UTICA — Four candidates have now entered the Utica mayoral race as Council President Michael Galime announced his candidacy. He will be seeking the Republican and Conservative nominations.

Galime made the official announcement via YouTube through his Mike for Mayor 2023 video. He has also begun campaigning through local media outlets.

Galime now joins Robert Cardillo and his colleagues Third District Councilor Celeste Friend and Councilor at Large Frank DiBrango in the race to become mayor of Utica.

“It’s time for a different style of leadership in Utica,” Galime began saying in his YouTube video. “We need people to move forward together, but in a way where we can take the last decade of progress, all the projects that may have started, all the projects that may not be finished and move forward into the future while knitting the fabric of our community back together.”

Galime currently serves as council president of the Utica Common Council, where he has held the position for seven years. Outside of the council, he serves as the director of finance and capital market solutions for Keysight Technologies and carries with him an extensive background in technology, engineering, project management, business management and personnel management.

Utica's current mayor Robert Palmieri, who has held the office since 2011, is serving his third term. Due to term limit rules, Palmieri is not eligible to run in the 2023 election.

One term for the city's mayor is four years, with the ability to run for a second consecutive term. In 2017, the Utica Common Council extended term limits to three consecutive terms, which gave Palmieri the ability to run for and win his third term in 2019. In 2021, the council brought term limits back down to two consecutive terms. Once the consecutive term limit has been reached, a mayor can not run for the same office again until one term has elapsed.

Galime, like all other candidates, did not go into specific details on his political platforms upon his announcement, however, he offered a glimpse into an issue he’s shown interest in campaigning for.

“Throughout the year, I’m gonna get into the details of all the different departments. We focused tons of our time on downtown, what’s been missing are neighborhoods. What makes people wake up and want to be in their own neighborhood, that’s something we need to focus on.”