Michele Madigan Doubles Down with False Attacks on One Saratoga

Saratoga Springs mayoral candidate Michele Madigan’s recent Facebook post is the latest chapter in this year’s Democratic playbook, whose theme is to falsely convince voters that One Saratoga is a front for Elise Stefanik. Or as Michele puts it, “Real One Saratoga=Maga Machine.” This, despite the fact that the city’s Democratic Committee endorsed two of the candidates running on the One Saratoga line. But don’t confuse her with the facts.

Here is Madigan’s rant:

From Michele Madigan’s Facebook Page

Lies and Disinformation

It’s hard to know where to begin. I have been following city politics for decades and have never seen this level of disinformation from a candidate of either party before. Here is some fact-checking:

Falsehood #1: City and County GOP Are Funding One Saratoga

At the bottom of this post is the financial report filed by One Saratoga with the New York State Board of Elections this year. There are no records of contributions by the city or county Republican Committees to One Saratoga.

Falsehood#2: One Saratoga spent $4,000+ on GOP mailings.

Again, Madigan seems to be just making this up. There is no record of this. See One Saratoga’s financial report filed with the New York State Board of Elections (below). Madigan also mysteriously points to One Saratoga running ads in “Republican-friendly outlets,” which she doesn’t name.

Falsehood #3: Richard and Bonnie Sellers Are “GOP Mega Donors” Who Are Underwriting One Saratoga and Engaged in Money Laundering!

(To be fair, Michele did not include the money laundering thing in her rant. That was included in a letter sent by Democratic chair Otis Maxwell to the NY State Board of Elections. But more about that later.)

Here is Richard Seller’s reply:

My wife and myself have been criticized for following Board of Election regulations and contributing to One Saratoga and the candidates it supports, which obviously has the best slate of candidates for Saratoga Springs.

The underhanded nature of this criticism is one of the reasons I recently sent a letter to editors which included: “I don’t care if my elected officials are Republicans, Democrats, or Martians. But I do care if they show up, do the work and treat each other (and us) with basic respect” which obviously is not practiced by the City Democratic Committee, which again is sending slimy communications.

By continuing to throw around the word MAGA, a national term, in a local election, the City Democratic Party embarrassingly mischaracterizes our contributions to One Saratoga and the candidates on its line. It also reveals a lack of a Democratic platform this election to run on against superior people.

Here are the facts:

1. We’ve been involved supporting local candidates for 15 or more years and have always closely followed the Board of Election rules. Therefore, we wrote multiple checks to be sure that no candidate received more support than is allowed, $1,000, including the funds given to One Saratoga.
2. These were written early in the campaign which by BoE rules are public, which we were aware of. Therefore, the only confusion is by the City Democratic Party for either not knowing how election funding is regulated and publicized or ignoring this to attempt to smear One Saratoga supporters.
3. We are not as accused, a “front organization.” All money came from our checking accounts with no reimbursement from anyone. In past campaigns, we have given almost as much several times, which the writers are aware of.
4. My wife is a Republican and I am what’s termed a No Party, neither a Democrat nor Republican. In fact, over the years, we’ve each voted for local candidates for both parties many times.
5. A complaint was that these checks were written in one day. I’m asking, why is this a problem?
6. Michelle Madigan just jumped on social media to inaccurately call us a GOP mega doner although we’ve contributed a total of $100 to the Republican party since 2007. Just more mud.

I hope that voters will realize that any party which slings unfounded accusations and makes up conspiracies does not deserve their vote.

Finally, we are supporting 3 registered Democrats, 3 registered Republicans, and 1 No Party. In fact, two of these candidates will also be on the Democratic line: Tim Coll and Sarah Burger. To restore civility and professionalism in City Hall, please vote for One Saratoga candidates.

Disinformation and Distortions

In addition to out-and-out lies, Madigan includes information that she suggests is somehow evidence of some nefarious activities on the part of One Saratoga.

For instance, Madigan wants us to think it is somehow significant that Republicans Chuck Marshall, John Safford, and George Ehinger contributed to One Saratoga. But they are all One Saratoga endorsed candidates. One Saratoga asked all of its candidates to contribute to the organization to help fund the campaign. Both the Republican and Democratic Committees have also requested similar contributions from their candidates. What Madigan omits is the inconvenient truth that all the One Saratoga candidates contributed, including the Democrats One Saratoga has endorsed. But that would not fit her narrative.

Heidi Owens-West Attacked

Madigan also points to a contribution to One Saratoga by Heidi Owen-West as evidence that “One Saratoga is Elise Stefanik’s Trojan Horse for MAGA politics in Saratoga Springs.”

Heidi was the endorsed Republican candidate for Mayor several years ago, but Ms. Owen-West is not a registered Republican. She is not registered with any party. In a release, Democratic chair Otis Maxwell gave to the media, he included speculation that there was some sort of problem (never clear) about Owen-West’s contribution to One Saratoga that Madigan highlights on her Facebook Page. There was no problem. Here was her response to the allegations.

It has come to my attention that a recent communication [JK: Maxwell’s release to the media] contained inaccurate and misleading information regarding my campaign committee filings. I feel it’s important to set the record straight.

 I have always been an independent voice in this community—someone who supports candidates based on their ability to make the best choices for Saratoga Springs, its residents, and its small businesses. I was born and raised here, raised my family here, and have run businesses here for nearly four decades. My commitment has always been, and remains, to this city—not to partisan politics.

Second, regarding campaign finance filings: my committee, Heidi for Mayor, has always filed reports accurately and on time. The October filing was due on October 3rd and was submitted on that date. The $1,000 contribution to Chuck Marshall’s special election campaign and the $900 contribution to One Saratoga were made using funds from previous campaign donations. Those donations, along with the original contributions, were properly reported and filed with the Board of Elections. Any suggestion otherwise is false and misleading.

Our community deserves truth, accountability, and respect—not false narratives and divisive attacks. Saratoga Springs is stronger when we work together, not when misinformation is used as a political weapon.

—Heidi Owen West

Maxwell, Boyd, and Kuczynski File False Claims with NYS Board of Elections

Madigan’s screed on Facebook follows and amplifies claims made by Saratoga Springs Democratic chair Otis Maxwell and committee member Gordon Boyd to the New York State Board of Elections recently.

In their letter to the Board of Elections, they claim that the Real One Saratoga appears to be hiding the identity of donors. Their accusation is based solely on the fact that Bonnie and Richard Sellers wrote several separate checks to One Saratoga, all on the same day. As Richard Sellers points out in his earlier reply to this post, this was the legal way to contribute to multiple candidates, something that Maxwell and Boyd likely knew or should have known before they wrote their letter. I would also note that if the Sellers were seriously involved in money laundering, it is unlikely that they would call attention to themselves by writing numerous checks at the same time. The letter to the Board of Elections was, of course, accompanied by a press release (see below) sent to all local media outlets, no doubt in the hope that they could secure some coverage, despite the lack of validity in their claims.

The Big Lie

Finally, One Saratoga is clearly not “Elise Stefanik’s Trojan Horse for MAGA politics in Saratoga Springs” as Ms Madigan claims repeatedly in her statement. Such dishonesty reflects the Dillon Cult’s (Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee) fear that people will vote based on the quality of the candidates, rather than their party affiliation, and that the Democrats will lose this election despite their substantial enrollment advantage.

What One Saratoga truly is is a group that abhors the kind of politics that Maxwell’s, Boyd’s, Kuczynski’s, and Ms. Madigan’s attacks represent. It focuses on local politics around which people of all political persuasions can agree upon to protect our beautiful city. Thus, what Madigan ignores is that One Saratoga has received numerous donations from Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike, as they are truly a bipartisan group.

It has endorsed seven candidates for the November election. Three are Republicans, three are Democrats, and one is not registered in any party. In fact, two of the One Saratoga endorsed candidates are also endorsed by the Democratic Party. How can this slate possibly be MAGA?

There is also an amazing level of hypocrisy demonstrated by Madigan, Maxwell, and the rest of the Dillon Cult (AKA Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee). At their annual fundraiser only a couple of months ago, Michele Madigan presented their Starbucks award to Matt Veitch. Matt is the long-serving representative of the city on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. He is also a registered Republican.

The Dillon cult wants this year’s race to serve as a referendum on what is happening in Washington. They shrilly denounce One Saratoga for including three Republicans among their seven endorsed candidates. According to the Dillon Cult, if One Saratoga supports a Republican for office, then they are adherents to the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and want to overthrow our democracy. The fact that none of the Republicans endorsed by One Saratoga supports the narrative that Biden stole the election, nor do they condone the violence on January 6, means nothing to the Dillon Cult. When it suits their cause, they honor Republicans like Matt, but when they want to sow fear, they condemn One Saratoga for daring to endorse three local Republicans who One Saratoga believes will do the best job for the city.

Report To the New York State Board of Elections By Real One Saratoga

Letter Sent By Otis Maxwell, Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee, To Area Media

From: Otis Maxwell <otis.maxwell@saratogadems.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 2, 2025 4:31 PM
To: Aaron Shellow-Lavine <alavine@wamc.org>
Subject: Has One Saratoga (OS) become a Money Laundering operation for MAGA?

Aaron,

Attached is a letter we submitted this week to the New York State Board of Elections Enforcement Counsel questioning suspect donations made by two Saratoga Springs residents to the One Saratoga campaign. 

We are concerned that One Saratoga is being used as a MAGA front organization, hiding the real donors, washing money through candidates’ campaign coffers, and standing ready to do the bidding of the big developers when it comes to planning, zoning and building activity. The activities described in the letter are one concern, but there are others.

On August 13, Bonita and Richard Sellers wrote 14 checks to OS from their own accounts, and on September 10, Richard Sellers donated an additional $100 in cash.  The total donations from the Sellers adds to $6,400.  They had previously given $500 each to the campaigns of Republicans Chuck Marshall (Commissioner of Public Works) and George Ehinger (Supervisor).

Our question is “why so many checks from one couple on one day to one campaign?”  Are they trying to hide the true source of the funds?  We have asked the BOE to investigate, and to take any appropriate legal action, which could include ordering One Saratoga to disgorge the funds.

In addition to the possible breach of campaign financial law by One Saratoga, MAGA’s influence over OS is evident in other ways:

• Rep. Elise Stefanik donated $1,000 on May 17 to the OS candidate for Public Works, Republican Chuck Marshall, who then passed $500 on to Jess Troisi, OS’s Accounts Commissioner candidate on July 8. It is worth noting that the DPW Commissioner controls the City Engineer’s permitting office for new developments, while the Accounts Commissioner controls property assessments, i.e. taxes that big developers would pay. 

• The OS candidate for County Supervisor, George Ehinger, has paid more than $2,800 to Stefanik’s PAC, Save New York Now, which has a Wilton address. It seems reasonable to ask what Ehinger is paying her PAC to do for him, while Marshall has taken $1,000 from Stefanik.   

• (Footnote: Stefanik’s Save New York Now website Join our fight to Save New York! boasts of her “flipping the city of Saratoga Springs, a longtime Democrat stronghold, to Republican control. Her fundraising efforts and her political team are critical to numerous victories for Republicans across New York.”)

• Heidi Owen West’s committee, Heidi For Mayor, has donated $900 to One Saratoga but has failed to file her committee’s report with the Board of Elections, as of October 2.  Her committee’s previous report in July reported “no activity,” so it is reasonable to ask what was the source of funds she used to make such a substantial donation to One Saratoga.   Her January 15 report showed her $1,000 donation to Marshall’s Special Election campaign, but showed no donations so that voters could determine where the money came from.

One Saratoga has a worthy tradition extolling “city before party,” but it has been usurped by MAGA.  The voters of Saratoga Springs expect and deserve transparency from their candidates and the campaigns, and the actions above are anything but. 

Our letter to the NYSBOE is self-explanatory.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me by email or by phone or text to 415-515-8240.

Thanks,

Otis Maxwell, Chair

Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee–

Hank Kuczynski
Kuczynski Associates
153 Spring Street
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866
518-376-1298