Commissioners Moran and Kuczynski Attempt To Cancel Special Election

Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran has been engaged in a mad campaign of conflicting statements and resolutions to find a way to bail out the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee’s failure to place a candidate on the January 28, 2025, special election ballot. With every ploy failing, at the November 6, 2024, City Council meeting, Moran and newly appointed Public Works Commissioner Hank Kuczynski, a Democrat, falsely contended they had the right to cancel the election so that Kuczynski could serve the entire rest of Golub’s term to the end of 2025.

Video From The November 6 Meeting

The Key Points

• Moran attempts to gaslight the community by blaming Joe Suhrada, the Republican Commissioner of the Saratoga County Board of Elections, for blocking the special election when he knows that Suhrada has agreed to the election, and worse, that Cassie Bagramian, the Democratic Commissioner, is now blocking the special election.
• Having claimed that she had the authority to block the city’s special election, Bagramian could not cite any statute or legal precedent to substantiate her claim.
• At the pre-agenda meeting, Moran claimed he could retroactively alter the election calendar so that the Democratic Committee could get their candidate on the special election ballot.
• The City Attorneys issued an opinion that the city, having voted to issue the required proclamation crafted by Moran, could not alter or cancel the election.
• Despite the City Attorney’s opinion that the special election must proceed, Moran announced that there would be no special election, and he and Kuczynski declared that Kuczynski would serve Golub’s full remaining term as Commissioner of Public Works.

The Dubious Maneuvering At The County Board of Elections

At the November 6, 2024, City Council meeting, Moran elaborated at length on the fact that the County Board of Elections’ Republican Commissioner had blocked the city’s special election.

It is true that Republican Commissioner Joe Suhrada initially opposed allowing the special election, but he subsequently announced his support for it after receiving a letter from the Attorney General that he said addressed his concerns. Omitted from Moran’s rant, was that Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner Cassie Bagramian then asserted that unless the city changed the election calendar to accommodate a Democrat on the ballot, she would not allow the special election to proceed (see email below)! Apparently, Moran thought that no one would notice.

Bagramian’s Overreach

The Saratoga County Board of Elections does not have the authority to decide whether or not an election should proceed. This blogger has researched the issue, and no statutes or legal precedents grant this authority.

I emailed Democratic Commissioner Bagramian several times, asking her to provide the legal basis for her claim of authority. While she wrote back to me, she failed to acknowledge that there was even a question about her authority, let alone provide documentation.

Moran’s False Claim That He Could Change The Election Calendar To Get A Democrat On The Ballot

At the pre-agenda meeting on November 4, 2024, Moran presented the other Council members with a revised special election calendar. The new dates would allow the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee to place their candidate on the ballot. He advised his colleagues that he would submit the new calendar for a vote at the November 6, 2024, Council meeting.

The City Attorneys’ Opinion Blows Moran’s Revised Calendar Out Of The Water

Unfortunately for Moran, City Attorneys David Harper and Tony Izzo issued an opinion that the special election, having been properly “proclaimed” (Moran himself had drafted it), could not be modified or canceled. As documented in the video, Moran, who is not an attorney, damned the opinion as “intellectually dishonest.”

Moran and Kuczynski Assert That There Will Be No Special Election and That Kuczynski Will Serve Out The Commissioner of Public Works Term

As noted above, neither the County Board of Elections nor the City Council can alter an officially proclaimed election.

Putting aside the City Attorneys’ opinion, it is worth noting that the City Charter states that the Council can appoint a person to fill a vacancy only “until the end of the official year in which said vacancy occurs”[Sec. 2.4] So, even according to the charter, neither Moran nor Kuczynski had the authority to announce that Kuczynski could serve the entire term. According to my calendar, the year will end in less than two months, and the term runs through all of 2025.

It Won’t Work

Moran’s and Kuczynski’s arrogance and hubris in thinking that they can cancel the special election and then simply announce that Kuczynski will stay on the Council till the end of 2025 are stunning. Apparently, they are operating in a bubble that confuses what they want with what is legal.