Saratoga Springs may still hold a special election for Commissioner of Public Works after months of dispute.
Commissioner Jason Golub stepped down in August for a state role. That was after the deadline that would have automatically lead to a special election to fill his term.
The City Council was then split on how to select the next commissioner. Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi and Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran, both Democrats, initially pushed to hold a special election. Republican Mayor John Safford and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, who won his seat with GOP backing, wanted to appoint someone to the seat as soon as possible.
The council sent a proposed election calendar to the county board of elections in October, which Republican commissioner Joe Suhrada did not initially support.
“Until an opinion comes from the attorney general or it’s ordered by the governor, I can’t say that I’m in favor of an election,” said Suhrada.
The proposed timeline had nominations due by October 25th. The city’s Republican Committee nominated Chuck Marshall, while the Democrats failed to send in a nomination.
At a November 6th city council meeting, Moran brought a measure to propose a new election timeline, which he pulled before a vote. Hank Kuczynski, the Democrat the council unanimously appointed to serve until a special election could be held, said he would head the city’s second largest department through the end of the term.
“Technical interpretations of the election law set up a situation where one party had a nominee and one party didn’t. And to try and go forward, and for people to think that was a justified election might be technically correct but that would be determined by a judge in court. However, it goes against everything that this country stands for in relationship to democracy. So, I’m unsettled by the actions of the board in Ballston Spa and I think it’s unfortunate that the citizens of this city can’t vote to see who will finish the term of the Public Works Commissioner. So I guess you have me,” said Kuczynski.
At that meeting, Mayor Safford said the council would revisit the possibility of dropping the election altogether. That never happened.
Now, the city’s Republican Committee chair Mike Brandi and Marshall are seeking to compel the County Board of Elections to move forward with the January 28th special election.
“So, once they issue a proclamation like that, that sets in motion a lot of dates, a lot of deadlines under the law, and they’re mechanical. And the first deadline that the board of elections had was December 6th to certify the ballot, as we understand it, they did not do that. So, this lawsuit, this litigation, seeks to compel them to do their job under the law,” said Brandi.
As is, if approved, Brandi contends the election will only feature one candidate.
“Mechanically that would be the likely result. I’m not—all I’m advocating for with the lawsuit is that Chuck Marshall, our candidate, has the right to be on the ballot. The city called for this election, we played by the rules. If the other side did or didn’t, that’s just the way the law operates in a case like this,” said Brandi.
Democratic election commissioner Cassy Bagramian previously told WAMC she wouldn’t approve the special election without drafting a new timeline that provides equal ballot access opportunities.
Now, she says she’s unsure what will happen.
“He certainly has the right to bring a lawsuit if he feels strongly about it and I think we should just leave it up to the judge at this point to interpret their city charter as it relates to election law, when it comes to a special election anyway,” said Bagramian.
Mayor Safford said he’s focused on the future.
“As far as the election is concerned, I’m sitting on the sidelines just waiting to see how that plays out. I think Hank Kuczynski makes a very good commissioner and I’m going to be happy whichever way it works out,” said Safford.
The case is set to go to the county’s supreme court Thursday.
