In a press release dated July 17, Courtney DeLeonardis (Chair) along with Ellen Kiehl (1st Vice Chair), Jeffery Partridge (Second Vice Chair) Kathleen Wilson (3rd Vice Chair), and Joanna Zangrando (Secretary) announced that they are resigning from their offices and they are resigning from the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee.
Here is their press release:
CONTACT:Kathy Gorman, Public Relations Chair
Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee
518-577-8011
Saratoga Springs, NY, July 17, 2019 – Five members of leadership for the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee today announced they are stepping down from their positions and resigning from the Committee. Leaving are: Courtney DeLeonardis, chair; Ellen Kiehl, 1st vice chair; Jeffrey Partridge, 2nd vice chair; Kathleen Wilson, 3rd vice chair and Joanna Zangrando, secretary.
Speaking for the Executive Committee members who are leaving, DeLeonardis said:
“It is with regret that I announce my resignation and that of four additional Executive Committee members, effective immediately. We believe the time is right to give the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee a chance to have a new leadership team who will support the Democratic nominee for Commissioner of Finance, in accord with the outcome of the recent primary election. It has been our honor and privilege to represent our respective election districts and to bring our best efforts to the challenge of leading the SSDC and serving all Democrats in our City. To this end, we commit to be mindful of the Committee’s needs going forward and leave its affairs in good order, including a substantial treasury balance.”
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Saratoga Springs Politics 
Protesting the results of a legitimate primary. Now we know what the local Democratic Party leadership is really about.
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Is it not possible for an actual vote to be legally legitimate while at the same time be judged to have been nasty, underhanded and unethical (if not in a legal sense then at least per someone’s values). I’m thinking there is much more to this than just this election. If one looks back, Ms. Morrison was asked to resign from the Dem Committee when she chose to primary the endorsed candidate. While not legally required, it has been standard to commit to supporting the (voted on) endorsed candidate. Ms. Morrison and her group of “supporters” (those using her for their own agenda) decided not to do this. (When I was on the committee and didn’t find myself able to do so, I voluntarily resigned as I believe in doing what is right more than being right) So, now that the shoe is on the other foot – they are crying. Hypocritical much?
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Oompa loompa doompety doo…
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Good for them
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The Democratic Party should be happy that this executive committee has resigned. Morrison should now be the endorsed candidate for the Democrats, she is the only candidate for Finance Commissioner that will occupy that line. Madigan will be an endorsed Independence candidate so why should she be supported by Democrats? She lost the primary plain and simple.
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Nothing is quite as plain and simple as you put it. There has been a issue since long before the primary as I explained above. Since Ms. Morrison not only would not support the endorsed candidate, she chose to (along with several others) come out against her. That alone should have disqualified her and the others from remaining on committee. Yes, she had every right to oppose but from a position other than as a committee member. This is only the tip of the conflicts that have been initiated by those behind getting her to run. They are vile and angry people who are attempting a power grab for the sake of their egos and not as far as I can tell because they give a darn about what is best for the city of the Democratic party. If you are not one of them then you need to learn more about the before defending them. If you’re one of them – then…well what can I say? nothing nice so I’ll be quite now.
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As for plain and simple Nigel, I’ll give you plain. There should be no question in anyone’s calculations, that the challenger in the Commissioner of Finance primary, won her seat by ½ of 1 percent or .5% of the city’s Registered Democrats, since only 22% of them voted that day in June including the absentee ballots. A proverbial squeeker and certainly not overwhelming mandate by the Democratic electorate.
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But she won. It’s not complicated. Some people need to get over it and move on.
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Marcelline (what an interesting name), when one wins a primary by 1/2 of 1% of only the Registered Democrats, that leaves a huge window of opportunities and scenarios before Election Day. Everyone is past the Primary and moving forward to November. I suppose 1/2 is better than 1/4, but not by much. As for complicated? It really isn’t.
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Members of the City Democratic Committee are obliged to support the candidates who will represent the Party in the November elections. These members of the executive committee have worked very hard for the party in the past and must have felt badly about having to make this decision. I think that they demonstrated a high level of integrity and I hope that they will eventually return to the committee.
Chris Mathiesen
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Or Marcelline – We don’t need to get over it and continue to do what WE think is the best for the city. And, I don’t tend to “get over” disrespectful, nasty and ignorant behavior and will choose to work against having such a person serving on our city council and am very disappointed in someone who simply chooses to think she and hers are above doing what is right.
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I received an e-mail with a post by John that now seems to have disappeared. I’m not sure where it went yet there was one statement that hit home – not in the way Ms. Morrison and her minions will appreciate but so very appropriate. He stated:
“But the resignations showed a certain degree of integrity : the right thing to do systemically is to accept the will of the party’s primary voters, which is in motion. But the resulting candidate from that process is not the one certain folks support and can get behind, personally, however. Hence the perceived need to step aside and let others that are more aligned to her step in and join the effort with full support.”
It is unfortunate that Ms. Morrison and all those that supported her – including Mr. Hicks – didn’t have the same level of integrity when they decided not only could they not support the endorsed candidate for Finance Commissioner, they choose to challenge her to a primary. When they made that decision the right thing to do would have been to resign and take their opposition outside of the committee (as the endorsement was the result of a vote within the committee). So, now they want the committee to respect the primary where Mr. Morrison one by a very small percentage in a very small sampling of the registered Democrats in this city.
I smell hypocrisy!
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