Saratoga Springs Politics

I emailed approximately 40 people who have held or currently hold high-profile positions in Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County seeking their thoughts on the recent events in Minneapolis. I thought of it as a kind of community forum.

I asked those I contacted to address two questions:

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

I wish to express my deep appreciation to everyone who was kind and generous enough to respond.

Some who work in the private sector declined.

It was disappointing that several significant public figures declined to respond.

BK Keramati (Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works)

Otis Maxwell (Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee)

Mike Brandi (Chair of the Saratoga Springs Republican Party)

Casandra Bagramian (Democratic Commissioner of Saratoga Board of Elections)

On a personal note, I consider Mike Brandi a friend, but given his appropriately aggressive pursuit of accountability of members of the City Council in the past, it was disappointing to me that he was unwilling to respond to this post.

Since preparing this post, it has been reported that the law enforcement officers involved in the Alex Pretti shooting have been placed on administrative leave, and there has been some discussion by President Trump that there may be an investigation that will involve local law enforcement, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

The following are the responses I received.

Tim Coll

[Mr. Coll is in his second terms as Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety. He was the endorsed candidate of the city Democratic and Republican Committees, as well as One Saratoga. He is retired from a career with the FBI.]

A federal independent investigation must be conducted. This investigation should be led by a task force composed of local, state, and federal authorities, as each brings distinct and essential expertise. Given that these matters have resulted in the loss of life, the task force must be overseen by a federal Special Prosecutor with full authority and independence.

The Special Prosecutor must be truly independent, with a demonstrated record of integrity and impartial decision-making. Qualified candidates would include a former federal judge, United States Attorney, or a career prosecutor from the DOJ Civil Rights Division or DOJ Public Integrity Unit.

The public deserves absolute assurance that this investigation will be thorough, unbiased, and free from political influence. Conducting a fully independent investigation is the necessary first step in restoring credibility, accountability, and public trust.

Daniel (Dan) De Federicis

[ Mr. De Federicis is the publisher of Saratoga-Report. He is an attorney and a retired New York State trooper.]

As a retired NY State Trooper, and one who was president of the Troopers PBA Union for nearly 9 years, and an attorney, I have been involved in a number of cases involving the use of force and the use of deadly physical force.  In those rare instances when officers have no choice but to use deadly physical force, a cascade of actions must immediately follow. Most notably and enshrined in all law enforcement standard operating procedures is a fair, impartial, and complete investigation. 

The right to use deadly physical force by a law enforcement officer comes with
tremendous responsibility. The United States remains the beacon of freedom and fairness throughout the world because of the U.S. Constitution as well as state constitutions, laws, policies, and procedures which have arisen these past 250 years. For our democracy to survive, we must always adhere to and remain a country of laws, regardless of how inconvenient that may be in the moment.

To answer John Kaufmann’s question, these actions absolutely should be thoroughly investigated.  There is no question to that, but there are two sides to this coin.  Just as federal authorities are wrong when they hastily declare there was nothing wrong with the officers’ actions, other public officials go the complete opposite way and essentially prosecute the officers in the press.  Indeed, a fair investigation is one that has no preconceived conclusions.  The facts, not emotions or politics, need to lead to the conclusion.  Anything else may well lead to more violence and further inflame a beleaguered city, and yes, perhaps even a country, already stressed by political differences.

A thorough and timely investigation protects the citizenry, but it also protects the officers involved.   Witnesses are located and interviewed, and their statements are captured in writing contemporaneously with the event.  The deceased’s survivors will almost certainly sue in a civil case and likewisedemand authorities take criminal action. Who is being served if, say, three years later, on the eve of a trial, there is no documentation of what occurred?  No investigation report, no written statements from witnesses, no
preservation of mounds of other evidence.  That is not how a civilized society, one with a tremendous history of enacting and following its own laws, should proceed. 

It is important to note here that since John Kaufmann asked me and others to respond to the killing of Renée Good, another protester, Alex Pretti, was also shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota.  President Trump, in an apparent departure from his stance after Good’s death, announced that he wanted an “honorable and honest investigation” into Pretti’s death.  Let’s hope such an investigation is completed and stays true to the President’s directive of being “honorable and honest”.  If we are to have a civilized society that follows its own laws, we should expect nothing less.

Gordon Boyd

[Mr. Boyd is a member of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee and serves on the New York State Democratic Committee representing the 113 Assembly District, Saratoga County]

John,

Responses to your questions, barring a further incident to add to the context:

1. First of all, thank you for opening up this conversation about the Trump Administration’s frontal attack on the Constitution and civil rights.  The appropriate role of government should be to establish both culpability and accountability in both killings.  1) The Federal authorities should follow their own existing rules and conduct an investigation into the use of lethal force. It is wrong and prejudicial for Homeland Security and higher officials like the President to make conclusive statements about the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti before a thorough investigation is completed. The masking of Federal agents is both a symbolic and an actual barrier to accountability; masks must be eliminated.  2) The Federal authorities must also allow State investigators access to all evidence so it can be determined if any State laws were violated by the Federal agents. The 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution assures the States such a role.  Once investigations are conducted, officials can be held accountable and culpable, and changes can be made in training, mission, and agency structure to prevent such incidents in the future.  Of course, given President Trump’s evident concern about this November’s elections, we might reasonably wonder if all this chaos is really about immigration or about suppressing the democratic process.

2. The first step toward restoring trust today should be for Democrats in Congress to block any funding for Homeland Security and ICE absent new leadership and a complete restructuring of the agency, even if doing so means a government shutdown. In New York, the State Legislature and Governor Hochul should prohibit local law enforcement statewide from becoming collaborators in this violent attack on democracy and accountability.  Locally, Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County law enforcement should maintain their existing non-collaboration policies regarding ICE/CBP. In America, trust is based on our belief and assumption that the government itself will follow the rule of law, especially when Constitutional rights are threatened. Sending a proto militia into cities, detaining children, and shooting protesters will destroy any trust the people have in immigration control and even in law enforcement itself. Members of my generation vividly remember when, during the Vietnam War, the government 1) violated laws and Constitutional provisions in pursuing an undeclared war, and 2) made gross and systematic misrepresentations of its actions and intentions (as established in the Pentagon Papers). Both conditions, the government violating laws and lying about it, are echoed today. Minneapolis this week recalls the killings at Kent State and how they enflamed antiwar sentiment. Going forward, federal, state, and local authorities must adhere to the law and be seen to do so for trust to be restored.  This year, we must vote as if it were a life-or-death matter, because it is.   

Gordon Boyd

Brett Eby

[Mr. Eby is the recently elected Saratoga County District Attorney. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and volunteered in the Big Brother program. He earned his law degree from Western Michigan Law School and later obtained a Public Sector Leadership Certificate from Cornell University.

Mr. Eby began his legal career as a prosecutor in Warren County before being appointed Assistant Attorney General and later serving as Special Victims’ Counsel at Justice. He also served as Principal Court Attorney to two New York State Supreme Court Justices, as Special District Attorney in Warren County, and as a Special Prosecutor throughout upstate New York. In addition, he has taught as an adjunct professor at Sage College and lectured at Albany Law School.]

Maintaining civil society depends on trust, trust in one another and in the institutions charged with upholding the law. Easing the anger and divisions we face begins with listening and transparency. People must feel heard, respected, and confident that the justice system operates fairly and without bias.

Concrete actions include open communication with the community, explaining how decisions are made, and acknowledging concerns when they arise. Consistent accountability, equal application of the law, and a willingness to examine and improve our own practices are essential. Building partnerships with community leaders, educators, law enforcement, and service organizations can help address the root causes of conflict before they escalate.

Finally, fostering civic education and respectful dialogue—especially during times of disagreement—helps reinforce the shared values that bind us together. While we may not always agree, recommitting to fairness, empathy, and the rule of law is how we strengthen trust and preserve the foundations of civil society.

Jeff Brown

[Mr. Brown had been with the Sheriff’s department since 1998. He started as a deputy sheriff and was recently elected Saratoga County Sheriff.]

The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office investigates all our own officer-involved shooting incidents. Two separate and parallel investigations occur. A criminal investigation into the incident, as well as an administrative investigation into the incident. The criminal investigation is conducted by our Criminal Investigation Unit, and the administrative investigation is conducted by the Office of Professional Standards. The criminal investigation determines whether criminal conduct occurred, and the administrative investigation determines whether the members involved in the incident violated policy. Under NYS law, any deaths caused by police officers or peace officers, including corrections officers, must be reported to the NYS Attorney General’s Office, Office of Special Investigation, which conducts its own investigation.

Joe Suhrada

[Joe Suhrada is the chair of the Saratoga County Republican Committee. He is also the Republican Commissioner of the Saratoga County Board of Elections.]

Although I am very focused on local issues and have paid cursory attention to this matter, my first answer to a question regarding oversight or investigatory powers is a question: who is unbiased, neutral, or doesn’t have a point of view BEFORE things went down?

I also know that this federal agency which is charged with enforcing the laws that Congress passed employs agents that are similar to FBI, BATF, IRS and others which have official powers. 

But all answers should be sought and state and local authorities should also weigh in, and assist Federal agents when they are interdicting crime and criminals. If they wish to be in on an investigation then they should also come when called when mobs are forming.

 Contrary to rhetoric from one side or another- citizens don’t have the right to fight, interfere, or intervene in enforcement efforts. You can’t do that to sheriffs or troopers, either. Whether lethal force by these agents is used or not would be answered by legal experts in a given circumstance. Find one that doesn’t have an angle or a set view on that matter and I would be surprised. 

So investigations would cause me to question “who is watching the watchers?” 

Suhrada 

Almeda (AC) Riley

[AC Riley served three terms as Mayor of Saratoga Springs and four terms as Saratoga County Supervisor representing Saratoga Springs. She was the first woman in the city to hold those positions.]

It is my understanding that in cases like this, the organization whose personnel are involved needs to hire an outside independent investigator to review the facts and determine the action to be taken, so that it is not tainted by politics.

A.C.

JoAnne Kiernan

[Ms. Kiernan is the current Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance. She previously served as the Deputy Mayor under John Safford. In addition, she served on the Saratoga Springs School Board for 9 years, 2.5 as president.]

The government’s role is to ensure that any use of deadly force by its agents is independently, thoroughly, and transparently investigated. This does not presume wrongdoing; it upholds the rule of law, protects civil rights, and maintains public trust. 

Such investigations establish facts, ensure accountability, identify systemic issues, and protect both the public and government agents, confirming whether force was lawful and justified.

Easing anger and division requires leaders to acknowledge harm, commit to transparency, and ensure fair and credible processes. Creating space for respectful dialogue, listening to affected communities, and clearly communicating facts and decisions can help rebuild trust. Over time, consistent accountability, empathy, and shared focus on common values, safety, dignity, and fairness are essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.

Jessica Troisi

[Ms. Troisi is the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts]

 We should be investigating every incident. We do that for something as simple as a slip-and-fall. Why wouldn’t we do the same for something this serious?

Linda LeTendre

[Linda LeTendre has worked non-violently for decades in the struggle for social justice.]

John,

Thank you for this opportunity, I am  honored to have been asked.

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

For ANY use of deadly force by ANY level of government, an independent entity that includes the citizenry should be established to investigate said force. This projects the governmental agency and agent involved and protects the citizenry. 

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

We are not as divided as the media would have us believe. The number of MAGAs are estimated to be 20% or less, and there is a recent revelation that a significant number of Russian Bots feed the narrative. That being said, we need a revolution of “fixes” for the breakdown of the government no longer functioning as “by the people and for the people”. Repeal Citizens United, corporations are not people and should not have the free speech of unlimited money to buy elections. The same should go for wealthy individuals, like Musk who spend millions to buy elections for their benefit, not for the people’s benefit. Limit what ANYONE can give in campaign contributions. Ensure that elections are fair and free so that no political party can rig elections in their favor through gerrymandering and/or voter suppression. Make paid lobbying illegal – in Europe, they look at this practice and call it a bribe, and they are right. Enact term limits for elected officials, and ALL judges, including the Supreme Court. And hold all government officials accountable to the letter of the law and if they are convicted of breaking the law, they can go to jail, just like regular citizens (which is what they actually are). Reform the right Presidential pardon so that pardons cannot be sold and can only be used in specific circumstances, not as a get out of jail free for your buddies. And finally go back to the Senate and House rules for their governance that were in place before Gringrich and McConnell dismantled them.

Mayor John Safford

[John Safford is in his second term as Mayor of Saratoga Springs.]

The well-known aphorism that “one death is a tragedy, but a thousand deaths is a statistic” highlights a troubling human tendency to emotionally prioritize isolated incidents over broader systemic violence. In Minneapolis today, events that are undeniably tragic—a rise in fatal federal law-enforcement shootings during immigration enforcement operations—are perceived very differently from distant atrocities such as those in Iran. This difference in perception is not evidence that the United States has become a totalitarian state imposing its will on the populace, but rather reflects how context and trust shape public reactions to use of force.

As a former Army Infantry Officer and temporary Military Police commander, I am acutely aware of how the principles governing the use of force differ between war-fighting troops and civilian police. In theory, there is a clear distinction: combat troops are trained for lethal engagement in hostile environments, while police are trained to de-escalate and protect civilian life. In Minneapolis, the line between these roles has blurred under the weight of federal immigration enforcement operations, though, in my estimation, not beyond repair.

In democratic societies like ours, questionable uses of force by police are subject to investigation and accountability. With respect to federal immigration agents—ICE and Border Patrol—their lawful actions include executing warrants and making arrests. As of now, there is no credible evidence that routine warrant execution by these agents has been unlawful. What has been contested is their response to civilians who have interfered with or protested these actions, raising complex questions about appropriate training and authority.

The fact that multiple individuals have been killed in recent Minneapolis incidents—such as the fatal shootings by federal agents of a protester and other individuals—necessitates thorough investigation and accountability. Yet these cases should not be simplistically interpreted as a slide into authoritarianism. Rather, they call for deeper examination of how federal law-enforcement roles intersect with civilian law, public protest, and community safety. Rushing to either blanket condemnation of all federal enforcement or passive acceptance of every use of force undermines the legitimacy of both policing and civil liberties. The appropriate response is a balanced commitment to justice, transparency, and institutional reform that preserves the fundamental rule of law.

Charles (Chuck) Marshall

[Mr. Marshall served on the Saratoga Springs Planning Board for for over three years and as its chair for over a year. He also served as the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works.]

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

Chuck’s response: my job does not require me to carry a firearm and I’m appreciative of those who do, placing themselves in harms way repeatedly.  That said, deadly force is the most extreme case of citizens holding government accountable but it should occur at all levels and instances.  At any time deadly force is used there should be a third party (or independent agency) review of the incident.  While not perfect, New York’s Attorney General review seems to work well for police involved shootings.  The biggest issue or concern is the pre-disposition created by the media and the independent narratives that are spun without a clear and unbiased presentation of the facts.  

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

Chuck’s response: We all know what the uniforms of our police look like.  The major difference between local police and ICE is the lack of uniform and need for face shielding, often to protect the officer/agent.  While Saratoga doesn’t have the size population to warrant mass force, uniform ICE agents with marked vehicles would go a long way.

Secondly, I think we all need to take a deep breath. We live in a polarized and rapidly changing world, understanding what we can/can’t control and that influence occurs at the margins will go a long way.

Bob Turner

[Dr. Turner is an associate professor of political science and environmental studies at Skidmore College. He chaired the city’s charter commission from 2016-2017]

Department of Homeland Security not to investigate the shooting death of Renée Good by one of its on-duty officers raises a number of questions that most Americans might feel demand credible answers from agencies speaking for the Federal government.

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

I think it is delusional to expect or hope that Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or Tom Homan, Trump’s Border Czar, will conduct meaningful investigations into the shootings of Renee Good or Alex Pretti, or the 32 people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in 2025.  The Trump Administration has eroded the internal watchdog function within DHW, the Inspector General office.  It is spending $100 million on social media and created an ICE social media agency to distribute social media videos of raids and arrests. Focusing on the actions of an individual ICE agent overlooks how institutionalized cruelty is part of the GOP’s longstanding “attrition through enforcement” strategy” aimed at creating a climate of fear among the immigrant community and part of a larger war on immigration.  

However, we should not give up hope.  In Federalist 10, James Madison reminds us that “Men are not angels”.  He understood that “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm,” and thus created the constitutional system of checks and balances and federalism to provide alternative venues for accountability. 

The House and Senate can hold hearings or create their own independent commission, such as the 9/11 Commission (2002-04) to study the failure of intelligence, the Katrina Commission (2005) to study the FEMA and DHS failures, or the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (2008-2011).  It seems unlikely that a GOP-controlled House or Senate would pursue these, meaning that legislative accountability would require flipping one or both chambers in the midterm election. 

Federal and state courts can provide legal accountability and demand that ICE operate within constitutional limits on government searches. 

State and local elected officials in Minnesota or Minneapolis can conduct investigations.

Legacy media and social media also have an important role to play in informing and educating citizens about the actions and consequences of ICE for our communities and polities.  

Finally, the ultimate source of accountability is voters, who elect the federal, state and local officials who will implement the ICE enforcement actions.

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

Once again, I turn to James Madison who reminds us that “The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man” and that “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire.” Anger, distrust, and division is inevitable in a diverse, multicultural, and pluralist society where its members hold a diversity of values, opinions, and lived experiences.  We will, and should, have different opinions, ideas, and interpretations. I personally think certain elected officials, interest groups, and the media overstate the extent of partisan divisions and rancor in society.  Social media algorithms reward and prioritize conflict.  Activists on both sides are unwilling to make tough compromises. 

Longtime Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn (D-TX) often said, “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one”. It is easy and requires little skill to divide us.  What we need our leaders who can do the hard work of finding areas for unity and compromise. 

Lew Benton

[Mr. Benton served as the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety from 1988 through 1995. He is a Vietnam veteran having served as a medic from 1970 to 1971.]

We have all seen the shooting and killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent and the more recent deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by US Customs and Border Patrol agents.

ICE and Border Patrol fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, which is headed by Kristi Noem. She is a former governor of South Dakota and a former member of the US House of Representatives, and is infamous for shooting to death household pets and farm animals that somehow offend her.

As Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Noem seems to revel in the agency’s roles of providing border protection and immigration and customs enforcement; she is frequently seen similarly dressed as a Border Patrol or ICE agent. Noem is under great pressure to meet the immigration enforcement and deportation goals of the Trump administration.

Within mere hours of the shootings, the secretary has been quick to absolve
those agents who were responsible for the killing of Good and Pretti, both without the benefit of video recordings, and in violation of Homeland Security’s adopted review of deadly force incident regulations.

To meet Trump’s immigration goals, Homeland Security has recruited thousands of new ICE agents. It is largely alleged that the vetting, training, and discipline of ICE agents have been set back in the rush to increase the force. ICE agent training is reported to only be 6 or 7 weeks now, even far less than basic US Army infantry training.

The current Homeland Security culture, leadership style, and reduced agent
training and the inadequate/flawed vetting of new recruits via AI may be a good
place to start in responding to John Kaufmann’s first question:
What is the appropriate role of our government in determining culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

The clearly unjustified, deadly shootings of Good and Pretti call into question not only the actions of the agents directly involved, but also the integrity of the leadership of Homeland Security. If these agents were inadequately trained and led, exposed to a culture that encouraged and condoned excessive use of force, and viewed even protestors as ‘f…ing bitches’ or ‘terrorists’ or ‘assassins,’ it is not difficult to understand how and why these killings happened.

ICE and Border Patrol agents with minimal training are now sent into urban areas armed with high-velocity semi-automatic military rifles and semi-automatic handguns. They are billed as ‘law enforcement’ officers, but are dressed and armed as combat troops, not police. Then they are allowed to function anonymously behind face masks, further reducing self-restraint and avoiding scrutiny.

This is the antithesis of policing. Robert Peel, the British Prime Minister who
established the modern London Metropolitan Police, identified nine principles of “ethical” policing, including these five:

The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and
disorder.

The ability of the police to perform their duties depends on the public
approval of police actions.

Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in a voluntary
observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the
public.

The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured
diminishes proportionately to the necessity to use physical force.

To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public, and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

Now, having lost the “approval” and “cooperation” of much of the public and
many public officials, Homeland Security’s ICE and Border Patrol have lost all
credibility among Homeland Security’s written policies is this:
Uphold Privacy, Transparency, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties DHS will continue to implement safeguards for privacy, transparency, civil rights, and civil liberties when developing and adopting policies and throughout the performance of its mission to ensure that homeland security programs uphold privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

Moreover, ICE and Immigration and Customs have already adopted regulations
on the use of deadly force, as well as a written policy and mandated procedures
for investigating deadly force cases. Yet, the administration has announced that there will be no investigation and thus is in violation of its own rules. The
regulations become meaningless.

Here are the ICE Regulations on use of deadly force:
ICE regulations (8 CFR § 287.8) permit the use of deadly force only when an
officer has a reasonable belief that the subject poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. It is considered a last resort, strictly prohibited to prevent escape alone or to shoot at moving vehicles unless an occupant poses a direct threat.
Key aspects of ICE deadly force regulations, updated by following a 2023 Executive Order, include:
Definition: Force likely to cause death or serious physical injury.
Imminent Threat Requirement: Must be based on a reasonable belief that the
subject poses an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer
or others.
 Vehicles: Firearms may not be discharged at or from a moving vehicle unless it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious injury, and no other reasonable means of defense exists.
 Prohibitions: Chokeholds and carotid restraints are prohibited unless deadly force is authorized.
 De-escalation: Policies require mandatory annual training on de-escalation
techniques.
 Documentation: While policy requires it, specific, detailed guidelines on the use of force are not fully public. But again, established policies and procedures are meaningless if ignored or not followed.

On May 25, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Advancing
Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public
Trust and Public Safety (E.O. 14074). Then the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) supported the E.O.’s objectives to promote accountability,
increase transparency, and ensure equal treatment and respect for the dignity of all persons with respect to federal law enforcement. Since that time HS said it
was working across the Homeland Security Enterprise to swiftly and effectively
implement the E.O.’s cross-cutting mandates.

I do not know if Trump rescinded that order but Homeland Security; under Noem, it clearly holds such policies in contempt.

To remedy what has happened would require some Congressional intervention,
a purge of the current Homeland Security ‘leadership’, a critical review of all ICE and Border Patrol policies and procedures, the demilitarization of operations and total reform. Local and state governments may be able to hasten such a change by condemning recent actions and petitioning for change.

Second question:
What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge
the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?
The answer to this is beyond the scope of this piece. Suffice it to say, unless and
until the current administration stops demonizing immigrants and other marginalgroups, I think we’re out of luck.
lib
01/28/2026

Martha Devaney

[Ms. Devaney is the Chair of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee]

Hi John,

Thank you for contacting me with your questions. Channeling my energy to thought provoking questions and providing input helps ease my emotional unrest.

In response:

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

Determining the culpability regarding the use of deadly force by government agents is fundamental to the role of government. Elected officials in the U.S. take a pledge to protect its citizens by taking an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This solemn promise is intended to ensure officials faithfully discharge their duties and uphold the rule of law.  Under the current Administration, we are painfully realizing this oath is disregarded and seriously failing the American and global communities. 

We are witnessing the collapse of democracy and the system designed 250 years ago, which (theoretically) established guardrails for the “appropriate role of our government to determine the culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents.”  This premise is a false narrative and our elected officials must rise together to uphold their oaths of office.Since there is no adherence to the rule of law under the current administration, we must rise up together to take back democracy!

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?We, as a society, must implore our elected officials and fellow citizens to DO SOMETHING. The urgency confrontiong our democracy cannot be overstated. We must band together, act in peaceful ways, be engaged and think outside of the box.President Obama stated, “When you’re feeling helpless, get up and do something!” I urge the following:

• Block the DHS funding Bill, close the government. Stand Strong Together!
• Pass Senators Duckworth’s Bill to investigate every ICE shooting and withhold payment to DHS Investigator General if implementation is ignored- Be Bold!
• Support the 10 Republican electeds who are supporting independent investigations of ICE shootings- Seek Bipartisan Solutions!
• Investigate DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem- Demand Impeachment!
• Band together, make calls daily, demonstrate peacefully, use tools (50501), join organizations (local political committees, Indivisible): Be Engaged!
• Mayors and Governors should organize a movement in defense of democracy– In Solidarity!
• Exert collective economic power and schedule organized economic blackouts every Saturday until ICE leaves states’ cities: Leverage Economic Power!
• Appoint a group of electeds to appeal to the president’s narcissistic ego and point out the benefits of removing ICE from US cities- Appeal to Ego!
• Enlist & leverage Trump loyalists, electeds and influencers (Sean Hannity, Joe Grogan, Ted Cruz, NY Post) to make the appeal to reverse deportation and ICE policies- Be Smart!
• Implement a Shadow Cabinet: Be Part of the Solution; Think out of the Box!

Respectfully,

Martha, chair Saratoga County Democratic Committee

Terence Diggory

[Mr. Diggory is the coordinator for the Saratoga Immigration Coalition. He had been a professor of English at Skidmore College and retired in 2010. He served on the former Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force]

What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

The use of deadly force is the ultimate use of government power.  Effective, trustworthy government must implement checks and balances against its use of force at every level.  Not only must the use of deadly force be investigated, but it must be investigated by an agency that is independent of the agency that used deadly force.  This is the principle of the separation of powers that is central to our constitutional system.  Unfortunately, that principle has been sadly eroded by the Trump administration.  This means not only that we cannot trust a DHS investigation of actions by its own officers, but we also cannot trust an investigation by another federal agency such as the FBI.  An independent investigation by the state of Minnesota into the recent DHS shootings in Minneapolis would be most appropriate, but has unfortunately been blocked. 

Neglect of the separation of powers, by the way, is prevalent in our immigration system.  While Americans pride ourselves on an “independent judiciary,” immigration courts are administered by the same agency, the Department of Justice, that has charge of the prosecution of immigration cases.  Most immigrants are not “criminals,” but they are treated worse than criminals in our legal system.

What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

The erosion of trust in authority has been going on for centuries in western culture and there are no quick fixes.  Sadly, it now seems that not only do we distrust authority but we also distrust each other as ordinary citizens.  There are no quick fixes in this case, either, but there are small fixes in our daily interactions and communications.  We need to approach each other simply as people and not as partisans attached to one or another political position.

Terry Diggory, Co-Coordinator

Saratoga Immigration Coalition

Chris Mathiesen

[Dr. Mathieson served on the Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals from 2000 through 2006 (chaired 2005-2006). He served as Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety from 2012 to 2017 (three terms).]

Ordinarily, an incident involving law enforcement agents discharging their weapons which then caused injury or death of a person or persons would result in a thorough investigation.  The law enforcement agents involved would be temporarily suspended with pay pending completion of at least the preliminary aspects of the investigation.

Renee Good was shot and killed by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent while Alex Pretti was killed by ginfire from at least two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.  Since the incidents involved two different federal agencies, neither of which seems to have protocol in place to adequately deal with such situations, and since there are concerns that the independence of the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration may have been undermined, the best solution would seem to be the creation of an independent commission to look into these two incidents.  Members of the commission would be appointed by members of Congress from both major parties.

Chris Mathiesen

Jay Ekman

[Reverend Ekman served as the minister of the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church in Saratoga Springs from 1973 to 2013.]

1. In the ideal world a fully un -gerrymandered democracy belonging to the people would be more inclined to care for all its people.  I have to say that in our present USA the Republicans have done the better job of betraying the Founding Fathers’ healthy ideals; but the Democrats run a VERY close second. Both parties pay lip service to the noble ideals of “liberty and justice for all.” Talk is cheap and  political leaders have come to believe that “doing the walk”  to benefit all Americans might cost BIG donations and risk losing the next expensive election.

2.  We know that in too many cases those on the favorable side of power and wealth enjoy a “beneficial justice” that is not readily available to far too many of us. 

With ICE extravagantly funded by the “Big Beautiful Bill” and (now) running like free masked and armed gestapo on our streets, abuse and possible murder needs to be investigated by legitimate officials and honestly adjudicated. Side bar: I’d like to know: (a) how many ICE employees took part in the Jan 6th uprising and (b) how many could pass the employment test to be prison guards in NYS?

3. I confess to being an OPTIMISTIC CYNIC! I fear that at best we might be able to create pockets of civil society. Once chaos is released, it tends, like a cancer, to metastasize.  { The Twin-cities have done a good job tamping that prospect down!} Civil society anywhere struggles against  “normal” life realities that include:

1. A changing climate forces the struggling masses of the southern hemisphere, who have the energy not to die, to migrate north to find food, water and employment.
2. In our “ Monroe Doctrine sphere of influence”, we forget that for far too many years the US has undermined and over thrown democratically elected governments that promise change that would benefit a poor nation’s people. Our fear was that such democratic reform would threaten the American corporations’ ability to extract natural resources from these nations and undermine profits. The  wretched conditions created by US have no doubt intensified the desperate flight to our boarders.
3. Add to that a shrinking human employment base as old job forms: from family farms to traditional Detroit assembly lines simply disappear to be replaced by ???? 
4. The above issues are compounded by the HAVES clinging to their wealth— unwilling & unable to see that basic need disparity is fertile ground for legitimate unhappiness and violent uprisings. 

Too often I regret the world Judy and I are leaving to our grandkids.  A sad commentary -indeed!

Alice Smith

[Ms. Smith serves on the executive committee of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee.]

I think your questions are rather broad because it’s such a complicated issue.  

Regarding the first question, the role of the government (State or Federal) is to investigate the facts objectively.  There certainly appears to be a degree of culpability.

Then -I think your next question should be: What will be done about it?  The response to that might answer your second question.

Barbara Lombardo

[Ms. Lombardo left the Saratogian in 2015 after thirty-eight years, during much of that period as its editor. She currently teaches reporting and news writing in the Journalism Program at the State University at Albany.]

Q. What is the appropriate role of our government to determine culpability regarding the use of deadly force by its agents?

A. Appropriate steps for determining culpability in federal cases should be like those spelled out in Policy No. 305 — Officer-Involved Shootings and Deaths — in the Saratoga Springs Police Department Policy Manual, which can easily be found online.

Q. What actions could be taken to ease the anger and divisions that challenge the basis of trust that is at the core of maintaining civil society?

A. Government and non-governmental leaders should be setting a tone of civility and condemning the hate and divisiveness coming from the top, and demanding adherence to the U.S. Constitution, existing laws, and basic human decency. That requires leaders willing to challenge both the policies and how they are executed. The rest of us ordinary people should be doing the same, speaking up and protesting non-violently in public, in direct communications with people in power, and in the voting booth. It’s up to us, folks.

I submitted a FOIL request of the New York State Police for the investigation they performed into the Saratoga Springs’ On-Call scandal. After many months, I finally received the investigation report. For readers unfamiliar with the scandal that precipitated the investigation, here is the link from an earlier post. There are actually multiple posts on this fiasco. Using the search function in the blog, search for “on-call” for more stories.

The investigator from the State Police was Andrew Werner, who has since retired. Werner did an excellent job of determining what happened and who might be culpable.

The investigation confirmed that someone altered the resolution authorizing on-call pay for deputies, but Werner was unable to determine who changed the resolution, so no one was charged.

Nevertheless, the investigation did include some interesting revelations.

City Attorney David Harper Confirmed that The Council Resolution Posted As The Official Record Of The Meeting Was Inconsistent From The Video Record Of The Meeting

Classic Lying By Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran

Those of us who have dealt with former Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran are acquainted with his bizarre pattern of lying about things when the embarrassing truth exposing his lying is readily available.

In this case, Moran contacted Werner, telling him that he had a report documenting who had doctored the resolution. He claimed that it was done by an employee in his department whom he had fired.

Falsehood number one was that the late Lisa Ribis, the employee, was fired. I have documented Moran’s cruel obsession with harassing Ms. Ribis. In fact, Ms. Ribis was protected under civil service. He was only able to suspend her with pay pending a hearing on his charges. Ms. Ribis was highly regarded in City Hall. John Franck, who served as Accounts Commissioner, told this blogger of his high regard for Ms. Ribis. This same post chronicled Moran’s harassment of Ms. Ribis.

Before her hearing could be convened and after months being suspended with pay, Ms. Ribis was diagnosed with cancer. Having served the city for decades, she was able to retire, and the charges against her were dropped. Lisa Ribis was never fired.

According to the police report, Moran told the investigator in a telephone call that an outside computer company had investigated the matter and issued a report documenting that Ribis was the perpetrator.

When the report was not forthcoming, the investigator contacted Moran’s attorney to ask when Moran would be turning it over.

Attorney Dan Alonzo returned my call. Writer[Werner] inquired when Commissioner Moran would turn over the internal report from the Accounts Department on the employee who had been editing the City records without their permission. Attorney Alonzo advised that there was no report generated and it is his belief that internal investigation was a separate investigation that had nothing to do with the current state police investigation. I advised Attorney Alonzo that his client, Commissioner Moran, was the one who brought the report to my attention and the commissioner told me that he was going to turn that information over to the State Police. Attorney Alonzo advised that he needed to speak to his client again and would get back to me.

State Police Report

Moran never produced the report because it never existed and he made the whole thing up.

The Improper Payments And Missing Restitution

While the investigation was unable to determine who doctored the minutes, it did reveal that two deputies had been improperly paid. The redacted names of these deputies were Stacy Connors, Moran’s deputy, and Angela Rella, Mayor Ron Kim’s deputy. The resolution language authorized that the benefit would become effective in mid-February. These two women submitted requests for payment for the prior six weeks and were paid by the Finance Department, despite the resolution not authorizing it.

The attorneys representing Rella and Connors acknowledged the improper payments, and the city subsequently received checks representing restitution.

Then Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi acknowledged to Werner that the two women were improperly paid. These checks were never deposited in the city’s accounts. Readers who follow this blog will remember that this blogger made numerous attempts to find out from Sanghvi why she never deposited them. To this date, Sanghvi has never been willing to explain to the public why she allowed these women to keep their ill-gotten gains.

Moving On

As Moran and Sanghvi are no longer on the Council, all of this ends up being moot, except hopefully, their careers as elected officials on the City Council are over.

The Full Report

The city of Saratoga Springs has been in negotiations with the New York State Attorney General’s Office (OAG) for eighteen months over an agreement called an Assurance of Discontinuance or an AOD.

The AOD’s purpose was to address how the city should deal with the criticisms of how the police handled BLM demonstrations in 2021. The OAG’s report on the handing of these demonstrations, “A Report on the Saratoga Springs Police Department Response to Protests in 2021”, included extreme and sometimes false allegations based on several instances of intemperate remarks by two city officials that were exploited to describe Saratoga Springs as a city so marked by racism and violence that it sounded like Selma, Alabama, in 1965. The many problems with this report were explored in a previous post in February 26, 2024

Both the city and the OAG were trying to reach an agreement on which actions the city would be required to take to to avoid litigation.

The original draft of an AOD agreement to address the report’s allegations contained a litany of reforms that sparked considerable disagreement between the city and the OAG. The problems with the original draft were explored in detail in a previous post from June 26, 2024.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, his deputy Dan Charleson, Police Chief Tyler MacIntosh, Assistant Chief Frederick Warfield, and James Potter of Hinman Straub (hired as counsel by the city) all worked with the OAG staff in the negotiations. Over time, the two groups established trust in each other, and both worked hard to craft a revised document that would yield policies that would enhance both the department and the community in maintaining the city’s law enforcement capabilities while protecting the constitutional rights of all.

The final agreement, which the City Council approved unanimously at its January 6, 2026, meeting, is radically different from the original OAG proposals.

Highlights Of The Revised Agreement

1. The original AOD stated that police on bikes could not be used for crowd control. That language was later removed.

2. The original draft specified that the throwing of water bottles did not justify an arrest. That provision was removed.

3. The Original draft prevented the SSPD from charging demonstrators with low-level offenses after the conclusion of the demonstration. The final agreement now allows the SSPD to bring low-level charges after a demonstration has been concluded. An Independent Oversight Official approved by the OAG will review these charges should they occur.

4. The original draft contained overly broad language that would have precluded the Public Safety Commissioner from influencing the department’s actions. The language was tweaked to say that the Public Safety Commissioner would not “improperly” influence the department.
5. The original draft banned the use of mounted police. In the final version, horse-mounted police are permitted at First Amendment assemblies only in positions at the back ranks of the police presence and shall not be used for crowd control, except in an emergency when necessary to ensure the safety of police officers and demonstrators.
6. The original language precluded any surveillance of protesters. Paragraph 57 now states that the city is prohibited from conducting surveillance based solely on engagement in First Amendment activity. This is consistent with federal Attorney General Guidelines.
7. The draft required that public comment shall be moved to the end of City Council meetings. When it was pointed out that the public would be frustrated by not being allowed to comment on resolutions prior to their adoption at Council meetings, it was agreed that the language would be changed from “shall” to “may.”
8. The AOD affirms that the City may enforce the demonstration declaration and has agreed to remove any potential jail sentence. As such, enforcement will be based on fines. Spontaneous demonstrations are permitted and have been upheld in federal cases. The AOD clearly defines a spontaneous demonstration as one that occurs in response to news or events that come into public knowledge less than 48 hours prior to the demonstration.

9. SSPD should advance to Tier 4 (arrest) only when demonstrators have refused to comply with dispersal orders issued at Tier 3. Dispersal orders must be read three times, with five-minute intervals, between each warning. If an emergency exists, SSPD may instruct demonstrators to disperse immediately.

10. The new language requires the city to establish a senior officer to be responsible for internal affairs. They would be trained to effectively monitor and manage disciplinary actions against officers charged with violations. Paragraph 73 indicates that we need a Captain or higher designated as an Internal Affairs Officer, which will require a new hire for the SSPD.

A Win For All

Given the highly charged nature of the issues, it is a testament to both the city and the OAG that patience and commitments to both the Constitution and the need for effective law enforcement led to an agreement that benefits the city and all its residents.

[Lew Benton (the picture is not of Lew) has done a tremendous service to our community in analyzing Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi’s budgets during her tenure in office. Lew documents how Sanghvi’s arbitrary numbers have “baked in” deficits into the city’s finances and have left the city in a deep financial hole for others to try to dig out of. His assessment? She has routinely violated her fiduciary obligations.]

From Lew Benton

The “Participatory Budgeting” process was ill-conceived from the start, but in the final analysis, its impact on the city’s fiscal health was insignificant when compared to the structural deficits built into the spending plans of the last few years.

With the advent of the Sanghvi administration four years ago, the city began preparing and adopting operating budgets with baked-in deficits.  This was not unique, but each successive budgeting cycle since 2023 has consistently and increasingly underestimated expenditures and overestimated revenues.

The 2023 and 2024 budgets even included a non-existent $250,000 cannabis tax revenue.  But finance’s biggest budgeting sin has been underestimating major operating costs. Initially, in the preparation of the 2023 budget, a council majority made up of new members, including the budget officer, could be given some empathy.  But in preparing the 2024 budget, the finance commissioner failed to reverse course.

No doubt, the lack of institutional knowledge and limited understanding of how this government functions among a council composed of first-term members could temper the inadequacies in the 2023 budget.  But failure to recognize and correct them going forward was unacceptable and violatedher fiduciary responsibility.  

And that failure was aggravated by her inexplicable decision to present the then-proposed 2024 budget in a form wholly inconsistent with the requirements of the City Charter.

Rather than, as outlined in the Charter,  follow a standardized budget format that employs “ …  the most feasible combination of expenditure classifications by funds, organization unit, program, purpose, or activity and object,” all proposed expenditure lines were lumped together, not disaggregated by function.

Attempting to understand and compare the commissioner’s proposed amended 2024 budget with previous spending plans was as perplexing as Alan Turing’s early efforts to crack the Enigma Code.

The Charter requires a budget presentation that is transparent, relatively simple, and allows and encourages understanding.  The commissioner’s amended budget format was opaque.  

For example, several “department” expenditure lines under the auspices of the mayor were simply thrown together, co-mingled.  The reviewer was left to divine which line items are part of which of the mayor’s several department budgets: i.e., City Attorney, Planning, Building, Human Resources, etc.  

The same was true for Finance, Accounts, Public Safety, and Public Works.  In the latter two, Public Safety and Public Works, the task of meaningful, comprehensive review of the budgets of discrete functions: i.e., fire services, policing, EMS, etc., required substantial investment in time and enough working knowledge to assign each line item to its respective agency.

In the mayor’s proposed budget, there were at least seven expenditure lines labeled “Professional Services,” but the only way to determine which department each line applied to required a time-consuming, tedious matching of account numbers.

Why finance elected to abandon a budget format that had always been relatively easy to read and understand, in favor of one significantly more difficult to puzzle out, is itself a conundrum. 

The 2024 City Comprehensive Budget would eventually require significant amendments to avoid operating deficits, at the expense of the City’s fund balance.

First and foremost, it included unfavorable budget variances in both major revenue and expenditure accounts.    

That all came on the heels of a 2023 budget that preordained the 2024 proposal’s many overstated anticipated revenues and, in some cases, grossly underfunded expenditure lines.  

Attempting to transfer blame to those who had no hand in the adoption of the 2023 budget or the preparation of the 2024 plan, citing recent high inflation and the dearth of new revenue streams for the city’s fiscal difficulties, rang hollow. 

All local governments are faced with the same headwinds.  It might be more honest to acknowledge that hiring additional non-essential employees was not prudent, that budgeting non-existent revenues and deliberately low-balling major expenditures invites deficit spending.

The following are examples of the unfavorable variances in the 2024 operating budget. 

Revenues

In Finance, $850,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue was proposed for 2024.  This is over $100,000 more than was actually realized in FY 2022 and over $600,000 more than has been received to date in 2023.

The 2023 budget included a non-existent ‘Cannabis Tax’ revenue of $250,000.  The proposed 2024 budget carries that same amount forward.  Potential first-time revenues, such as this one, do not usually meet expectations.  And prematurely including the revenue in the 2023 budget only added to a negative revenue variance

The proposed Mortgage Tax revenue for 2024 was $1.5 million compared to the $933,400 collected to date in 2023.  The $933,400 was far below the $2.05 million budgeted. 

The mayor’s budget was ripe with unfavorable 2024 revenue variances.  The Building Permit account carried a proposed $700,000 revenue even in the face of a major decline in permit revenues in 2023. 

Likewise, Planning Board fees were unrealistically overstated.  Actual 2022 Planning Board revenue was $122,820.  Still, this revenue line was increased to $200,000 in the adopted 2023 budget, but Finance projected it would fall $35,000 short.  

The Public Safety revenue budget included a $300,000 increase in Ambulance Transportation charges over the $2 million projected to be realized by the end of FY-23, and is over $500,000 more than actually collected in 2022.

Parking Enforcement revenue was anticipated to be $462,0000 this in 2023, down almost $80,000 from the $540,000 budgeted and $38,000 less than the $500,000 in the 2024 proposal.  

Operating Expenditures

The operating budget also includes many likely unfavorable variances.  Just as overestimating revenues in the actual 2023 and 2024 budgets contributed to the city’s present fiscal dilemma, so have what appear to be unfavorable variances in the operating budgets.

In the 2023 Public Safety operating budget, the City Council included $190,000 for Fire Fighter Overtime, but finance projected that by the end of the fiscal year, $533,500 would be spent, which was an astronomical increase of $343,500 over the amount budgeted.

Similarly, the Firefighter Compensation Time budget was anticipated to be overspent.  Only $190,000 was earmarked for this line in the 2023 budget but $563,000 was anticipated to be spent by year’s end, a $373.000 overage.

So too is the proposed 2024 Police Overtime and Compensation Time lines grossly underfunded.  Finance proposed to appropriate the rather odd amount of $263,637 for Compensation Time vis-à-vis the $483,570 spent in 2022 and the projected $450,000 in 2023.  The 2024 OT line is set at $325,000, compared with the $507,505 expended in 2022 and the then-estimated $450,000 in 2024.

In the aggregate, Finance is proposing 2024 Police and Fire Fighter OT and Comp Time expenditures totaling $1,338,637, although corresponding 2022 costs were $1,498,271, and projected 2023 expenditures were $1,981,000.

This pattern has only continued in the course of preparing and adopting the 2025 and now the 2026 budgets. I do not envy the challenges faced by the 2026 council.

I have catalogued Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi’s record of arrogance, mismanagement, and recklessness extensively during her four years in office. Yet even I was not prepared for her performance at the December 29, 2025, special end-of-year City Council meeting, her last.

Interestingly, according to the evaluations by her Skidmore students included in the second part of this post, her behavior in the classroom is no better.

Blogger’s Bizarre Exchange With Sanghvi

I attended the December 29, 2025, City Council meeting and spoke during the public comment period. My remarks were in response to comments Commissioner Sanghvi had made to the press regarding her colleagues, Mayor John Safford and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll.

Just as a reminder, here is what Sanghvi said to the Daily Gazette about Mayor Safford in the December 17 edition:

“It was a transparent process. [Safford] voted for it,” Sanghvi said. “And I don’t know what to think about, except that, you know, I have sympathies for cognitive declines with age.”

As for Coll, she told Wendy Liberatore at the Times Union (12/27/25) that his department had excessive overtime expenses, which he needs to get under control, but that “he doesn’t seem to care.” Sanghvi fails to identify which overtime costs she considers excessive and unwarranted.

Here are my remarks and her response.

Sanghvi’s bizarre response.

How can her performance be explained?

One possibility is that her mind automatically shifts into denial when confronted by unflattering revelations. Readers may recall that she recently denied having told Commissioner Coll that “absolutely” the 2026 budget would not include her participatory budgeting program, even though her comment, recorded on video, promised it would be removed.

The other, and more likely, explanation is that she was unwilling to apologize for her indefensible attack on Mayor Safford, so she pretended she had not followed the blogger’s three-minute remarks.

To fully appreciate her behavior at the December 29 meeting, these close-up clips are more revealing.

Overwhelmingly Devastating Evaluations of Minita Sanghvi As Skidmore Professor

There is a website where students can post evaluations of their professors. I have excerpted some of the evaluations of Minita Sanghvi. According to the website, 74 students posted evaluations. For the full evaluation, go to the link above.

Seven (10%) rated her “awesome.”

Six (8%) rated her as “Ok.”

Sixty-one (82%) rated her as “awful.”

I have screenshot the beginning of the evaluations and am including a smattering of other comments from her evaluations.

These are more from the site.

Lacks basic human decency (or empathy for others)

She’s extremely mean and offers zero support.

Extremely pretentious + rude.

It’s very odd to me that she’s still employed. Her utter disregard for the boundaries and feelings of others is truly appalling.

Take this class and you’ll be met with belittling comments, resistance, unnecessary stress, and a negative demeanor that isn’t conducive to learning.

She has a God complex and truly thinks she is better than everyone else. Very strange.

Possibly the most disliked professor at Skidmore and for good reason. She has zero intention of helping others & certainly does not want to see them go onto to be more successful than she is

From the way she treated me, you’d think she was being forced to teach the course for free.

She was extremely rude to our class,

A narcissist who seems to think that only herself (and the people she likes or agrees with) deserve to thrive or even exist in this world.

She really does not like people and shouldn’t be working with them.

She truly takes joy in putting other people down.

She wants more opportunities to put people beneath her so she can feel superior.

There are several attendance policy posts which is funny because she has a horrible attendance record for City Council meetings. For instance:

Her obsession with attendance and not being even a minute late is odd and speak to her controlling personality.

These are only back to March 2025. I skipped some negative ones.

She holds very clear hostility towards women who don’t agree with her viewpoints

Her unkind demeanor and lack of basic social skills was off-putting

She isn’t very kind

Minita Sanghvi acted extremely smug throughout the entire course

So terrible it’s almost funny. It’s abundantly obvious at this point that Skidmore keeps her around for reasons other than teaching abilities or people skills.

I haven’t met even one person who felt comfortable around her.

Minita is an unethical personal all-around.

she struck me as quite the terrible human being

Has an inflated sense of ego

she’s blatantly rude

basic interactions with this teacher will quickly reveal her inflated sense of self-importance

Minita is horrible. She is super liberal and tries to make people fail

Given the abundance of these very telling reviews for Prof. Sanghvi, it is clear that staff disciplinary action should have been taken against her within Skidmore long ago

Incredibly insensitive, controlling, and judgmental.

Professor Sanghvi was overtly condescending and dismissive

When 18-year old students are acting with more compassion and maturity than the professor, you know there’s a problem.

Poor communicator and very intense which can make a lot of people feel uncomfortable. She’s narcissistic with a God Complex

The New York Coalition for Open Government, a highly respected not-for-profit group that advocates for better transparency in government, has issued awards at its annual meeting. In the case of Saratoga Springs, we received two awards. Both were well deserved.

These awards would, under normal circumstances, be an enormous embarrassment to the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee, which has uncritically promoted Moran and has been disturbingly silent about the events that prompted the awards. It is yet another confirmation of how oblivious the Committee is to the profound importance of the New York State Open Meetings Law and the best traditions of democracy.

Press Release

Mike Brandi Honored on New York Coalition for Open Government’s Annual “Nice List” for Leadership in Government Transparency

Saratoga Springs, NY — Mike Brandi has been honored with inclusion on the New York Coalition for Open Government’s annual “Nice List,” recognizing individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a strong commitment to transparency and open government across New York State.

The New York Coalition for Open Government is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting open, honest, and accountable government at all levels throughout New York State. At a press conference held today, the Coalition announced its annual “Naughty and Nice List,” which highlights individuals who have either advanced—or undermined—the principles of open government over the past year.

Brandi was recognized for his role in exposing and pursuing unlawful conduct that obstructed public access to government records. His actions were central to bringing to light the conduct of outgoing Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran, who issued multiple false certifications in an effort to conceal public records maintained on his personal email account and social media.

In a landmark case, the Saratoga Springs City Court found Moran guilty after trial on three counts of unlawful obstruction of public access to records. As a result of that conduct, Moran was one of ten individuals statewide named to the New York Coalition for Open Government’s “Naughty List” for acting against the public’s right to know and unlawfully obstructing transparency.

“Open government laws only matter if they are enforced,” Brandi said. “This recognition underscores the importance of holding public officials accountable when they attempt to hide public records or evade transparency requirements.”

Under Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi, the city has continually run deficits with no apparent concern from the Commissioner or warning to the Council until this October, when the hole she had been digging for her four years in office could no longer be hidden.

The city’s 2024 financial audit revealed even more weaknesses in Sanghvi’s management of the city’s finances. What is particularly embarrassing is that some of the “exceptions” (mismanaged items) that were cited in the 2023 audit were never corrected. The 2024 audit should have been available to the public no later than November 1, according to the city’s charter. As these criticisms would have been quite damaging had they been revealed before she was elected Supervisor, it was convenient for Sanghvi that she missed the required date and only showed the public the audit after the election.

In addition, her 2026 budget continues her pattern of overestimating revenues and underestimating expenses to create the illusion of a balanced budget.

Her promotion of “Participatory Budgeting” (PB) in the face of these deficits is also problematic. These budget items result from individuals and groups submitting funding proposals. As the excerpts later in this post show, she initially claimed that, to produce a “realistic” budget, she had eliminated Participatory Budgeting along with her other cuts.

As it turns out, she reneged on this promise.

Laudable as the projects proposed for funding are, it is a legitimate question to ask: in light of the city’s other needs and the documented problems with her previous budgets, how confident can we be that the financial condition of the city can support the critical programs of the city, let alone participatory budgeting projects? It is interesting how focused Sanghvi is on PB and how oblivious she appears to be regarding the intricate details that comprise the rest of the city budget.

An Utter Failure To Control Costs During Sanghvi’s Tenure As Commissioner Places the City’s Finances On Edge

In October, Commissioner Sanghvi announced that the city was financially in a hole. She called for draconian cuts, yet she dismissed raising taxes above the 2% cap set by the state to address the shortfall.

As reported previously on this blog, this involved zeroing out funds for the homeless, the senior citizens’ center, and the money to pay crossing guards to protect schoolchildren, among other items. Only after Mayor Safford, Public Works Commissioner Chuck Marshall, and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll pushed back and insisted on raising more taxes to support these programs did Sanghvi agree to restore the non-profit funding.

This shocking revelation should be no surprise in hindsight. In fact, Sanghvi has been running deficits for years without any apparent concern that would have required her to deliver stern warnings to her colleagues on the Council about the need to restrain spending or raise taxes.

As just one example, readers may recall that this blogger expressed alarm about accepting a grant to pay for 16 firefighters for 3 years, which would require the city to maintain these positions for another 2 years.

Making matters worse, former Mayor Ron Kim negotiated a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the firefighters’ union that requires the city to continue paying these firefighters in perpetuity, as the MOU commits the city to maintain four-person crews on engines. Kim had been urged by the city’s labor lawyer to include a sunset clause, but Kim ignored this warning, and the then-sitting Council, including Sanghvi, approved the agreement.

The cost of these additional firefighters to the city is well over $1.5 million a year. Here is a link to an earlier published blog piece.

There is a strong argument that, for safety reasons, having four fighters on a truck is a good policy. On the other hand, the cost for this is onerous. The cities of Troy and Schenectady use three on a truck because of the enormous expense. Michele Madigan, who preceded Sanghvi as Finance Commissioner, strongly supported the smaller crews given the cost.

Sanghvi ignored these concerns and, as Finance Commissioner, helped pass the MOU. Sanghvi assured her colleagues and the public that she could set aside sufficient funds to handle this. This was the kind of magical thinking that has marked her terms as Commissioner.

Sanghvi’s Unenviable Legacy Of Deficit Spending:

For The Year Ending December 31, 2023, The City Ran A Deficit Of $3,501,005.00

For The Year Ending December 31, 2024, The City Ran A Deficit Of $1,732,851.00.

For The Current Year (2025), Sanghvi Estimated The Deficit Will Be Approximately $3,500,000.00

Sanghvi continues to overspend. This number will not be final until the books are closed, but one of Sanghvi’s emails projected a loss of $3,500,000.00 that will have to be covered by the city’s dwindling reserves.

Sanghvi Overestimates City’s Financial Reserves

As Sanghvi has been continually dipping into the city’s reserves to cover the deficits she has been running, it is particularly concerning that the auditors have warned that Sanghvi overestimated the unassigned fund balance (reserves) at the end of 2024 by $1,000,000.00.

This year is not over. The exact numbers will not be available until the books are closed and the 2025 audit is completed.

The Participatory Budgeting Conundrum

In light of the city’s emerging financial difficulties, Sanghvi’s zealous advocacy for participatory budgeting reflects the arbitrariness of her decisions.

In this clip from the November 14, 2024, budget workshop, Sanghvi assures Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll that, in light of the city’s fiscal problems, she is removing the funding for Participatory Budgeting.

Sanghvi’s attempt to spin away from her earlier commitment.

I am sympathetic to the ideas put forward by the community for Participatory Budgeting.

The problem is that, given Commissioner Sanghvi’s record of arbitrary decisions and her unwillingness to be granular in analyzing and prioritizing the city’s finances, I have no confidence in her 2026 budget. Only after the auditors have met publicly with this year’s or next year’s incoming Council to discuss the city’s finances and after incoming Commissioner of Finance JoAnne Kiernan, who has worked as a certified public accountant, has been able to go through the books, should the city decide on the viability of continuing Sanghvi’s PB program.

The Auditor’s Report For 2024

This is the complete audit.

This is an excerpt from the auditor’s findings, which include two items identified in 2023 that remain unresolved a year later.

These are Sanghvi’s assurances that they will be fixed. Note that some of them project the fix date as 12/31/2026, meaning it will be her successor who will have to clean up her mess.