The Village of Ballston Spa in Saratoga County has taken politics out of its local elections.
Ballston Spa Mayor Larry Woolbright is a Republican. He says he enrolled in the GOP when he moved to the village in the 1980s, when Republicans had a solid hold on local politics.
“It didn’t make sense to me to register as anything but a Republican because if you weren’t a Republican you didn’t get a voice,” said Woolbright.
Today, Woolbright is serving his first term as a Republican mayor alongside four Democratic village trustees.
But that’s OK for Woolbright, who ran for public office on a pledge to work together to fix village finances.
Woolbright was endorsed in his run for mayor by local Republican and Democratic parties; the Democrats later rescinded their endorsement after the move caused a bit of a political stir.
He says many of the issues that dominate politics at the national level do not reflect the realities of village government. Immigration or abortion rights, for example.
“Just by virtue of running as Republicans and Democrats, we’re carrying some national baggage with us and inviting these culture wars to come into our village elections,” said Woolbright.
Woolbright asked local political parties to step back from village elections.
And party leaders have agreed to not endorse candidates in upcoming village elections. Anna Stanko is the immediate past chair of the Town of Milton Republican Committee…
“Small town village politics are more about the people who are running – especially in this day and age – and their values, core values, and their interests and service to the community than their political affiliation,” said Stanko.
Ellie Dillon, chair of the Milton Democratic Committee, feels the same way.
“We want to do what’s best for the village. And our past elections tended to be a little contentious. We’re a small town. We know of each other if we don’t know each other. And a no-party system would give the chance for any candidate to run based on merit,” said Dillon.
Woolbright says a non-partisan village government is what’s right for the community of about 5,000. He’d like to see the idea catch on, though he says he's not trying to influence anyone. But his effort has gained some attention locally. Earlier this month, Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly, a Democrat who is not running for a third term, said she would like to see the Spa City reject political parties, too.
Woolbright doesn’t know if he’ll run again in 2023.
“I also have not given a whole lot of thought to my party enrollment, although I have to admit it hasn’t been the source of great comfort lately, given the national scene. But still, there are local people who are involved in local politics who are very different from that national scene. I wish we could divorce the two things but we can’t,” said Woolbright.
Stanko, who is remaining on the Milton Republican committee, despite no longer serving as chair, says she thinks before more local governments drop party politics, there needs to be more understanding between sides that have become polarized.
“There’s a lot of fences that need to be mended. There’s a lot of…and by that I don’t mean between certain people, I just mean…things have got to be a bit fairer across the board in terms of how folks are treated and how their viewpoints are treated,” said Stanko.
Ballston Spa village elections are March 16th. Voters will elect two village trustees and one village justice without party nominations. In Albany, where ironclad Democrat rule dates back a century, outgoing Common Councilor Richard Conti has also introduced a bill to establish non-partisan municipal elections.
