The second proposal to change Saratoga Springs’ city charter in as many years has failed at the ballot box.
Two charter measures appeared on the ballot in Saratoga Springs on Election Day.
Question One would have made changes intended to improve the efficiency of the city’s unique commission-style form of government, where five city department heads including the mayor also serve as legislators.
Question Two would have expanded the city council from five to seven members, with the two additional commissioners not having departmental responsibilities.
Both measures failed by a 2 to 1 margin after last year’s effort went down by just 10 votes.
City Attorney Vince DeLeonardis served as chair of this year’s Charter Review Commission.
“Last year the voters indicated that they did not want to change the commission form of government, which we’ve had since our city was first incorporated in 1915. And this year the voters indicated that they do not want to make any adjustments or updates to the commission form of government. Essentially, leave it just the way it is. And I respect that,” said DeLeonardis.
DeLeonardis said he was pleased with the charter review process and the final document that was presented to voters.
But he added that there may have been confusion among city residents.
“In years past we’ve had efforts at trying to change our form of government, which the people ultimately rejected. But this year’s effort was simply to update the document, which hasn’t been updated in 17 years, and to provide efficiencies and organizational improvements to better serve the people of Saratoga Springs. And there was some level of misinformation out there, I think, that confused that issue and what was actually on the ballot this year,” said DeLeonardis.
Misinformation has been a common cry from both supporters and opponents of the 2018 charter.
Prior to Election Day, some former Spa City mayors and several members of the 2017 Charter Review Commission came out against this year's charter measure. The current Mayor, Meg Kelly, supported it.
Bob Turner, a Skidmore College professor, chaired the 2017 Charter Review Commission, which proposed changing the city's government from the commission-style to a council-manager form.
“I think what this election showed was a stunning repudiation of the commission form of government,” said Turner.
Turner said Saratogians have shown through their rejection of the 2018 charter a need for “real change,” not “updates or tweaks.”
“This time is the second-least popular in Saratoga Springs history with 35.6 percent of the electorate. The only one that ever did worse was the ill-fated charter of 1968, which only received 28.3 percent of the votes in a special election,” said Turner.
The public groups that organized for and against last year’s charter effort again took sides this year. Turner was involved in the “It’s Time, Saratoga” group, which advocated against the 2018 measure.
Richard Sellers of SUCCESS backed the 2018 document, but opposed last year’s changes.
Sellers agreed there may have been confusion among city residents.
“I personally talked to more than 100 people throughout the city doing some literature drops, and we found that people did not know what was on the ballot, they did not know what the differences were – in the Question One, particularly – and therefore they were unwilling to vote ‘yes’ on what they considered a crapshoot because they didn’t understand it.”
The last time a new charter was approved at the ballot box was 2001. There have been four attempts in the last 12 years to change it.
DeLeonardis thinks this may have also had an effect on voters.
“I think that there is a real issue of charter fatigue,” said DeLeonardis.
