Justin R. Chaires
Democratic · NY · Schenectady City Council Member
Justin Chaires is a Schenectady city council member and a State Senate committee director for energy and telecommunications. He is a former vice president of the Schenectady NAACP and has served on the county library board since 2024.
Where Justin R. Chaires stands, based on their records
Supports
Environment and Public Health (1 record), Public Safety and Crime Control (1 record), Public Infrastructure (2 records)
Opposes
Government Spending Reduction (4 records)
Track record
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 1 support
Voted with a unanimous council to approve a five-year labor contract with the city's paid firefighters union (Local 28), covering 2025 through 2029. The same vote added battery energy storage systems to the zoning code.
April 13, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Track record — Government Spending Reduction
Government Spending Reduction · 4 oppose
Voted with a unanimous council to award a $336,054 contract to remove the old Central Park pool, paid with federal pandemic aid (ARPA). The same vote sent a proposed limit on drive-through businesses to the city planning commission.
July 13, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Voted with a unanimous council to award a $3.87 million contract to build the Jay Street Connector and a $3.15 million city street paving contract.
April 27, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Voted with a unanimous council to approve a five-year labor contract with the city's paid firefighters union (Local 28), covering 2025 through 2029. The same vote added battery energy storage systems to the zoning code.
April 13, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Moved and voted for a council package that passed unanimously. It paused city fees for extra trash and bulky items for 90 days and approved up to $7.45 million in city bonds.
March 9, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 1 support
Voted with a unanimous council to adopt a Vision Zero policy, a city goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries. The same vote renewed the city's ambulance contract with Mohawk Ambulance.
May 26, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 2 support
Voted with a unanimous council to adopt a Vision Zero policy, a city goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries. The same vote renewed the city's ambulance contract with Mohawk Ambulance.
May 26, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Voted with a unanimous council to award a $3.87 million contract to build the Jay Street Connector and a $3.15 million city street paving contract.
April 27, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: cityofschenectady.gov
Track record — General
General · 6 records
Received the backing of Council President Carl Williams and the party's progressive wing in the June 2026 Democratic primary. The city Democratic Party and the mayor backed his opponent, Rachael Ward.
July 7, 2026
Source: dailygazette.com
Missed 11 of 23 Schenectady County Library board meetings from March 2024 to April 2026, the Daily Gazette reported. He said schedule conflicts caused the absences.
June 3, 2026
Source: dailygazette.com
Voted to make Carl Williams president of the Schenectady City Council. His vote ended a month-long 3-2 deadlock, and Williams won 4-1.
February 5, 2026
Source: dailygazette.com
Took his seat on the Schenectady City Council after a state judge ruled the council, not the mayor, had the power to fill the empty seat. The judge lifted an order that had kept him off the council.
February 2, 2026
Source: dailygazette.com
Was appointed to the Schenectady City Council by a 4-1 council vote to fill Joseph Mancini's empty seat. Mayor Gary McCarthy vetoed the appointment right away.
December 18, 2025
Source: dailygazette.com
Served on the five-person panel that picked Adonis Richards as Schenectady's first poet laureate. He was named as a Schenectady County Public Library board member.
September 5, 2025
Source: dailygazette.com
Past race Justin R. Chaires ran in:
- City Council Member (Unexpired Term) · November 3, 2026 · Schenectady city, New York · incumbent