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According to the November 3, 2021, Times Union, the leadership of the Black Lives Matter group is “ecstatic” over the success of the Democratic candidates in the November city election.

A Grand Jury?

To their credit, they have successfully put the investigation into the death of Daryll Mount into play some eight years following the incident in which he sustained an injury that led to his death. Both James Montagnino, elected as Commissioner of Public Safety, and Ron Kim, elected as Mayor, have publicly committed to calling for Karen Heggen, the Saratoga County District Attorney, to convene a grand jury to investigate Mount’s death.

It is undeniable that the leaders of BLM’s dogged campaign to have the case reinvestigated has had an impact.

Of course, the District Attorney, Karen Heggen, can ignore all this.

Maybe we will finally find out why she apparently ignored the referrals from the New York State Attorney General to review Mount’s injury and death back in 2013.

An Unstable Alliance

An alliance based on a shared enemy is notoriously unstable.

Lexis Figuereo, Alexus Brown, and Samira Sangare attended the election-eve gathering of the Democrats and cheered the results.

The Democratic candidates had successfully gained their support during the campaigns.

A careful analysis of the Democrats they supported suggests that the honeymoon between these people may not last very long.

The following is from the November 3, 2021 article in the Foothills Business Daily:

Montagnino expects to draft a report ready for his first day as commissioner. In it, he plans to outline both what happened and what the various legal concerns may be. He admitted, that he will let people draw their own conclusions on who or what caused the death [JK:My emphasis], but he believes a full report is needed for a community discussion.

Foothills Business Daily

Mr. Figuereo, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Sangare have made it crystal clear that as far as they are concerned, the police murdered Darryl Mount. How will they respond to a report by Mr. Montagnino if it fails to support their claim?

In another article, Mr. Montagnino floated that the composition of the police review board may be based on a pool of potential members similar to the selection from a jury pool.

I anticipate that Mr. Figuereo, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Sangare expect that activists such as themselves should be appointed to the civilian review board.

How will they respond if the method for selecting members of the board frustrates their expectations?

I find the BLM alliance with mayor-elect Ron Kim especially odd. In their fervor to defeat Republican Heidi Owen West, they have chosen to ignore the significance of the fact that Ron Kim served as Commissioner of Public Safety for two terms. Conspicuously absent during his tenure was any public discussion of issues of racism or misconduct in the police department.

Is it really plausible that somehow the police department was free of racism and excessive force during his terms but that somehow three years later under his successor, Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen, the department descended into bigotry and violence?

Overall it is clear that the leadership of BLM credits themselves for being a major factor in the success of the Democrats. That belief has led them to have high expectations about what they deserve from the new administration.

Mr. Figuereo told WAMC radio, “We are definitely looking for reciprocation, for sure. One hand washes the other.”

In the same article, Mr. Figuereo speculated that with the new commissioners that jobs might open up for members of his group.

He told WAMC, “There’s a lot of different positions that are going to be available. We would like them to be opened up to everybody, not just the normal people – Caucasians – of our community.”

It remains to be seen what will happen should the new City Council not meet BLM’s expectations.

It is hard to believe, given the bitter denunciation of the Saratoga Springs Police Department at the BLM demonstrations as being white supremacist murderers, that the recently elected candidates will not also eventually find themselves the targets of BLM’s anger.

[JK: I will be writing in more detail regarding the November election in a later post.]

How Candidates Campaign Tells Us A Lot About How They Will Govern

I simply do not know how to run a more negative campaign than to accuse your opponents of being a threat to democracy as the city’s Democratic Committee did in this year’s city elections. Their mailers included images from the January 6 events in D.C. alleging that the Republican endorsed candidates for city offices were somehow complicit in these events. This is in spite of the fact that the Republican endorsed candidates had gone on record deploring this event. Surely Pat Tuz, the chair of the city’s Democratic Committee was fully aware of this. Ms. Tuz is too sophisticated to believe in this kind of myth promoted by her candidates’ campaign, but apparently, concerns of fairness and accuracy simply gave way to a disturbing ruthlessness. Concern over the damage to the fabric of our community was jettisoned in the interest of winning at all costs.

How are these hyper attacks different from the allegations made by the supporters of Donald Trump that the Presidential election was stolen? How can the Democrats answer the argument that they have made up stories that are simply not true?

A Brilliant Strategy On The Road To Hell

The way candidates campaign tells us a lot about how they will govern. If they will flagrantly misrepresent the truth in their campaigns, it is likely that they will use similar tactics when they sit at the city council table. It also reflects how they will deal with others who may disagree with them. I hope I am wrong, but Saratogians should prepare themselves for some very ugly behavior come January at the Council table.

It’s Just Politics?

I know that partisans on both sides will just dismiss this kind of behavior as “just politics.” My problem is that these are the same people who deplore the fraying of the fabric of our civil society. Those who dismiss this kind of over-the-top campaigning might want to think about their own role in the decline of our institutions.

Aren’t we better than this?

Let me finish this post with a quote from a November 7 feature from Spectrum News 1:

Kim says there are a number of other challenges he plans to face, like infrustructure, but unifying the Spa City Tops the list.

Spectrum News

I hope the irony of calling for unity after gratuitously characterizing their opponents as anti-democratic insurrectionists is not lost on the readers of this blog. In the magical world of Mr. Kim and Ms. Tuz, bitterly marginalizing people has no consequences. The reality is that rather than strengthening and protecting democracy, their strategy can only serve to further weaken it.

The office of the District Attorney is a powerful one. As will be discussed below, complaints by citizens over the death of Daryll Mount were sent to the New York State Attorney General who in turn referred them to the DA back in 2013. The DA has the power even today to select from a number of options to see that an independent review is carried out. Instead, it appears that the referrals by the Attorney General fell into a black hole.

Several weeks ago Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton was kind enough to provide me with the documents below. They represent the 2013 correspondence from the then-Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, to the Saratoga County District Attorney’s office.

According to the documents the Attorney General received quite a number of complaints regarding the Saratoga Springs Police Department. Many of these complaints related to the Darryl Mount incident. As the readers of this blog know, Mr. Mount was mortally hurt following a police chase in Saratoga Springs in the fall of 2013.

The Attorney General referred all of these complaints to James Murphy III. Mr. Murphy had been the Saratoga District Attorney for decades. However, at the time these referrals were made, Mr. Murphy had left the DA’s office and become a New York State judge.

Karen Heggen had been Judge Murphy’s assistant at the District Attorney’s office and with his leaving she became “acting” DA. She subsequently was elected District Attorney and is currently serving in this office. She would have been responsible for addressing the referrals made to her office by the Attorney General.

Each complaint had an accompanying cover letter. The letter requested that the DA’s office take “…whatever action you deem appropriate.”

What If Anything Did The District Attorney Do In Response To the Attorney General’s Referrals?

I was interested in learning if there had been any effort by any public institution to initiate an independent investigation of the Darryl Mount case. To that end, I FOILed the city with the following request:

“This FOIL is to request all correspondence between the city and other public institutions requesting that an independent investigation into the death of Darryl Mount.”

Unfortunately, while the city acknowledged that they do have documents pertaining to my request, they denied me access citing “…they pertain to inter-agency and intra-agency documents that contain opinions, advice, recommendations, etc. which may be withheld pursuant to Public Officers Law 87(2)(g).”

Subsequent to this denial I wrote to Saratoga County DA Karen Heggen as follows:

In October of 2013 Eric Schneiderman, then the attorney general, referred to your office complaints about the troubling circumstances of Darryl Mount’s injury and subsequent death.

Do you recall how you responded to these referrals?

Email from John Kaufmann to Karen Heggen

So far Ms. Heggen has not responded.

Karen Heggen Is The Critical Player In Any Independent Investigation

This all led me on a hunt for understanding what role the District Attorney had in this matter. I explored the issue by searching the web and I reached out to my network of attorneys.

First, my legal contacts all observed that an incident like Mount’s required an independent investigation. Asking an institution like a police force to investigate itself was problematic. At a minimum, the optics would ensure what we have seen, that a cloud would hang over the institution.

They also explained to me that not only did the District Attorney have the tools to pursue an investigation at the time, but that there is no statute of limitations keeping Ms. Heggen from acting even today.

She has three basic options:

First, Ms. Heggen could request that the New York State Police investigate how the Saratoga Springs Police Department handled all the aspects of the Mount case. Their mission would not be to determine the potential criminal culpability of the officers involved but to establish whether there were any improprieties in the entire affair.

Second, Ms. Heggen could impanel a grand jury to investigate the entire case. Grand juries meets in secret. They can, however, issue a report to the public regarding their findings. The grand jury could potentially issue an indictment. They could also report on any problems they found with the handling of the case and issue recommendations for corrective action.

Finally, Ms. Heggen could refer the issue back to the Attorney General citing a lack of resources in her office to properly handle this. The Attorney General has considerable resources to pursue all this.

The central issue is that Ms. Heggen, as the Saratoga County District Attorney, is key to any independent review.

It is frustrating and disturbing that the Attorney General referred this sensitive case to Ms. Heggen’s office and the public has no idea what if anything she has done.

Our City Council should insist that District Attorney Heggen publically disclose what actions she took as a result of receiving the referrals from the Attorney General. If Ms. Heggen refuses to disclose what happened, the City Council should ask the Attorney General to take action.

The fact that the family of Daryll Mount is suing the city is no excuse for not having an independent body carry out a rigorous review.

Let me be clear, I have no idea how Darryl Mount died. I find it troubling that many of those protesting assume that he was murdered by the police. What is available to the public currently is insufficient to draw any final conclusions.

It is axiomatic that there should be an independent investigation. Ms. Heggen has the authority to pursue all this and it is my hope that she will rise to the occasion and at a minimum tell the public what she has done so far. Hopefully, she will recognize that justice means a credible and rigorous pursuit of all the facts by her office.

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The Correspondence

The libertarian website “Moving Saratoga Forward” has posted a video documenting a bizarre event at the recent League of Women Voters Candidate Forum. In the video, Ron Kim, Democratic candidate for mayor, claims that the most important issue facing Saratoga is that “we don’t have an eastside fire station.” He goes on to claim that when he was Commissioner of Public Safety, Republicans blocked his attempt to build a fire station on the city’s eastside. This is not true.

The facts are that the only time he submitted a proposal to build any kind of public safety facility was at the October 2, 2007, City Council Meeting, and it was not a fire station station (minutes):

1. The project he proposed was a new facility for the police department, not a fire station. It was to be erected not on the eastside but on Woodlawn Avenue. This is from the resolution proposed by Mr. Kim: “WHEREAS, the Final Feasibility study recommended as one of the preferred sites, the construction of a 47,000 square foot facility at the City owned lot at the Woodlawn Avenue Parking Lot;”
2. His proposal was defeated by Democrats, not Republicans. There were no Republicans on the City Council at the time. The cost of his proposed facility was estimated at $17,000,000.00. It lost on a three to two vote. In favor were Mr. Kim (D) and Mayor Valerie Keehn (D). Opposed were John Franck (D), Matt McCabe (an Independent who had been endorsed by the Democrats), and Tom McTygue (D).
3. When his proposal for the police facility was defeated, Mr. Kim abruptly walked out of the City Council meeting. According to the minutes of the October 2, 2007 minutes: “Commissioner Ron Kim said that sometimes it is important to stand on principle and did not feel the need to spend any more time with the Council. He then pulled the remainder of his agenda and departed.”

The plain and simple fact is that Mr. Kim never submitted a proposal for an eastside fire station during his tenure as Commissioner of Public Safety as he stated at the League of Women Voters event.

The Video From Moving Saratoga Forward

Here is a link to the video.

Fear and Loathing In Saratoga Springs

It appears that our own local Saratoga Springs Democratic Party is utilizing the very same tactics as Donald Trump in their fervor to win the election.

One of the unfortunate aspects of Donald Trump’s presidency was his unrestrained use of fear and anger. He portrayed the Democrats as enemies of democracy. In spite of the almost uniform rulings by judges across the United States that Joe Biden had legitimately won the presidency, he harped on the myth that a well-funded conspiracy by the Democratic Party involving a variety of tools including tampered voting machines had stolen the election.

It was small wonder then that many of his most ardent followers on January 6 invaded the capital desperate to stop what they saw as an existential threat against American democracy. If you truly believed that the election had been “stolen” of course you would resort to extra-judicial methods to save the republic.

Transforming Into One’s Enemy

It is a grim fact that too often groups in conflict tend to mimic the very methods of their enemies. In the 1950’s we had the McCarthy era when due process and free speech were often sacrificed in our country during the hysteria over alleged communist infiltration. In effect, we used many of the same ruthless methods that Russians employed against their own people.

So now we have the local Democratic party using extreme language and wild accusations to try to win this year’s city elections. Their assertion in their campaign materials that the local Republican endorsed candidates and their supporters are a threat to democracy is eerily reminiscent of the very Trumpian tactics that these same people have condemned.

The Lawn Signs

The Mailers

Are Local Republican Endorsed Candidates Really A Threat To Our Democracy?

Recently the city’s Democratic Committee planted the above lawn signs around town and sent out the above mailers that urge voters to vote Democratic to “Defend Democracy.”

The slickly produced mailers splash images from the January 6 invasion of the capital in an attempt to foment fear among the city’s Democratic voters that somehow the candidates endorsed by the Republican Party locally are going to undermine democracy.

There is nothing subtle about their campaign. “We need your vote to protect democracy” their mailers proclaim. The local Democratic committee has put up signs that simply proclaim, “Defend Democracy. Vote Democratic.”

Which Republicans Are They Talking About?

Does anyone seriously think that if Skip Scirocco is re-elected as Public Works Commissioner he will somehow undermine democracy in Saratoga Springs?

Skip Scirocco is no Margery Tayler Greene nor are any of the other endorsed Republican candidates.

I have polled the Republican candidates, and every one of them affirmed that Joe Biden is indeed the legitimately elected President of the United States.

I sent the following text to Pat Tuz, the chair of the Saratoga Spring Democratic Committee:

In mailers and lawn signs your party asserts that citizens must vote for Democrats to protect Democracy.  Could you identify which Republicans running for city office are a threat and how they would use their office to subvert our local democratic institutions?

Text sent to Pat Tuz

Chair Tuz never responded.

Creating Division In Our Community

This city is fortunate to have many thoughtful and caring people. Just because a person is registered as a Republican does not mean that they adhere to the crazy conspiracy theories popular among many Republicans nationwide.

These cynical and inflaming mailers and signs can only seed more suspicion and fear. It is this kind of mindless division that is the threat to our democracy whether promoted by Donald Trump or by our local Democratic Committee.

Domenique Yermolayev, Democratic Candidate for Commissioner of Public Works Takes The High Road

I noticed that the name and image of Domenique Yermolayev, the Democratic endorsed candidate for Commissioner of Public Works, did not appear in either of the mailers above.

I contacted her and asked why she was missing from the mailings.

She sent me the following email in reply:

Hey John,

Yeah…we decided not to participate for a variety of reasons. My campaign is really focused on solving tangible, local issues…this flyer did not align well with our messaging or the “style guide” which Ashley (my campaign manager) and I try to adhere to.  I think it is a part of a series actually, and we opted out. I am a NOP with my own line, the “Functional Party” who filled the Democratic vacancy, so there are a number of instances in that last year where Ashley and I…go our own ways from the slate.  I thank the Democrats for their continued support in finding a new Comissioner of Public Works that can bring our city into the modern era. We did our own mailer which I think really speaks more to what I am trying to achieve if elected. I attached mockups of it here.

Ask me more about it on November 3rd…

All the best,

-Domenique

Domenique Yermolayev, Democratic Candidate for Commissioner of Public Works

A Cynical Strategy

Democratic voters enjoy a modest advantage in numbers over Republicans here in Saratoga.

It appears that the strategy of the Democratic Committee and their candidates, except for Ms. Yermolayev, is to write off the Republicans and mobilize Democratic voters through fear.

Will it work? We will find out election night.

[Donors who contribute less than $100.00 do not have to disclose their name. This list is in ascending order so the first ones have no name associated with them.]

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8/16/2021 $500.00 Randi Cigelnik
7/1/2021 $500.00 SCH PAC
10/18/2021 $500.00 Steve Heyman
4/30/2021 $515.00 Law Offices of Ronald J. Kim, P.C.
6/6/2021 $750.00 Qun Lin
9/30/2021 $1,000.00 Christopher Hurley
9/23/2021 $1,000.00 Mary Liu
9/8/2021 $1,000.00 Ria Curley
9/28/2021 $1,000.00 Richard Schumaker
8/24/2021 $1,000.00 Sharon Boyd
$41,567.23

---

[Donors who contribute less than $100.00 do not have to disclose their name. This list is in ascending order so some of the first ones have no name associated with them.]

Contribution Date Amount Contributor Name
5/23/2021 $4.00 Robin Dalton
10/17/2021 $10.00 Ann Fantauzzi
9/27/2021 $10.00 Harrison Becker
9/30/2021 $10.00 Jen Pasek
8/20/2021 $10.00 Matthew Taylor
5/23/2021 $10.00 Robin Dalton
10/12/2021 $10.00 Ryan Brower
6/1/2021 $10.00 Wendy Taylor
4/26/2021 $20.00 Robin Dalton
6/9/2021 $25.00 Barbara Capone
7/10/2021 $25.00 Charles Donath
6/17/2021 $25.00 Gayle LaSalle
6/9/2021 $25.00 Kathleen Wilson
6/9/2021 $30.00
7/12/2021 $50.00 David Rockefeller
8/5/2021 $50.00 Elizabeth Beauregard
6/17/2021 $50.00 Frank Spensieri
9/16/2021 $50.00 Liana Doyle
6/4/2021 $50.00 Mollie Kavanagh
8/14/2021 $50.00 Valerie Collins
9/26/2021 $75.00 George Cain
9/26/2021 $75.00 Nancy Cain
9/16/2021 $100.00 Andrea Lakian
6/9/2021 $100.00 Andrea Larlan
10/17/2021 $100.00 Andrea Larlan
6/9/2021 $100.00 Angelo Calbone
10/8/2021 $100.00 Deidre Ladd
9/16/2021 $100.00 Eileen Finneran
10/7/2021 $100.00 Eileen Finneran
8/20/2021 $100.00 Elizabeth Beauregard
10/12/2021 $100.00 Eric Mumford
6/24/2021 $100.00 Jenny Mirling
6/9/2021 $100.00 Joanna Zangrando
9/16/2021 $100.00 John Lakian
10/18/2021 $100.00 Lawrence Novak
6/22/2021 $100.00 Liana Doyle
6/23/2021 $100.00 M. Kathryn Gorman
6/9/2021 $100.00 Martha Jane Weihe
7/6/2021 $100.00 Meagan Lyons
6/23/2021 $100.00 Miriam Scarborough
6/23/2021 $100.00 Miriam Scarborough
9/22/2021 $100.00 Richard Lofstad
10/17/2021 $100.00 Taunia Kipp
10/11/2021 $100.00 Tom Federlin
6/10/2021 $150.00 Forward Ventures, LLC
8/26/2021 $155.00 Robin Dalton
6/4/2021 $200.00 David Appel
6/9/2021 $200.00 Eileen Finneran
5/23/2021 $200.00 Jerry Redfield
10/12/2021 $200.00 John Lakian
10/12/2021 $200.00 Zaven Yarmunian
10/14/2021 $250.00 Cara Milde
10/7/2021 $250.00 Cynthia Corbett
7/18/2021 $250.00 Giovanna DOrazio
6/23/2021 $250.00 Martha Strohl
6/9/2021 $250.00 Matthew Jones
10/13/2021 $250.00 Matthew Jones
10/12/2021 $250.00 Rachel Uccellini
8/13/2021 $250.00 Steven Greenblatt
10/12/2021 $250.00 Tamie Ehringer
8/23/2021 $275.00 John Baker
10/8/2021 $282.00 Adam Israel for Finance
6/17/2021 $300.00 Caragh Dalton Fahy
4/28/2021 $300.00 Zaven Yarmunian
7/29/2021 $500.00 Andi Staffan
6/9/2021 $500.00 Gloria Dalton
8/24/2021 $500.00 Matthew Dalton
7/6/2021 $500.00 Megan Durckman
5/23/2021 $1,000.00 Amy Cantanucci
6/17/2021 $1,000.00 Christopher Dolinsky
7/11/2021 $1,000.00 David Myers
5/23/2021 $1,000.00 Jared Cantanucci
5/23/2021 $1,000.00 Josh Doyle
5/23/2021 $1,000.00 Liana Doyle
8/8/2021 $1,000.00 Patty Riggi
10/15/2021 $1,000.00 Peter Quinlan
8/8/2021 $1,000.00 Vincent Riggi

Total: $18,586.00

Earlier this year I posted regarding Ms. Owen West’s July report on contributions. I noted at the time that she had received very few donations from the development community.

Her October report to the New York State Board of Elections is quite different. She received more extensive donations from the development community in this later report.

[Donors who contribute less than $100.00 do not have to disclose their name. This list is in ascending order so the first ones have no name associated with them.]

Amount Contributor Name Filer District
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$20.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00 Cate R Brizzell
$25.00 Claudina R Ashelman
$30.00 Mary E Clark
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$40.00
$40.00 Anne L Van Acker
$45.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00 DANIEL R Kumlander
$50.00 John P Carroll
$50.00 Lezlie R Dana
$50.00 Michael G Caimano
$50.00 Ninki R Carroll
$50.00 Robert L Tarrant
$52.00
$60.00 Mike Smith
$70.00
$70.00
$70.00
$75.00
$75.00
$80.00 Nick Wilock
$95.00
$95.00 Nancy E Dwyer
$99.00
$99.00
$99.00
$99.00
$100.00 Barbara Hodge
$100.00 Barbara Hodge
$100.00 Bruce H Bradigan
$100.00 Chris Hebert
$100.00 Dale Cotton
$100.00 David Barry
$100.00 Debra C Dann
$100.00 Donald Briem
$100.00 Donnellan Law, PLLC
$100.00 Elizabeth Macy
$100.00 Geriann Eddy
$100.00 Gillian Hirsch
$100.00 Jack Ashelman
$100.00 James Grande
$100.00 James Grande
$100.00 James Lee
$100.00 James M Hill
$100.00 Jessica Richer
$100.00 John Carroll
$100.00 Joseph Sirianni
$100.00 Keith Cavayero
$100.00 Kim Teator
$100.00 Kitty Tally
$100.00 Laura Furo
$100.00 Lawrence Ambrosino
$100.00 Mark Cacozza
$100.00 Mark Laskey
$100.00 Mary Lou Doyle
$100.00 Maureen R Lewi
$100.00 Melissa R Zieker
$100.00 Michael R Woytowich
$100.00 Nancy Trimbur
$100.00 O’Donnell’s Irish Imports, Inc.
$100.00 Peter R Copeletti
$100.00 Raymond O’Conor
$100.00 Roderick Sprattling
$100.00 Shauna Sutton
$100.00 Sheila Sperling
$100.00 Steven Bulger
$100.00 Steven Dolinsky
$100.00 STEWART’S FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
$100.00 Thomas Di Palermo
$100.00 Total Fitness Solution LLC
$100.00 Walsh & Walsh, LLP
$100.00 William Armstrong
$105.00 Deborah Garnsey
$125.00 Dorthy Foster
$125.00 Michael R Billok
$150.00 Angelo Calbone
$150.00 Jo Ann White
$150.00 Judy A Harrigan
$150.00 Mary Wheeler
$200.00 Carol V Gurney
$200.00 Friends Of Kathy Marchione Committee
$200.00 Mary Lou R Wait
$200.00 Matthew Dorsey
$200.00 Patricia Millens
$250.00 Alessandra R Hall
$250.00 Ally Meyers
$250.00 Amber Briscoe
$250.00 Augie Vitiello
$250.00 Brien Hollowood
$250.00 Chris Martell
$250.00 Cliff Van Wagner
$250.00 Craig Hayner
$250.00 Dmitriy Yermolayev
$250.00 Douglas Comer
$250.00 Elizabeth O’Brien
$250.00 Ferradino Firm, PLLC
$250.00 Frank Parillo
$250.00 Jeannette Liebers
$250.00 Jeffrey Altamari
$250.00 John Munter
$250.00 John F Baker
$250.00 Kathleen Sanvidge
$250.00 Michael Munter
$250.00 Michael Zurlo
$250.00 Noel Smith
$250.00 PAtty Hasbrouck
$250.00 Peter Elmendor
$250.00 Richard Sellers
$250.00 Robert Saba
$250.00 Rod Sutton
$250.00 Ronald Owen
$250.00 Rory Whelan
$250.00 Rudy DeFelice
$250.00 Sandra Duffy
$250.00 Scott Varley
$250.00 SD Atelier – Architecture, LLC
$250.00 Sean Fitzgerald
$250.00 Spoken Botique LLC
$250.00 Stacy Gorman
$250.00 Todd Baright
$250.00 Tom L Lewis
$300.00 David Quinn
$300.00 John Celeste
$300.00 Matt Amodeo
$350.00 Lance Plumbing LLC
$350.00 Mike Okby
$350.00 Walbridge Building Inc.
$500.00 Almeda Riley
$500.00 Anthony Maney
$500.00 B & B Plumbing Inc.
$500.00 Balzer Tuck Architecture, PLLC
$500.00 Belmonte Builders Llc
$500.00 Brandi Insruance Brokerage LLC
$500.00 Brian D Brumley
$500.00 Caroline Ray
$500.00 Charles Cronin
$500.00 David Bauer
$500.00 Delores Parillo
$500.00 DZ Restraurants, Inc.
$500.00 Eddie Dubrawski
$500.00 Frank Zilka
$500.00 James B Dorsey
$500.00 Joey Gullion
$500.00 Keith Tanny
$500.00 Lee Pokoik
$500.00 Linda Toohey
$500.00 Marini Services, Llc
$500.00 Michael Phinney
$500.00 Michael Toohey
$500.00 Mind Genomics Advisors, LLC
$500.00 New Colony LLC
$500.00 Peter Copeletti
$500.00 Raymond Apy
$500.00 Richard Higgins
$500.00 Robert Manz
$500.00 Ronald F Owen
$500.00 Saratoga Springs PBA
$500.00 Stephen Obermayer
$500.00 Terrace Corporation of NY
$500.00 Thomas Gardner
$500.00 Tom Beck
$500.00 Tom Roohan
$500.00 Tom Roohan
$500.00 Tracy Schwab
$500.00 Vinny Dimartino
$500.00 W. J. Morris Excavating, Inc.
$500.00 Witt Construction, Inc.
$520.00 9 Miles East Saratoga LLC
$750.00 550 Restaurant, LLC
$750.00 David Catalfamo
$750.00 Domonic Trimarchi
$1,000.00 240 Fitch LLC
$1,000.00 30 Year Farm, LLC
$1,000.00 343 Second Avenue LLC
$1,000.00 37 Greenfield LLC
$1,000.00 421 Broadway, LLC
$1,000.00 A.L.L. Wood Floors, LLC
$1,000.00 Andrea Spungen
$1,000.00 Anthony Ianniello
$1,000.00 Avalanche Strategies, LLC
$1,000.00 Betsy West
$1,000.00 Bonnie View LG LLC
$1,000.00 Brian Hart
$1,000.00 Broadway & Spring Restoration LLC
$1,000.00 CHARLES V WAIT
$1,000.00 Donna Wardlaw
$1,000.00 Edward Mitzen
$1,000.00 Gloria Menustik
$1,000.00 Hampstead America, LLC
$1,000.00 Hoffman Development Corporation
$1,000.00 Jeff Levy
$1,000.00 John Behrendt
$1,000.00 Joseph L Gullion
$1,000.00 Judith Needham
$1,000.00 Julie Chlopecki
$1,000.00 Kathryn West
$1,000.00 Keeley Ardman Desalvo
$1,000.00 Keith J Powers
$1,000.00 Kris E Herchenroder
$1,000.00 Lemery Greisler Llc
$1,000.00 Mackey Automotive, LLC
$1,000.00 Mario Martinez
$1,000.00 Mark Haworth
$1,000.00 Martin G Ferrillo Do
$1,000.00 Matthew Esler
$1,000.00 Matthew Jones
$1,000.00 Morgan Construction Services LLC
$1,000.00 Old Saratoga Restorations, Inc.
$1,000.00 Old World Roofing, LLC
$1,000.00 Pamela N Abrams
$1,000.00 Patricia Jenkins
$1,000.00 Peter Rosecrans
$1,000.00 Ryan Venezia
$1,000.00 Sandra Lewis
$1,000.00 Sandra R Eng-Caulfield
$1,000.00 Schermerhorn Residential Holdings, L.P.
$1,000.00 Stephen Sullivan
$1,000.00 Sue Allerdice
$1,000.00 Teakwood Builders, Inc.
$1,000.00 W.P. Dake
$1,000.00 William R Morehouse
$1,500.00 Tom Hoffman
$2,490.00 Screen Designs Inc.
$5,000.00 John R Hendrickson

Total $102,448.00

City Democrats issue second complaint to New York State Board of Elections regarding a handout promoting citizens to vote for Republican endorsed candidates on the United Saratoga ballot line.

New York State election law requires that items paid for by political committees include the information about who paid for them.

I contacted Chris Obstarczyk, the Saratoga Springs Republican chair.

I would note that in spite of my criticisms of him on this blog, he takes my calls and is always courteous. Readers may recall that I harshly criticized him for being unwilling to criticize the local take over by Republicans of the Working Families Party and his attack on Robin Dalton in a recent Times Union story.

In contrast, the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee chair does not respond to my texts and emails.

In a text to me, Mr. Obstarczyk wrote:

“The provisions of the Election Law are subject to interpretation on whether palm card is exempt under the statute.”

My understanding is that the law is quite clear and when I pressed him to provide the legal basis for his assertion, he told me that he did not have time given the pressures of the campaign.

The Democrats claim that the “paid for” was left out in order to hide the affiliation of the candidates to the Republican Party. I am skeptical. Most everyone knows that these candidates are endorsed Republicans.

One of the purposes for getting an independent line like United Saratoga is to allow people who do not want to vote Republican to be able to vote for a Republican without appearing to support their party.

I think the Republicans would have been better served to just admit leaving the “paid for by” off was an oversight and move on.

Saratoga Living has done a nice profile of Dan De Federicis who is the publisher of Saratoga Report. Mr. De Federicis scours the web looking for news stories, letters to the editor, video, and relevant blog posts related to Saratoga Springs for his site. If you subscribe, you receive a daily email linking to the stories.

I find it a great resource. I also like Dan very much. He is a thoughtful observer of our community and he champions the importance of allowing the diverse opinions of everyone to be heard through his site.

Here is a link to the profile.