Albion Republicans pick candidates for village election

Tim McMurray for mayor, and Jami Allport and Kevin Sheehan for trustees

Photos by Tom Rivers: About a dozen people attended the Village of Albion Republican Caucus on Saturday afternoon at Hoag Library. The candidates include from left: Kevin Sheehan for trustee, Jami Allport for trustee and Tim McMurray for mayor.

ALBION – A small group of registered Republicans on Saturday picked their party’s candidates for the March 18 village election.

Tim McMurray, a current village trustee, was backed for mayor, will Republicans at their party caucus also chose former Village Board member Kevin Sheehan for trustee and Jami Allport for trustee.

McMurray, 42, said he would be a very accessible mayor for the public, attending numerous local events while reaching out to other local and state officials to build support for the village.

McMurray said Village Board members need to be more active in supporting local businesses, and welcoming feedback from the community. He wants the Village Board meetings to be livestreamed and board members to have a booth at the Strawberry Festival to hear from the public.

He also said he would strive to make sure the full Village Board is kept well apprised of issues facing the village government and would welcome their contributions in resolving issues and reaching good decisions for the village.

“The people have the power,” McMurray said. “They just have to come in and make their voices heard.”

McMurray has paid the costs to attend meetings in Albany through the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) so he can be a more effective Village Board member. He also attends the local Orleans County Association of Municipalities meetings to connect with other local village, town and county officials.

McMurray worked at the former Chase and North American Mortgage call center in Albion, as well as in construction. He is a Marien Corps veteran who has volunteered as a youth football coach in Albion for 18 years.

Jami Allport, 38, is the executive director for the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern and also the cheerleading coach at Albion.

Allport said her role at GOMOC shows her how many people are struggling to pay bills and meet their basic needs in the community. The Village Board needs to consider that impact whenever taxes or water bills go up, she said.

Allport graduated from the Leadership Orleans program in 2025, where she learned about many facets of the community and also built a network of other leaders in the county.

“I don’t have an agenda except to push people’s topics,” she said during the Republican caucus. “I’m would be bringing new ideas and fresh energy to the board.”

Allport said her roles at GOMOC and as a coach at the school bring her in contact with many people who share their opinions and concerns. She wants residents to feel they have a strong voice in the village government.

Kevin Sheehan, 63, served on the Village Board for nearly nine years until 2020, when he became the village’s code enforcement officer for two years. Sheehan is retired as a plumber and pipefitter after a 33-year career. He is currently a commissioner on the Albion Joint Fire District.

Sheehan was nominated by Tom O’Hearn to run for mayor but Sheehan declined in favor of McMurray.

“He is younger and has more energy,” Sheehan said about McMurray.

Sheehan said in his tenure on the board, Albion averaged a 1.7 percent tax increase while meeting the needs of the village’s departments for equipment. He said the village can be creative in offering services without overwhelming taxpayers.

He said about half of the village is nontaxable, and that further strains those paying the taxes. The village should look at a “frontage fee” for nontaxable parcels to generate some added revenue for the village.

“I just can’t see going to that well of the taxpayers,” he said during the caucus. “We’re being overtaxed.”

The village saw the closing of the Thrive Freeze-Dry plant in August, which employed about 70 people at its peak in December 2024 and laid off its last group of 40 workers in August.

Sheehan wants to see that site and the CRFS building on East Avenue at full capacity.

He also suggested taking a serious look at selling 121 North Main St., which is owned by the village. That office building is rented out to Assemblyman Steve Hawley, the Orleans Economic Development Agency and other tenants.

“Should we be in the rental business?” Sheehan asked.

He’d also like to see a tenant in part of the building across from Mount Albion that is owned by the village. Part of that building for many years has been rented out as an apartment but Sheehan said there currently isn’t a tenant, depriving the village of that income.

Tim McMurray wants to sees more public participation in village government and more accessibility by village board members. McMurray wears sunglasses inside due to the effects of concussions and a traumatic brain injury. Joyce Riley spoke briefly at the Republican Caucus. She is seeking the Democratic Party backing at its caucus on Jan. 27 and also will be running under the independent line, “Vote for Albion.” The Democratic Caucus is at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Joyce Riley, a current village trustee, is seeking to run for mayor on the Democratic Party line and also the independent “Vote for Albion.” She asked the Republican Committee for a chance to speak at the caucus. Committee chairman Jeff Holler said she could. Three of the Republicans then walked out before Riley spoke.

Riley said she has worked hard for the village the past four years. It is far more than two meetings a months and four or five hours of time.

“For this village to survive and be successful, we need people to think outside of the box,” Riley said. “We need to evaluate each project and see if it makes sense.”

Riley pushed back on Sheehan’s position that the previous boards were wise in keeping tax increases so low. Riley said that has left the current board with depleted fund balances and reserves.

The board has been forced to make significant tax hikes to build up the fund balances and begin reserve funds for future equipment and projects.

The village’s tax levy is up $612,407 over the past three years – 21.5 percent. The tax levy went from $2,851,056 in 2022-23 to $3,463,463 in 2025-26.

The 2023-24 budget increased taxes by 2.5 percent, followed by a 6.6 percent increase in 2024-25 and 11.1 percent in 2025-26 (even with the fire department going out of the budget into a new fire district).

Will Gabalski, a village trustee for nearly two years, attended the caucus and asked the candidates questions. He said he expected there would be a lot to cut in the budget when joined the board but he said there is little to chop in the budget.

He suggested the board give a serious look at consolidation of services to bring down costs for the community.

“When I came on the board I thought you could take a red pen, but you couldn’t,” he said. “There’s reasons the taxes have gone up. The consolidation word is something we have a responsibility to our constituents to keep an open mind about.”