A downtown businessman is challenging Plattsburgh’s mayor in the 2020 election.

Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Read, a Democrat, said in May that he would seek a second 4-year term. “I’ve always maintained that I’ll continue to do this until I’m very confident the city’s got a good strong structural fiscal balance.”



Read now has a challenger. Monday evening the owner of the Himalaya Restaurant in downtown Plattsburgh, Tenzin Dorjee, formally announced his campaign for mayor as a Democrat. “This is where I got my rights as a citizen and what happens to Plattsburgh, which my family and I call home now, has a big impact on what happens to us in the future. And I’m running for mayor because I believe that I can bring about a positive change where elected officials govern for the people and that it’s inclusive. It is transparent. It is accessible.”

Dorjee says he is originally from Bhutan, where he would never have been able to aspire to elective office. “You know I feel frustrated that the city government is not functioning in a very transparent way. This frustration comes from a lot of friends, neighbors, customers and we all feel the same that decisions are being made behind closed doors. There’s not sufficient input from the public and where there is input you know our concerns and voices are being pushed to a side.”

Dorjee says his work style centers on teamwork. “I’m somebody who brings people together. I’m somebody who’s always been and will always be for dialogue, for discussions, for collaboration, for progress together. And I’ve always tended to work with anybody who has the progress of the people at heart.”

Tenzin Dorjee and his family immigrated to the United States in November 2000. He moved to Plattsburgh in August 2008 after living in New York City and New Jersey and became a citizen in 2011.



The mayor’s office responded to WAMC’s request for comment with an email that says: “Mayor Read indicated he does not have any comments on a mayoral candidate.”