Ballston Spa Mayor Larry Woolbright unexpectedly announced his resignation Monday night during a virtual town board meeting.
“My unproductive relationship with the Board of Trustees is the sole reason for this decision,” Woolbright said. “Since the March election that relationship has become more strained and adversarial. The trustees block me at every turn and their attitude towards community members and village staff is not always consistent with my idea of how the 'village of friends' should operate.”
In a lengthy statement in which he grew emotional at the end, the Republican specifically blamed two Democratic trustees on the board, Liz Kormos and Ben Baskin, as being the reason for his resignation. The board consists of four trustees and the mayor.
Woolbright said Kormos acted unilaterally on behalf of the board and Baskin tried to micromanage day-to-day operations of the Saratoga County village. In response, Kormos apologized for offending Woolbright and thanked him for his work. Baskin said he was sad to see Woolbright go.
Woolbright praised Trustee Christine Fitzpatrick for her work. In office since 2019, Woolbright will officially leave office Friday. Fitzpatrick, who is deputy mayor, said she was surprised and disappointed by the resignation.
At the end of the meeting, Fitzpatrick said she believes her role now is to help oversee the appointment or selection of the next mayor.
Trustee Shawn Raymond also thanked Woolbright for his service and said the mayor had done an amazing job.
“It has been an honor to serve as your mayor,” Woolbright said in concluded his statement. “I believe I’m leaving the village in better shape than I found it. I apologize for not fulfilling my entire four-year term, but I find my current situation untenable and I must step down.”
