The communities of Ballston Spa in Saratoga County and Fort Plain in Montgomery County will have new leaders next month after Tuesday’s elections.
Following the abrupt resignation of then-Republican Ballston Spa Mayor Larry Woolbright last fall, Democratic Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor Christine Fitzpatrick was appointed to serve in the interim.
Fitzpatrick was challenged in the special election to fill the remainder of Woolbright’s term by attorney Frank Rossi Jr., the son of a local developer and member of the Milton Republican Committee.
Following Tuesday’s tally, Rossi defeated Fitzpatrick by 55 votes of 1,051 cast. Speaking with WAMC Wednesday, Rossi reflected on the race.
“For me, the last 24 hours, I actually took some time for myself on Election Day. First half of the day, I spent some time in Schenectady, which is my old stomping grounds, around Union College over there. And went to Mike’s Hot Dogs and had a guilty pleasure lunch, and sort of just reflected over everything the last couple months,” said Rossi. “This has been a lot, it’s unexpected.”
Joining Rossi making inroads on the village board currently made up entirely of Democrats is Republican trustee-elect Bernadette VanDeinse-Perez, who defeated Democratic newcomer Kamran Parwana.
The Republican wins come months after the Town of Milton elections, when then-former Republican Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander won back his position against incumbent Benny Zlotnick.
But Rossi does not call his win a “red wave” in Ballston Spa.
“I call it just an open-minded opportunity going on for folks that were tired what was going on. Maybe the status quo in Ballston Spa. Maybe the change that occurred when Scott had lost and now he’s back in. And I gotta thank him. It was his birthday yesterday and he was hittin’ the phones for us as hard as anybody, and I do appreciate Scott Ostrander’s help up in Milton,” said Rossi.
Fitzpatrick, who was elected to the board in 2019, congratulated Rossi and said she’s proud of her time in village hall.
“I have been an activist all my life. It is very difficult for me when I see that something needs attention, for me, not to do what I can. And for me, personally, what I know is that I did the best I could in this situation and I feel that over the course of my three-year term that I, working with my colleagues, we have left the village, I have left the village in better shape than when I started. And for me, that’s a real accomplishment,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick says she will remain engaged on local issues…
“But I have no intention of running again for any public office,” she added.
Ballston Spa voters also approved a referendum moving village elections from March to November.
Rossi was not a supporter of moving the date.
“We do lose that unique feeling of the village election by doing this. It doesn’t mean that Bernadette and I will not be out there still knocking on doors – maybe with a little less literature over the next 12 months – to see how people are, to see what the village issues they want to talk about are, and make sure that we’re on top of it for next year,” said Rossi.
In Montgomery County Tuesday night, Fort Plain school teacher Pat Hanifin was elected to become the village’s next mayor after a brief write-in campaign.
Garnering 122 votes from 167 cast all together, Hanifin was the only candidate who stepped forward after the sudden death of Republican Mayor John Vesp last week. Vesp, who had been unchallenged for re-election, was 79.
Saying his students were excited for his win Wednesday morning, Hanifin described his next steps after a whirlwind, last-minute campaign.
“I’m gonna go on a listening tour first and develop a plan for where we wanna go. Small steps. Baby steps,” said Hanifin.
Hanifin, who ran most of his campaign on Facebook, said some locals including his older neighbors didn’t know he was running because they aren’t on social media. The self-described moderate Republican said he wants to foster more interest in local elections.
“It’s a town we can all be proud of. There’s a rich history here in Fort Plain going back to the Revolutionary period, and we’re tight knit. You know, the voters didn’t come out like they used to. My mom ran for mayor back in the 90’s and 600 people voted in that election. So we need to get more people involved,” said Hanifin.
