Sheehan won the Democratic primary election with less than 50 percent of the vote. Frank Commisso Jr., a member of the Albany Common Council; and Carolyn McLaughlin, the president of the Common Council, also ran.[2]
General election campaign
Commisso ran again in the general election as the candidate of the Independence Party. He criticized Sheehan over her handling of the city's finances and on the issue of tax breaks. Sheehan responded to Commisso's criticism through television advertisements, which were funded by a $387,000 loan from Sheehan to her campaign.[2]