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Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly Running For Second Term

Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly
Lucas Willard
/
WAMC
Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly

Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly kicked off her campaign for another two-year term Wednesday night. A Democrat, Kelly opened her first campaign event by acknowledging some of the local residents of different political stripes who gathered.

“Yeah, I think I have every party represented here and that makes me so happy,” said Kelly.

Kelly has presided at city hall for only 14 months and acknowledged the early start to her campaign. But she said she wants to see several issues completed.

“There is a lot of projects on the docket that are right are on the brink of being finished in 2019, 2020, and I wanted to make sure that I was around to finish those off and we are doing good work,” said Kelly.

Kelly looks forward to the construction of two affordable apartment projects. With an eye on the city’s downtown, Kelly last year formed a committee to study a long-debated parking structure. Kelly anticipates a vote before the end of the year on an update to city zoning laws.

In her first year as mayor, Kelly appointed a City Charter Review Commission, which proposed changes to the city’s governing document, which failed on the November ballot. And then there’s city hall itself, which suffered during the summer, forcing several departments to set up shop at the city recreation center during repairs. 

Kelly, who also served as Deputy Mayor under her predecessor, Mayor Joanne Yepsen, is pursuing more work on the greenbelt trail network.

Kelly, along with incumbent Democratic Commissioners of Accounts John Franck and Finance Michele Madigan, has the endorsement of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee. Courtney DeLeonardis is the group’s chair.

“I think city hall is a better place because she’s in it and I think there’s a lot of cohesion and a lot of work being done, which is really the critical thing here,” said DeLeonardis.

She also praised Kelly for ending the sale of guns at regular gun shows inside the publicly-owned Saratoga Springs City Center.

Kelly said she gets along with all members of the city council, that also includes Democratic Commissioner of Public Safety Peter Martin, who is stepping down at the end of the year, and Republican Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco.

So far, two Democrats are seeking Martin’s position: former Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Eileen Finneran and retired New York National Guard sergeant Kendall Hicks. Neither Kelly nor the city Democratic committee have endorsed either candidate in what is shaping up to be a June primary contest.

In a city with a long history of mayors of both parties, Republicans have not chosen anyone to run against Kelly. In an email to WAMC, city GOP committee chair Matt Hogan said the Republicans will focus on public safety in the upcoming election.

Spa City Republicans have endorsed Saratogian columnist and social media blogger Robin Dalton for the open Public Safety Commissioner seat and Stephen Mittler for the Saratoga County supervisor seat currently held by Democrat Tara Gaston.

The GOP committee also endorsed Scirocco and County Supervisor Matt Veitch for another term. Republican runners to face Franck and Madigan have also not been selected.

Kelly did not discount the fact that she has no Republican challengers at this time and sent a message to any seeking to run against her.

“Bring it on. Because I am here, I’m gonna win, I’m going to serve this city for two more years because we have a lot of work to do together. So thank you for your support and I look forward to serving you all again,” said Kelly.

Lucas Willard is a reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011.
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