The Saratoga Springs City Council is resuming a meeting today that ended prematurely Tuesday night following charged discussion over a resolution for restorative justice and reconciliation. The debate laid bare a rift between officials, with some accusing the public safety commissioner of baiting an angered audience of residents and local activists.
Tuesday night’s meeting was just over a week after prominent Black Lives Matter activists appeared in courtover minor charges for disrupting public meetings. City Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino had sought the court action to control the meetings, which have been routinely interrupted by protesters.
After more than an hour of public comment – with many activists wearing red t-shirts with text accusing Montagnino of being racist – Mayor Ron Kim, a former Public Safety Commissioner, read from a resolution on restorative justice, the second item on his evening agenda.
“Now, therefore be it resolved as follows: This City Council, acknowledges that Saratoga Springs has supported and allowed racism and hate in areas of housing, employment, law enforcement and other areas of formal and informal life during its history…”
The resolution directs council members to appoint a restorative justice panel to make policy recommendations to the city by the end of the year.
The city council, all Democrats, are each seeking re-election to the five-member body.
Commissioner Montagnino rejected the language of the resolution, before Kim interjected.
“This resolution makes factual recitations that paint the City of Saratoga Springs with the broadest brush possible, accusing it of some of the worst sentiments and actions imaginable, to the mind. Now…”
“I’ve got to just break in there,” said Kim. “The resolution is as probably vanilla on the point of what Saratoga Springs’s position is on racism as it possibly could be,” said Kim.
As Montagnino spoke, audience members jeered and attempted to interrupt him. The Public Safety Commissioner then appeared to link the activists vocal since the George Floyd protests of 2020 with the toppling of a city statue dedicated to Union Army soldiers that summer.
“And that statue sat peacefully in Congress Park for a century-and-a-half until it was toppled in July 2020,” said Montagnino.
“Who did it?” asked Saratoga BLM organizer Lexis Figuereo from the audience.
“I suspect there are people in this room who know who did it,” said Montagnino.
The remark drew a loud response. Kim responded.
“It is really troubling that an elected official is making an allegation, here, of a crime to an audience,” said Kim. “It’s really troubling but I’m gonna ask…”
“Mr. Kim! What elected official made an allegation of a crime against a member of this audience here tonight?” said Montagnino.
City Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi defended the resolution.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We cannot deny the fact that there is racism, that there is discrimination and there is bias in the history of this country, of this state, and of this city,” said Sanghvi.
An angered Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran accused Montagnino of intentionally stoking the crowd, echoing a sentiment from Mayor Kim earlier in the meeting.
“The idea that we start to grasp the things that have occurred in our society, and reconcilie them to allow other parts of our society to move forward is what this motion is about, Jim. You are disgusting with your tactics. Disgusting!”
The council passed the resolution 4 to 1 with Motagnino in dissent.
The activists cheered and stood, before chanting “drop the charges,” referring to the minor charges that have been filed against three demonstrators in recent months. As the protesters called out to Montagnino, the Public Safety Commissioner directed his words to Kim, questioning how long the Democrat would let the disruption play out.
“You plan to do anything, Mr. Mayor, or are you just gonna sit there? Are you gonna sit there? You gonna challenge me, Ron? You gonna stand there and puff out your chest? You gonna do anything, Mr. Mayor? You gonna restore order or are you gonna sit there?” said Montagnino.
Kim did not respond. The meeting was suspended.
