In honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Saratoga Springs in 1915, the Saratoga Springs Public Library is bringing together the city's mayors, past and present.

The library will present the program titled "On Being Mayor" at noon on Thursday, September 18 in the H. Dutcher Community Room. 

Former publisher and managing editor of Saratoga Wire, Dale Willman will host a panel of all living former mayors and the current mayor, Joanne Yepsen. 

James Murphy, Raymond Watkin, A.C. Riley, J. Michael O'Connell, Kenneth Klotz, Michael Lenz, Valerie Keehn, and Scott Johnson will all be present to share their experiences as mayor, and the challenges and satisfactions of this office.

This event at the library, 49 Henry St., is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Dueling resolutions opposing expanded casino gambling are expected to be merged by Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
City officials also confirmed that they had received plans for the proposed expansion at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway, but would not make them available for public viewing.
Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco said Friday he was sponsoring a resolution drafted by Saratogians Against Casino-style Expansion opposing locating a full-scale gaming facility in the Spa City.
“I want a strong resolution that says ‘no’ to any expansion over there,” Scirocco said Friday. He is not interested in waiting until the state issues its Request for Applications that will outline exactly what a full-scale casino would entail. “If we want to have any impact we need to move now.”
He was making some changes to the drafted SAVE resolution, but said it largely coincided with his views on the subject.
At the same time, Mayor Joanne Yepsen also sponsored a resolution, but wouldn’t specify Friday exactly what it said and it was not released as part of the preliminary City Council agenda. Friday afternoon at about 3:30, the resolution was still being circulated in City Hall looking for edits, additions and comments from the City Council.
Yepsen said Friday that she expected the two resolutions to be merged. When asked if they were mutually exclusive, she said “Oh gosh no, they’re very similar.”
Scirocco said he would be willing to merge the two resolutions, provided it took a strong stance against expansion.
City Council members Michele Madigan and John Franck said Thursday they would prefer to wait for the RFAs to be released from the state, and Commissioner Christian Mathiesen said that while he was personally opposed to casino gambling in the state, he would accept a modest expansion at the casino provided it came with city oversight and provisions to protect city interests.
Still, he said he supported bringing the SAVE resolution to the table, though “I don’t agree with all of their concerns.”
Friday, city officials also confirmed they had received plans from the Saratoga Casino and Raceway showing the expansion they have planned, but they did not make the plans available for public review.
City Attorney Sarah Burger said the city only had one copy of the plans and “we are looking at it.”
When pressed to allow the documents to be reviewed, she said “would you like to go into my office and take the documents off of my desk to look at? Or any of these other desks for that matter?”
Shortly thereafter, Yepsen said “we’re not trying to not be transparent” but they could not let the plans leave City Hall. She then said they could be reviewed, but City Planner Kate Maynard was not available and Yepsen did not know where the plans were.
Saratoga Casino and Raceway is not required to get approvals from the Planning Board or city in order to move forward with its expansion. 

Building Momentum, Yepsen Picks (Up, I think belongs here) Two  New Endorsements

Adding to her endorsements by the Democratic and Working Families Parties, in the past two weeks, Saratoga Springs Mayoral Candidate Joanne Yepsen has been endorsed by the Independence Party and the RFK Club.

Saratoga County Independence Party Chairman Ed Miller released the following statement following the endorsement of the Independence Party:

"If hard work, integrity and vision for the future of Saratoga Springs are important, Joanne Yepsen is the best choice for Mayor.  The Saratoga County Independence Party is pleased to endorse Supervisor Joanne Yepsen as the 2013 Mayoral candidate for Saratoga Springs.  Our committee recognizes Joanne's tireless advocacy for our horse racing industry and our local economy.  Joanne has a plan to strengthen our horse racing and agriculture industry and plans to work with all levels of government on both sides of the aisle to tackle the multitude of critical issues facing the growing city of Saratoga Springs.  She is  a genuine public servant with an strong independent voice,  remarkable record of accomplishment,  and passionate leader for all the people of Saratoga."

This Independence Party is the third established political party to endorse Yepsen in her bid for Mayor.

The Capital Region RFK Club, a good-government Democratic organization also recently endorsed Yepsen’s candidacy, with Co-Chair Matt Peter releasing the following statement:

"The RFK Club is proud to endorse Joanne Yepsen because of the commitment she has displayed to serving her constituents and to the Values we share.  We look forward to supporting Joanne in her election and working with her as Mayor to bring continued progress to Saratoga Springs."

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And we're off to the races. Shauna Sutton announced she is running for mayor today, so it's a race. So far it's the only one contested by two announced candidates (unless you count Supervisor, which I don't, since it is two Republicans currently running for two seats).

Richard Wirth is announcing his campaign against Christian Mathiesen for Public Safety tomorrow in Congress Park, so that will be the second.

Anyway, here is a statement from Democratic Chair Charles Brown about Sutton's announcement (spoiler, he thinks Joanne Yepsen is better):

"I think the fact that the Republican Party has chosen to back the current Deputy Mayor for the office of Mayor is indicative that they are seeking to maintain the status quo.  By contrast Joanne Yepsen's candidacy represents an influx of fresh perspective and forward thinking ideas.  As Mayor, Joanne’s office door will always be open to our citizens, which is why I am proud to support her."

"I believe this race will give our community a chance to focus on our many pressing issues and how we would like our city leaders to lead."

Matt Veitch evidently is not running for mayor.

His was one of the names I'd heard floated in the recent weeks as a potential Republican opponent to Joanne Yepsen, but it doesn't look like Veitch will be taking that step.

He announced Wednesday that he will be officially announcing his run for re-election to county supervisor tomorrow in this brief statement:

"Supervisor Matthew E. Veitch (R)-Saratoga Springs will be announcing his run for a fourth term as Supervisor on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. He will review his accomplishments, as well as outline his ideas for the future of Saratoga Springs. Please join us at the Spring Run Trailhead, near the intersection of East Avenue and Excelsior Avenue for this important announcement."

It would have been interesting to see the Saratoga Springs supervisors go head-to-head in a winner-take-all race.

Election results show that, since 2007, when he beat-out Yepsen's Democratic running mate, Cheryl Keyrouze, for the second Spa City seat on the Board of Supervisors, Veitch overtook her as the top vote-getting supervisor.

Yepsen won with 4,883 when she was first elected in 2005. 

In 2007, election results show he came in second in the race with 4,584 to Yepsen's 4,946 (Keyrouze took 4,116 votes as a second Democratic candidate).

In 2009 Veitch had flipped the tables, taking 4,757 to Yepsen's 4,240 votes.

Last time around, though, the gap had closed and the two were both neck-and-neck, receiving the least votes either had ever received for supervisor — 4,035 for Veitch to Yepsen's 4,020, though it is worth pointing out that it was essentially uncontested, since it was only the two candidates running for two seats.

Either way, we won't be seeing a Yepsen vs. Veitch race for mayor (womp womp).

It seems we will be seeing Rick Wirth take on Christian Mathiesen for Public Safety Commissioner... again. A Caroline Street bulletin board told me so for certain (though I had heard a while back that he would be running with or without the Republican nod) with a flier that said he would be holding a fundraiser at the Mouzon House at 5:30 p.m May 2 .

And another blast from two years ago, Ken Ivins Jr. will be running for... something. You can hear all about it April 29 at the Thirsty Owl, but it'll cost some campaign contributions.

I had heard a while back that Ivins would be challenging John Franck for Accounts Commissioner, but with an open seat at the Board of Supervisors maybe he's changing his focus. We'll find out at the Thirsty Owl (also get some good wine).

Well the announcement announcing an upcoming announcement has been announced. Wonder what Joanne Yepsen has got to say? 

Sources told me more than a month ago it is "just a matter of time" before she declares her run for mayor and that the decision was already set with Yepsen and the Democratic Committee. It seems that time may be at-hand.

 

Saratoga Springs


Supervisor Joanne Yepsen Announces Campaign Intentions For The Coming Year

Ending weeks of rumors, Joanne Yepsen will be joined by friends, family and supporters as she announces her electoral intentions for the coming year on Monday April 8, 2013.

WHO: Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Joanne Yepsen

WHAT: Campaign Announcement

WHEN: 12:00 PM,  Monday April 8, 2013

WHERE: 408 Broadway (Lillian’s Restaurant)

Supervisor Yepsen has focused her time in office on protecting our elderly, balancing urban growth with sustainability, serving our returning veterans and saving local jobs by fighting for the preservation of our world class racing industry.  Joanne remains focused on bringing inclusive, accessible, and open government to Saratoga Springs, just as she has for the past seven years.  She looks forward to the many challenges and opportunities of further strengthening Saratoga Springs in the years to come.

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Background:  Joanne Yepsen is in her forth term as Saratoga County Supervisor representing the City of Saratoga Springs.  Since her first election in 2005, Joanne has enjoyed broad support across party lines, and has consistently carried the City of Saratoga Springs by comfortable margins.

I was talking to a member of the city's Republican Party recently and he said they don't really have any frontrunner to run against Yepsen at this point (if indeed that is her announcement. It is possible she will toss a curve and say she will be running again for Supervisor or some other office altogether).

Scott Johnson is declining to run for reelection and one of their promising potential candidates, Dave Patterson, is likely not going to run either (why would you if you could be getting a tan, after all). This particular Republican said Patterson was the hopeful opposite to Yepsen, but obviously that is not to be.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Tomorrow the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee meets and Chairman Charles Brown said he expects to be able to announce tomorrow a time and place where Joanne Yepsen will announce... her intentions for the 2013 election.

The presumption is that it will be her announcement that she is running for mayor.

Brown said Yepsen's been meeting with an exploratory committee for some time, "talking through her options."

One of the conversations that I've heard was been going on for some time is whether she could run for mayor and maintain her seat as a city representative to the Board of Supervisors. Most everyone agrees it is legal, but Brown said there is a question as to "whether that would be seen as a power grab."

Highlighting the fact that most supervisors on the legislative BofS also act in an executive capacity in their town governments, Brown called it "the norm" in the county.

Still, what works for towns like Day and Galway, won't necessarily work for Saratoga Springs.

It seems she may no longer be considering that as a viable option, but Brown said "she put seven years into that seat at the county and she wants to make sure that it will be taken by someone who will take up the work she has done."

*Update for clarity* Brown emphasized that the Yepsen is no longer considering running for both offices simultaneously (adding it is not a foregone conclusion that she is running for mayor at all). Any announcement that will be coming from her, likely won't happen until early April. *END of update*

The newest talk around town is that another Democratic member of the City Council may be exploring his/her options in that regard and may run for both positions simultaneously.

"That discussion is ongoing," Brown said Friday.

Here is where I start with speculation:

So John Franck and Christian Mathiesen both have full-time jobs on top of their positions on the City Council.

The only Democrat that leaves is Michele Madigan.

I called her a little while ago and will post her comments when I get them.

*UPDATE: I haven't talked to Madigan, but I received a message from her*

"I've been hearing a lot of rumors about supervisor but my name, as of yet, I had not heard in relation to that rumor. My main concern is running for finance commissioner, not running for supervisor... that wouldn't be my main concern, anyway."

She said endorsements should be coming out in the next month and we'll have to wait and see.

Another source in the Democratic party said the talk was started with Yepsen and has drifted to the other City Council positions, but because it is so early no name has been honed in on as of yet. 

*END OF UPDATE*

Brown said the committee will also be discussing its platform Saturday and may send it out. If they do you can read about it in The Saratogian (I'll post the full press release here).

I also asked him about whether Joanne Yepsen had ever intended to announce her candidacy on March 20, as I had heard. Brown said he couldn't comment on whether that was true or not.

*Another Update*

I'm leaving for the day and I have heard nothing from the Democrats on their platform or their announcement about upcoming announcements. That doesn't mean the committee didn't decide anything this morning, just that they didn't tell me about it. I'll be following up on Monday. 

*Update added Monday* Brown said "we're still doing some fine-tuning" of the platform and they have not released it yet. 

Just heard some more rumors from credible sources contradicting something from a previous post.

Word is, Dave Patterson will not be running for mayor as he will soon not be a full-time Saratoga Springs resident.

I had heard credible talk about him running and blogged about it a few weeks ago. A little while after that post I caught up with him and while he didn't confirm the talk, (some of which was from the GOP Chair Dave Harper, who said "I think Dave is definitely a candidate" though didn't say for what) he said he was considering his options and would get back to me.

I have it on very good authority, though, that he is house hunting in Florida and plans on only being a six-month-a-year Spa City resident (I wonder which six months he'll choose?). That wouldn't make him a very effective mayor, at least half of the time, so it seems he won't be making a run.

On the other side of the ticket, rumors still persist about Joanne Yepsen's imminent declaration of her intention to go for the mayor's seat.

I blogged about this one too here and here and I haven't gotten her to budge any further on whether she will be running or not. I've heard it will be announced this month — the 20th is one rumor out there — but today she told me "I don't have that on my calender" and that she is "no further along in my decision."

As for whether the mayor will be running for reelection, I have a call in to him now and will ask him when I speak with him.

Like Christmas, the election season seems to start earlier every year. We're barely into 2013 and already people are speculating about who is running for City Council in November.

"Usually you don't hear about these things until April," Mayor Scott Johnson said in his office Tuesday. 

I've heard all sorts of rumors at this point: that the mayor is not running again; that a certain supervisor is looking to unseat him if Johnson does run again; that Ken Ivins is returning from his term off to take a run not as finance commissioner, but as Accounts Commissioner; that Bill McTygue is planning a campaign for supervisor; that Cuomo is running for president.... oh wait, wrong election, though that is probably the same level of foresight we are talking about here.

Well, I'm going to be calling around on these. Actually, I called around on these (with the exception of Cuomo) and I'll post their responses as (if) they call me back.

Ivins said he hasn't made up his mind about what he is going to do another half-year from now (I can relate, I still haven't finalized my plans for this evening). As for the idea that he would not go for Finance Commissioner again, he said "I haven't made up my mind yet A) whether I'm running and B) what I would be running for." So that doesn't exactly sound like "No."

McTygue also didn't discount the idea. "It's early," he said, adding "no decision have been made at all in that regard."

He said people have been speculating because he has been making more appearances at City Council meetings and speaking up about issues. "I've been getting a lot of encouragement," he said.

Johnson, too, said he hasn't "publicly decided yet" about whether he would be running for reelection, but in our conversation about who a potential opponent would be referenced a quote he attributed to Joe Bruno, saying "I don't pick my opponents, I just beat them." 

Well, on the mayoral race I did catch up with Joanne Yepsen as well, who wouldn't say what position she is planning on running for in November. "There are several options on the table," she said, adding that she is having "preliminary conversations," about which she would choose. She wouldn't comment, either, on whether she was just evaluating city positions or if she was looking outside.

Those aren't the only rumors running around, obviously, but those are the ones I thought I'd address today. If anybody else hears others, let me know and I'll try to get non-committal answers from those people.

It seems like the marathon City Council meetings as of late are the new normal. Last night went from 6:30 to at least 11 p.m. when I left (I got tired of the circular arguments about last call and was tired in general).

And maybe it was just the time, but disagreements started to devolve around 10 p.m. when a debate broke out over whether more trees should be added to the Woodlawn Parking Garage project.

Recently, Sustainable Saratoga which is conducting the tree survey in the city, sent a letter to the City Council requesting the city put more trees in that project.

Michele Madigan brought the issue to the table for a discussion. "It would make this project so much nicer," she said.

But that sparked debate.

Anthony "Skip" Scirocco (who was "Skippy" to John Franck throughout the meeting) said more trees would mean more shade which would mean more ice in the winter.

I couldn't make out most of the arguments over the din of city commissioners, but it seemed that Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen was saying it would harken back to the days of the tree-lined Saratoga streets, Franck seemed to be supporting Scirocco (he joked they would be campaigning together next election), I head Madigan say at one point "the perils of trees in winter time" possibly in jest, and Mayor Scott Johnson just wanted to move on. "We've discussed this enough," he said.

I don't know that there was ever any resolution to that.

Later in the meeting, the issue of last call was discussed. It was a re-hashing for the most part. Mathiesen defended his statement that the atmosphere downtown was "toxic" ("It is toxic") and said "Most of our citizens wold not recognize downtown Caroline Street late at night."

He's putting it up for a vote of the City Council May 15, but Madigan and Franck both want to wait until after the State Liquor Authority issues a formal opinion on whether changing last call has to be county-wide (the most recent SLA opinion is that it does).

"I think it makes a difference," Franck said.

Mathiesen said it doesn't matter for their purposes, since if the City Council approves changing the bar closing time it would mean going to the county either way.

As they debated whether the county's role mattered to the City Council, one of the county representatives stepped in and addressed the council.

"You don't worry about the county," Supervisor Joanne Yepsen said, pointing at Franck. Yepsen said she and Supervisor Matt Veitch would deal with the county.

"Wait," Franck shot back, holding his hand up to her, palm out like a traffic cop ordering a vehicle to stop. "Is it the whole county going to 3 a.m. or is it just us? It's not the same," he said. "Don't tell me not to worry about what I'm voting for."

"No, I'm saying vote for what the city wants and we'll worry about the county," she said, emphasizing her points with hand gestures.

Then, walking back to put the microphone back in its stand and holding her hands up in frustration as she walked back to her seat, she said: "The county will determine what happens at the county."

This is the stuff that's going to happen, though, if they keep everyone up so far past their bedtime. Next meeting doesn't appear to be much better, either. Starts at 6:30 with a public hearing and many of the same things on this week's agenda — Saratoga Citizen charter change, Housing Authority corrective action plan, last call — will come up again.

I'm bringing a pillow.

I check the Board of Elections website frequently to see what is going on and who is officially raising money for their campaign and how much.

For instance, the website tells me Kathy Marchione is about $442,000 behind Roy McDonald who she seeks to unseat from the Senate as of the most recent filings (which were in January, so not exactly up-to-date).

It also tells me that there is no committee or funding (Yet) this year for Joanne Yepsen or John Franck to run for anything but their Saratoga Springs positions.

Franck has told me explicitly a couple times that he will not be running for anything but Commissioner of Accounts in the near future.

Yepsen, though, said a couple weeks ago that she was not sure yet if she would run for a seat at the state this year.

Seems late to me to not know. It seems unlikely she could make a run at someone like Tony Jordan or against the winner of the primary between Roy McDonald and Kathy Marchione this late in the game, but stranger things have happened in politics.

I mean, look at Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential frontrunner, a man who lost the 2008 primary to John McCain (and Mike Huckabee in some states) and we all remember how that turned out. But the man still continues to peddle his million dollar bike (you know he must have one, literally) toward the White House.

But anyway, we'll see if Yepsen gives it a go. The season (at least locally) is still relatively early and I'll do what I can to write about something other than the Housing Authority (IT JUST KEEPS GOING!).

Anyway, stay classy Saratoga.

PS, speaking of which, Anchor Man 2? 2012 just got great.