WHY NOT IN THE SARATOGIAN?

Anyone getting the Gazette or the Times Union knows what is going on in Saratoga Springs.  The Saratogian it seems always leaves out some key articles that we have to be made aware of by an out of town newspaper. 

Case in point:

Scott Johnson made some 20 or more appointments to various Committees and Boards while walking out of City Hall New Year’s evening.  When a Mayor makes appointments, instead of appointing under a cloak of secrecy he/she will make a public announcement, most of the time at a Council meeting.  However, Johnson did not even mention the appointee’s names or even name the positions filled.  The main point of this post is that WE STILL HAVEN’T READ ABOUT THIS IN THE SARATOGIAN.  I will put parts of the Daily Gazette and the Times Union articles here:

Times Union editorial:

“During her successful campaign for mayor of Saratoga Springs, Joanne Yepsen vowed to better engage residents by holding community forums and creating citizen task forces to address the needs of the city’s 26,000 residents.

Her refreshing openness was a sharp contrast to the man she replaced on Jan. 1, Scott Johnson, who often shunned the public’s involvement in the business of the city.

Ms. Yepsen’s community engagement is the right approach for a city on the verge of a population boom fueled by major economic development. Add to that the thorny issues surrounding the possibility of the Saratoga Racino becoming a full-blown casino in a community that voted against a state ballot measure to legalize Las Vegas-style gaming.

But this new spirit of openness has had a setback. Just hours before he left office New Year’s Eve, Johnson arranged a surprise for Ms. Yepsen: He filled 20 vacancies on a host of panels, including the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and an advisory committee on open space. The open space group hadn’t met in five years, raising the question that has to be asked about all these appointments: What made filling them so urgent that Mr. Johnson couldn’t leave it to his successor?”

…”Even if Ms. Yepsen finds she has no authority to undo Mr. Johnson’s last-minute packing of these boards and committees, there’s a civic-minded way to resolve this. The appointees should volunteer their resignations and let the mayor decide who stays and who goes. And we would look to Ms. Yepsen to give those candidates fair and full consideration.

Here’s a chance for Mr. Johnson’s appointees to renounce what by all appearances was a crassly political move, and an opportunity for Ms. Yepsen to show that she is ready to work with people from different political backgrounds. That’s the spirit of collaboration and bipartisanship the city needs as it confronts its future — a spirit both sides can show with their actions, not just words.”  Along with the editorial was a political cartoon of mini Johnson’s in a corner.

The Daily Gazette-

Story by Justin Mason

“Mayor Joanne Yepsen is questioning 20 political appointments made by her Republican predecessor during the last hours of his term, including several made to alternate positions on the city’s land use boards that were left empty for eight hours before she officially took over. Though all of the appointments were to volunteer positions, she said the timing, manner and shear volume gives cause for a legal review of what transpired during the closing hours of the Johnson administration.
   “It’s not transparent, and it’s never been done this way — at least not in a long time,” she said. “This was unprecedented as far as I know.”
   Yepsen said the appointments included posts on the Heritage Area Program Advisory Board and the Open Space Advisory Committee — an entity that hadn’t convened in roughly three years. Other appointments included alternate positions on the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals created by a City Council resolution in September 2012 but never filled.
   “Based on some of the appointments, they are clearly political appointments,” she said.
   Yepsen said she had a cordial transition meeting with Johnson prior to the holidays and that he only mentioned appointments she’d have to the city’s Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Recreation Commission. She said Johnson’s administration wasn’t forthcoming with a schedule of appointments and made no mention of the flurry that came several weeks later.
   “It was always curious why they wouldn’t share the appointment book with us,” she said. “I couldn’t get clarification from them about which appointments were open and which needed to be filled.”
…..“Yepsen said former Mayor Scott Johnson announced the appointments by memos issued to the commissioners at City Hall at 4:31 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, less than. She said the city attorney’s office is now reviewing the appointments to determine if they were made properly.
   Appointments to such boards and advisory committees are at the pleasure of the mayor, but Yepson said they're ordinarily disclosed at council meetings or by a public announcement.”

Though both papers questioned Mayor Yepsen not releasing the names, it may be because since they have not been publicly named by Johnson and some or all may resign.

This looks like any political gains Johnson and his Deputy made in 6 years if any will be wiped out by the 6 years of secrecy and his attitude of leaving citizens out of the loop when they should be in the know.  Also included was a cartoon of mini elephants in a corner with Yepsen holding a broom ready to sweep out the corner.