[JK: With 17 candidates running for City Council positions on nine party lines, the non-partisan group One Saratoga decided to develop a candidate questionnaire to try to help voters sort through the myriad choices voters have this year. Here is a release from One Saratoga explaining where to find out what the candidates who responded (only one candidate on the Democratic line responded, all Republicans and independents responded) to their questionnaire think about taxes, police, homelessness and more.]
One Saratoga is a non-partisan coalition of local residents that seeks to have the best qualified people governing Saratoga Springs regardless of partisan affiliations. They came together in 2019 out of concern for the City’s well-being. They include committed people who keep close tabs on our City’s governance and are willing to devote effort to this project. Their watchword is, “City before party,” they seek to unite the community, avert partisan rancor and extremism, and encourage serious candidates for public service.
One Saratoga decided not to endorse candidates for this local election season but has instead chosen to be a candidate informational resource.
Courtney DeLeonardis, Chair, of One Saratoga said, “With so many third-party lines and numerous candidates for each of the positions, we felt it would be most helpful to provide community members with accurate information on where the candidates stand on important issues that affect Saratogians.”
One Saratoga has been using its Facebook page and Webpage to share responses to a questionnaire sent to Saratoga Springs City Council Candidates. The questionnaire focused on seven core issues facing the city. The issues chosen reflected input One Saratoga solicited from Saratogians across the political spectrum.
One Saratoga received a total of ten responses from the candidates who are running for City Council.
A hard copy of the questionnaire was sent to every candidate in the mail, an electronic copy was emailed to each candidate, as well as to the city Democratic and Republican Chairs. Reminder emails were also sent to the city candidates.
Unfortunately, One Saratoga received no responses from four of the endorsed Democratic Candidates or four out of five of the Working Families Party candidates.
Candidates who DID NOT complete the Questionnaire
Democratic Party : Working Families Party:
Ronald Kim-Mayor Maxwell Rosenbaum-Mayor
Minita Sanghvi-Finance Sierra Hunt-Finance
James Montagnino-Public Safety Donald Reeder-Public Works
Dillon Moran-Accounts David Labate-Public Safety
One Saratoga has been sharing responses from candidates who participated in the questionnaire since September and will continue to do so up until the election on November 2. They release answers to questions focusing on a different core issue each week.
To find out more about One Saratoga and to see the questionnaire results, go to One Saratoga’s Facebook page at- facebook.com/RealOneSaratoga or go to their website at- https://realonesaratoga.org/
Saratoga Springs Politics 