Shalyn Ranellone, David Galin, and Brian Shea — playfully competed over who was the Mayor’s favorite. The humor served a purpose: to humanize the working relationships behind the role and acknowledge the closeness forged through years of shared responsibility. The moment also made space for remembrance, paying tribute to former Chief of Staff Matt Peter, honoring his lasting impact and the role he played within the Mayor’s circle.
The Farewell Address
The Mayor’s speech was the only part of the evening not directed, written privately and entirely in her own voice. In her remarks, Mayor Kathy Sheehan thanked everyone she needed to thank: her workforce, her family, her husband and son, partners in government, friends, and even the naysayers. She reminded the room that she worked for Albany for twelve years and meant it. She closed with a glimpse of the person behind the office, singing a self-written, Albany-centered remix of The Parting Glass, with a shot of Baileys for confidence. It was scripted, but deeply personal. A rare moment of warmth, humor, and humanity that let the audience meet her beyond the role.
She closed the way she always does when something meaningful ends: with a hopeful farewell. Calling on an Irish tradition, she took a shot of Baileys and sang a remixed version of The Parting Glass, rewritten for Albany. The lyrics folded in tax dollars, potholes, and the voice of a resident from the Seventh Ward asking her to say exactly that. It was unscripted, unmistakably hers, and rooted entirely in the city she served.
Trailblazers
The Trailblazer Presentation, delivered by Tatiana Diaz, HR Director of the City of Albany, framed Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s leadership as part of a larger continuum. It rejected the idea of a single breakthrough moment, instead recognizing the women who chipped away at barriers long before and the responsibility that comes with being the one who passes through. True to who she is, the speech emphasized that Mayor Sheehan did not stop at breaking a ceiling; she widened the opening, cleared the path, and made room for others. Handing her her flowers were trailblazers of Albany — the first, the youngest, the long-overdue — not as symbols, but as proof of what intentional leadership builds. The sound that closed the moment was not an ending, but a continuation: an echo of doors opened, paths cleared, and a city moving forward because someone dared to lead.
