CHAPTER 2

Well, Chapter 2 regarding the Casino/Raceway scuffle has gone to the proponents of an expansion at their property.  Round 1 went to SAVE Saratoga with a no vote from the Council as far as a casino coming to Saratoga.  I still think that Saratoga will get a casino because if one is located in E. Greenbush or Albany it will be a set back for businesses and dining establishments in and around our City and I don’t just mean Broadway.

The article hit the newspaper last Friday morning regarding the City’s status in what involvement they have in the project, Saratoga Springs was listed as an involved agency, meaning they had discretionary approval of the plans and now is a City which has none because any changes goes through the  State’s Office of General Services..  The demand from the Mayor a week earlier of ‘they (Racino) HAVE to go through the City’s Land Use Boards to I hope they will go through the Land Use Boards, sorry Mayor, I don’t think they will play ball with you on this one since you shafted them on the issue already.

I feel we need another convention center and it will fit in nicely with what we have now instead of chasing business to Albany as Mark Baker has done in the past when his City Center is booked.

It is interesting reading the comments that are written by citizens at the bottom of the article printed on the free online version of the Saratogian.  It seems the SAVE group sometimes referred by commentators as Saratogian’s Against Virtually Everything have become quite loud and nasty in their posts.  Water is an issue at the Racino with them now tapping into the County water supply, so the Councils past actions have hurt the City in this respect also. 

Talking about City water, DPW is installing 2 new water lines on Gridley & Crescent.  The project is $90,000.00 just for parts alone; labor cost information is being withheld according to sources.  These 2 water lines benefit the flat track and the City is picking up the tab.  By the way, the track gets plenty of water now but 2 years of a chlorine problem where the track had to shut down 80% of water usage for days is the reason Skip is installing the lines which is supposed to solve the City’s chlorine problem to water that goes into the track.

THOUGHTS & THINGS

It is my understanding that all City vehicles have to be marked with either City emblem with Saratoga Springs somewhere on the side of the vehicle, or like the Police & Fire cars & trucks the City name spelled out with the exception of Police undercover vehicles.  You may ask yourself, why does the Commissioner of Public Works and his Deputy ride around with the City of Saratoga Springs vehicles with no designation that they are Saratoga city vehicles?  Many people I know see the Deputy at the Mall, Targets, Walmart and they say at clubs during working hours.  If a vehicle is owned by the City then they should be marked as such, unless Skip & Tim are using their own vehicles.

It is now known that both Andrew Jarosh and Ken Ivins will be vying for the County Treasurer’s job which pays around $99,000.00 per year in salary alone.  Saratoga County's cities and towns will be endorsing one of these 2 sometime in the near future.  I predict that Jarosh will get the City of Saratoga’s nod and Ivins will pick up the bulk of the other committees endorsements with John Herrick’s backing. Herrick is not fond of Saratoga Springs candidates as we found out during last year’s election when the County Republican Committee gave hardly any money to boost the chances of Republican candidates.

Ivins has the experience of being the City’s Finance Commissioner and did a good job while in office and should be the front runner.

Jarosh, although young has the benefit of his wife being the Deputy Commissioner of Ivins and now a high level employee of Sonny Bonacio, so money will not be a problem for him.

It will be interesting to see if a primary will be held in September between these 2 or if Ivins is the endorsed candidate will Jarosh accept the position of Chairman of Saratoga Springs Republican Committee?

Is there any truth in the story I heard regarding a pass to not pay for water hookups that a local developer received from the DPW Commissioner to the tune of close to $1 million dollars?  If this is true that means the taxpayers of Saratoga Springs will have to pick up the tab.

We will be checking this out to see if it is indeed true and if it is we will try to FTM.

RIP VAN WINKLE (SCIROCCO) WOKE UP

I attended the Council meeting on Tues. April 1^st and as I sat there and watched the SAVE group who were happy in one sense but nervous in another.  The were thanking the Council for changing their minds from a year ago when they voted yes to expanded gaming by a 5-0 margin to changing their minds in March not to allow the expansion of table games.  However, they were a little nervous as was Commissioner Scirocco because the vote they took in March was non binding as they wanted to see what the RFA required and also see what negotiations could be achieved with Saratoga Casino & Raceway.

The issue looks moot for Saratoga getting a casino anyway because of the Albany proposal.  That proposal blows Saratoga out of the water and will truly become a destination venue which looks like it will even cut into the track season with the plans that the Albany casino has.

SAVE, now wants to go after the Saratoga Casino & Raceway to not be able to expand at all.  Get this through your heads SAVE, the City cannot make the Thoroughbred track, Harness track or Racino do anything or make them jump through any hoops to build or not build.  The City does not own the property, the State governs what can or cannot be built there.  The convention center and hotel will get under way very soon and has the go ahead to do so.

Now here is the comical part of the meeting.  If you remember at the State of the City address, Mayor Yepsen appointed a local Racing Committee made up of racing people from the Thoroughbred, Harness and businesses dealing with both industries to monitor the effect on developments that will keep our City officials up to date on any positive or negative trends that start to happen.  She introduced the Committee members who are outstanding in their own fields and they stood to a round of applause.  Last night when Mayor Yepsen announced that this Committee would look at a proposal for a casino to be placed somewhere close by and what it may mean for our economy, our sleepy Commissioner asked who appointed this committee?  Why is this Racing Committee just for Saratoga Springs, we already have a NYS Racing Committee?  When was this Committee appointed?  Obviously Scirocco fell asleep during the Christmas Holiday’s and woke up on April Fool’s Day. 

Speaking about Rip Van Scirocco, is everyone happy with how clean downtown has looked the past few years?  I have received some comments from friends that the streets never looked as dirty as they have been in the last few years.  I think either Rip or his outside Deputy needs to stay on top of this and they may even have to check with the inside Deputy, Donna Buckley to make things work.

In closing, I would like to ask Commissioner Scirocco to apply for the license to apply the copper sulfate to the ponds in Congress Park this year before you drift off again.  You forgot last year and the ponds looked like swamps which were quite embarrassing when showing a beautiful park to out of town visitors.  Get with it 

THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS?

A few years ago Commissioner Franck wanted to look into an earlier closing time for downtown bars except during our ‘season’ from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  Needless to say the rest of the majority Council at the time brushed his idea aside.

Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen ran on a platform with one of the planks being rolling back the closing time of bars because of serious late night problems.  He was intent on doing something about the problems and police overtime especially that which is focused on Caroline Street.  However, again he met with resistance, this time from the Board of Supervisors whose job it is to approve any earlier closing time for the County as a whole not just 1 town or 1 City. Because of Commissioner Mathiesen’s diligence, Washington and Warren Counties looked at what the cutback in hours would mean for them and the 2 Boards of Supervisor’s did establish earlier closing times.  I think it is time again for Saratoga County to listen to our Commissioner because it is a real problem downtown and not just blow him off because he is from the minority Party.

This brings me to another big problem.  I was at the Council meeting Tuesday night and heard Tom McTygue ask Commissioner Mathiesen what the cost to the City was when SPAC hosts the Phish concerts.  Normally there are 2 per year but in 2014 there will be 3.  Phish fans destroy the State Park rendering it a filthy mess taking Park staff 2 days to clean up.  I also put Dave Matthews in this category but at a slightly lower level of destruction because of their fan draw.  Saratoga pays our Police to handle the crowds and parking, we pay Saratoga County Sheriffs double pay to do the same and we also pay off duty State Troopers double pay and pay for their hotel rooms while they are working here, this year it will be a two night hotel stay.  Saratoga Hospital is also over flowing with legal aged and underage kids who are so drunk that some have almost died from alcohol poisoning drug use.  These fans remind me of the Deadheads who followed the Grateful Dead from venue to venue.  I am glad they love the music but they add nothing to our community for these 2 or 3 night concerts.  They camp out at State Parks or anywhere they can without being roused by the Police or go back home, only to come back the next day.  They do not frequent our hotels or restaurants nor do they shop downtown.  The little we do make is the small amount of sales tax from Burger King or McDonalds and the like, if you want to find out where they spend their money on food, visit the park the day after a concert and you will get an idea.

My question is first of all, why do we use Saratoga Police?  I thought Routes 9 & 50 were State roads, why our ambulances, shouldn’t SPAC have their own?  If they do use Saratoga’s Police and Ambulance shouldn’t SPAC reimburse Saratoga for each call?  SPAC should pick up the tab for the pay and hotel rooms for the State Police, after all it is in a State Park and the Park has its own Police force, why should we pay?  It’s about time we demand SPAC pay its share to Saratoga Springs, with the possibility of no Casino, we will need every penny we can get from wherever we get it from.  I hope the Commissioner provides us with the information he promised us he would and Commissioner, I applaud you for walking downtown to see first hand the late night problems and hope you take a drive on Rt. 50 about 6 the night of one of these concerts and a walk in the State Park the day after to see the problems and junk left by these concert attendees.

THE END OF THE LINE

These have been slow times but I have a bit of information from an inside Republican source.  David Harper, the City Republican Party Chairman will serve his last day this coming Thursday.  He is upset that he has gotten word he will not be considered to replace District Attorney Jim Murphy.  Murphy’s replacement looks like it will be Karen Heggen, First Assistant District Attorney.  It seems that the game of musical chairs between Judge Scarano, Jim Murphy and a DA replacement have been in place for a few years.  The source also indicated that as a segue to the DA’s chair Harper accepted the Chairman’s position; (don’t trust John Herrick).  It was also relayed that the City Republican Committee has asked Executive Committee member Andrew Jarosh to take the reigns and that he is deciding if he can fit the position into his schedule.

BUT I SAID YES LAST YEAR.

In a 5-0 vote the City Council Tuesday night voted against the State gambling law, leaving the door open for the State to still have Saratoga Springs as #1 on their list to put in a Saratoga style Casino after the bidder for a casino builds community relations.  I’m sure the Destination Saratoga group will bring to Albany past Mayors, Commissioners, Supervisors and current business owners who would like to see a Saratoga style casino placed here, to pressure them as well.

This vote holds no water with many as last year the council (except for Yepsen, who was not Mayor) voted 5-0 in favor of expanded gambling in Saratoga Springs and if Destination Saratoga does indeed go to Albany for talks, I am sure they will bring a copy of that resolution with them.  The leader of the no vote was none other than Commissioner Skip Scirocco, who if you remember pulled a circus act against having the Racino in Saratoga when he was a County Supervisor which contributed to his ouster from County politics.  Commissioner Scirocco will soon have his own problems when a story of epic proportions comes to light in the very near future, which may contribute to his ouster from City politics, but that will be played out another day.

Regarding the casino, Mayor Yepsen has called this the issue of the decade.  While I agree, there could be a part (b) that will be an issue of the decade and that is what will happen to Saratoga Springs if a casino is placed as far as 25-35 miles away?  We would be crazy to think that we could keep our same status as the destination city of NY.  A speaker at tonight’s meeting said that NYRA already owes the State $17 million dollars that it can’t pay  and without casino money the thoroughbred industry can’t even turn a profit.  The Governor wants NYRA to make money without the casino money and if it can’t, then our flat track will follow the trend of lower attendance and handle that has happened over the last few years and then we ask what then Commissioners?   We have 2 new hotels going up now and 1 on the board (I think) and that doesn’t count the numerous hotels built in the last 6 years.  The City will have more non occupied hotel rooms as it has empty condos.   Saratoga Springs lost its City in the Country charm years ago and our officials can’t accept this, we are becoming an over built city with no controlled growth (something I don’t think we ever had).  We need to do something to bring more people to Saratoga and the flowers on Broadway aren’t going to do it.

 PS:  Remember 43% also have a voice and can tilt an election.

THE TALE OF BABY FACE TIGHE

It had to happen.  The blogger who hated everyone and everything except Scott Johnson & Shauna Sutton has gotten himself in a pickle.  This is the blogger that spent every day for 3 years in the Mayor’s office getting material for his written attacks on other people, what do they think of him now?  The Past Mayor & Deputy certainly knew how dirty he played and what sickening attacks on the people he wrote about without any evidence, but hey, that’s how they wanted to play.

John the blogger is now an accused child pornographer and child porn promoter who is out on bail, some of his ardent followers say that he is being set up, State Troopers say Baby Face could face more charges, his attorney said “John certainly took on a lot of very powerful people in Albany and Saratoga counties … I don’t want to speculate on anybody’s involvement in what led to the charges.”  There will be a lot more happening in this case, we may still have the Russian connection he always talked about making an appearance.

The only thing I can say at this time is that there is a supply of soap- on- a- rope at the dollar store and Baby Face should stock up now because Mamma, he may be up the river.

YES WE GOT SNOW AND WE MAY BE SNOWED

I am putting this in a short post as it is important  information and could be a two horse race in quest for the DA's post if Murphy wins the race for judge.  I had reported last year that David Harper, Republican Chairman for Saratoga Springs would take over the DA reigns, but today I have it on good word that an Assistant DA and who is on the Board of Saratoga Bridges with whom she works closely with John Herrick ($160,00.00 reportedly per year salary).  John has a penchant for appointing and/or creating positions for those like Shauna Sutton and former mayor John's executive Sec. Theresa to high paying County jobs.  Stay tuned and as I get more information I'll pass it along.

WHAT'S GOING ON?

The new Mayor has set an agenda for her term of hard work for all citizens, for getting things done and for breaking down the barriers that the previous administration had put up as a barrier between themselves and the everyday citizens.  It looks like the ‘good old boy network’ here in Saratoga has been put in moth balls for a while.  The best move so far has been the code blue she helped install in the City and the second was the removal of Clifford Van Wagner as head of the Planning Board.

Also, I am glad that she and the Council haven’t and hopefully won’t take a vote on the sitting of the Casino in Saratoga Springs, let the State Committee do their work.

Saratogian’s hear all the time from the Save Saratoga group about the 58%.  I will tell you now that if a vote were taken today it would be 50-50 or less than 50% for those against casino in Saratoga.  I have heard from many people that voted against Proposition 1 and have changed their mind since it passed, that they would rather have the Casino here than in another community close by.  The worries of Save Saratoga (a) HIGHER HOMELESSNESS is happening at an alarming rate without the Casino, (b) INCREASED GAMBLING ADDICTION, (most of the players will be bussed in and those who visit and stay in hotels will certainly take advantage of our downtown and restaurants), and the problem gambling issue can be addressed by the fine agency we have now in The Prevention Council.  (c) HIGHER CRIME – take a look in the papers, it is accelerating already. There is no worse gambling addiction than horse betting and I have never heard a peep about helping to control this affliction here.  Downtown merchants shouldn’t worry because if at least 20% of the people drawn to Saratoga by the Casino shop or eat downtown, that would be 20% more than now.

The water issue is another issue that seems to be going back and forth in Council meeting discussions.  The Commissioner said we have enough water for emergency conditions and that the back up sources are able to pump enough water to make up the difference in case we need it.  The other side has said that according to a DEC study the Bog Meadow wells cannot pump enough water to fill a water truck daily.  The Geyser wells are going bad as residents say the water pressure is quite bad.  The study done a few years back should be updated if only to give us the number of g/p/h can our existing wells and lake can pump.

A fact that all Saratogian’s should be worried about was discussed on a radio show I listen to.  Carrie Woemer lost a bid for our Assembly seat in November against Tony Jordan, who was also running for Washington County DA and gave up his Assembly seat on 12/31/13 leaving our District without representation.  Special elections have been called for by the 11 Districts without representation but have fallen on the deaf ears of Andrew Cuomo.  The reason could be because some of the elections (of Senate seats) if won by Republicans could give the GOP the majority, which our Democratic Governor won’t allow.  It should stir us up to let the Governor know we want representation as very important issues will be decided this term.  Save Saratoga and Destination Saratoga should come together on this issue of representation for Saratoga as well as the communities in our District.

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.

PRESSING THE COUNCIL

Given the fact that the previous Council passed a resolution regarding the Casino and that over 40% of Saratogian voters cast their ballots in favor of Casino gambling, I think the red shirts should calm down and wait until the facts are known before they storm  Council meetings.  The next scenario will be the group that is for a Saratoga Style Casino to be located in our City do the same and we will have dueling opinions at the microphone.  I don’t think debate is bad but can’t we wait until we can debate on known facts?

I know many voters who have expressed the opinion that they voted against Casino’s in New York State but since the bill passed they worry that if Saratoga is not a site and we have one close by, then Saratoga will take a negative hit on business in our downtown corridor.

The year ended on a sour note for Mayor Johnson.  Johnson, who at the 11^th hour on New Year’s Eve, made over 20 appointments to land use boards and filled the expiring positions of alternate zoning board members.  The appointments should have been made by incoming Mayor Joanne Yepsen.  This game they played must be remembered if either Johnson or Sutton ever runs for any political office again.

Speaking about Sutton, it was nice to see the job given to her by John Herrick in the County Clerks Office for $65,000.00 & benefits, if the budget reads right and Herrick threw Mayor Johnson’s Executive Secretary Theresa a bone as Executive Secretary to Spencer Helwig the County Administrator, at 47,000.00 & .  What two employees did Herrick leap frog to give jobs to these two girls?

Well, hopefully we are over the Johnson games, now maybe we can get back to some honest 2 Party representation on Boards and Committees, wouldn’t it be nice to work together than 1 Party be under the control of a little Napoleon? 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

Well 2014 is starting out with a bang.  Snow and cold for a 36 hour period.

Inauguration of all elected officials were held today (Wed.) and all went well.  Congratulations to all, especially to new Mayor Yepsen who didn’t wait 2 weeks to install Code Blue.  She took the bull by the horns and put a plan in place, although I wish the 10 degree mark could be higher by at least another 10.  However, this should have been done years ago as other communities around the State took the proactive step.  Unfortunately, Saratoga Springs is a reactive City and it takes a death or a proactive politician to make things happen.

I was pleased to be wrong and see that Shauna Sutton has left the building.  I was not pleased however, to see that John Herrick gave her a plum job in the County Clerks office.  I would think that she would have to take a civil service exam to have the job but was told that they could delay the timing of the exam for a long time.  So, here we go again, full time County employee and full time cemetery Director, don’t you just love patronage jobs? 

I was surfing channels tonight and happened to catch the comment period of the televised Council meeting of 12/17, you know the one where Dave Bronner spoke about the proposed fire station (he repeated the same 4 sentences for at least 10 minutes and was never cut off by the Mayor).  Then when the Commissioner of Public Safety corrected some of his misconceptions, Bronner started yelling from his seat.

Cliff Ammon spoke as Cliff does about the 300 Save Saratoga that met to hear some information about the Casino and how we need to keep gambling out of Saratoga, could someone give Mr. Ammon a little history about what made Saratoga famous in addition to it’s water?  I read in the paper where Moreau would like to have the Casino at Mt. McGregor.  The site fits snug by Saratoga, Glens Falls and Lake George.  Moreau having a long shot at getting the Casino would certainly send customers to Lake George in the summer (yes, Lake George has a very long history as does Saratoga) which would be detrimental to us.  Also, they would not have to be restrained by our downtown businesses or City Center and would compete for both business and conventions/concerts, as a matter of fact if any other community around us gets the Casino, we would lose.  Horse racing attendance is down, SPAC cannot survive unless it has concerts that destroy the park and over burden our emergency rooms, where is the Ballet and the Orchestra, for which was the main reason SPAC was built?

The information night at the City Center gave me a few chuckles.  The head of the local Holiday Inn said that building the 135 room hotel on the Racino property, hotels downtown would suffer greatly; does she care about the 3 new hotels that are being built now as having an impact?  I also wonder if she feels that she is taking advantage of tourists when a room you can get from September thru June for $126.00 per night goes up to $356.00 (same room) for July & August with a minimum 2 night stay, this is standard for the hotel industry in the City.

This will be an interesting 3 months for this topic.

WATER COOLER CHIT CHAT

‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas and all through City Hall

Everyone was ready to say bye, bye to Scott Johnson’s snow balls.

The word was spreading about Shauna anew’

That the Deputy spot was hers at the DPW.

The whispers are saying how can this be?

When she can’t even repair a water main “T”.

It was heard that Joe O’Neil would lead the workers outside,

While Shauna will take care of the office inside.

This is odd they say as Skip and Shauna don’t get along’

But when an order from the top comes, you must be strong.

The next bit of news from the County does come,

That at the beginning of the year Judge Scarano will be done.

It’s too bad about the judge because he’s still in his prime.

But the ballot didn’t pass to give him more time.

Jim Murphy will leap into his seat with the gavel and robe

While the DA post it’s said will go to Dave Harper.

So we’ll wait until New Years Day to see if they are right

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

THE STORY OF SMALL BUSSINESSMAN VS. THE MIGHTY COUNCIL & BONACIO

It seems like the small businessman gets the shaft again when a big contractor like Sonny Bonacio wants the City to quash him.

The small businessman is the owner of the Fortunate Cup building, who for over a year has been trying to get his permanent CO for his building.  Unfortunately for him the City only grants him temporary CO’s.  He gave a reading of how the City has been treating him.

The City demanded that he plant a buffer of hedges and then gave him a credit line (a regular City practice) of $20,000.00.  The building owner wants to purchase the empty lot next door for a parking lot and will make the lot ascetically pleasing.  The City and Planning Board members beholding to Johnson & Bonacio- Cliff Van Wagner, Tom Lewis & Howard Pinsley say no way to the purchase and in fact the owner must remove 16 parking from the existing lot.  Now the kicker, who lives in the back of the empty lot?  Why, none other than Sonny Bonacio’s mother.  Also the City has recalled the credit line (something that has not been done in the last 20 years at least).

 Business in the building creates sales tax money for the City, so there must be a reason for the hard ball game.  The main players, the Planning Board members and Johnson & Sutton-Dowd cannot risk upsetting Bonacio.

CITY HAS A NEW INDOOR SWIMMING POOL

As of today, Saratoga Springs has a new indoor swimming pool and it has been named the Scirocco Victorian Pool.  We are so glad that the Commissioner put in new water filters at the water treatment plant so the pool has crystal clear water.  The left side of the pool is 6’ deep and slopes to 8’ on the opposite side.  It seems that when the tanks were being filled no one bothered to shut off the valve and the inside flooded.  This may be a bright spot for Scirocco, he wanted to add a new position but the budget wouldn’t allow for it and even after debate, when it came time to vote on the budget, Skip voted for it saying ‘this is a good budget’.  So he is looking for ways to make some new revenue.  The Rec. Center will lose more money than it did last year (thanks Scott & Shauna).  However, the Commissioner ever the opportunist will fill the pool with kiddy blow up tubes and rent them out ala the Carousal.   Too bad he didn’t get that new position, he could use a life guard at the new pool. Good luck Skip.

News Flash:  After promising that the houses on the East side by Saratoga Lake that he would not use the lake as a drinking source by Skip and the Republican opposition, they will now be supplied with water from the County pipeline and will add to their area by glowing at night, hopefully they will shine in different colors so they can form a Christmas wreath led by none other than Wilma Koss.

Well, some news just in.   Chris Mathiesen has just won election to his current DPS post.  This means that the only post that Shauna can have is Deputy Commish of Public Works.  This should not be a stretch for her because by learning to dig graves she would be a natural to work with the men putting new sewer lines in, as long as Donna says it’s ok.  It is said that John Harringbone (I know) is pushing Skip to get her in the trenches.

The City has a potential problem.   Following an alleged violent dispute, city police say they tracked the suspect to his home and, upon their arrival, were greeted by a man waving a meat cleaver at them. He was subsequently hit with a Taser and arrested.
Police say they arrived at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway at around 11 p.m. Saturday in response to an incident involving a man who left the premises following the dispute. The alleged head banger is accused of twice slamming a woman into a wall, pinning her in a door way so she could not move and threatening to “smash her face in” the next time he saw her.
 Upon entering his house, the officers had contact with the slammer who they described in a press release as uncooperative. He allegedly retreated into the back of the home and returned “brandishing a large cleaver above his head, waving it in a threatening manner and screamed at officers to get out of the house.”

After a few moments, the Tasee tossed aside the cleaver, struggled briefly with the cops, was hit with a Taser and taken into custody.  The problem now is the accused wants an independent investigation, it seems as he was shaking all over from the electric jolt he was alleged to have mumbled that all he was doing with the meat cleaver was cutting up a side of beef.

ELECTION NIGHT REFLECTIONS

Right now it looks like the Council table will have 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.  Congratulations to everyone that ran.  It has been rumored for some time now that if a Republican won, Shauna Sutton would be their Deputy, all of City Hall is shuddering if this comes to pass however, her role will be severely diminished and she will most likely have to do the paving and leaf pick up, among other physical jobs.

Shauna needs 2 more terms in office to qualify for lifetime health insurance paid for by the citizens of Saratoga Springs.

Also, there has been a rumor floating around that the reason that Scott Johnson did not run was because he wants to challenge Paul Tonko for Tonko’s Congress seat.  Good luck with that Scott.  Tonko is as popular among both parties as is Jim Tedisco.  Scott will never make it to Congress, but don’t tell Shauna who had a slip of the tongue election night when she said “In a few years, Scott, you and I might be working together again.” *Saratogian*.   Let’s hope Johnson goes and parks himself in Florida to work on his lobster tan and Shauna either works for Skip (where she will be 5^th fiddle) on a Council of 4 Democrats.
The race where the absentee ballots might change the outcome is the race for DPS.  The spread right now is about 121 votes for the incumbent, and if the number of the ballots that have arrived already it looks like Mathiesen will take the seat.

In closing, we say adios to Scott Johnson, it was nice knowing you, but we’re glad you are going.  Shauna, we are just super glad you’re going and hope it’s not true about Skip hiring you.

FAST & FURIOUS

With the election 1 day away it feels like the 7^th game of the World Series.  Information is flying faster than a fly over by Superman.

In startling news, if you haven’t heard it already, The Housing Authority last week hired an Asst. Director for the Housing Authority.  The announcement will be made after Election Day and the new hire is from Schenectady.  The word going around is that he is a good friend of the current Director, when asked by various people Board member Ken Ivins responded that he could make no comment.  It is very interesting that our local newspaper looks like it  hasn’t checked into the story yet  (remember, they did endorse Ivins), which is another secret the Saratogian looks like they want to keep quiet about because of the good old boy’s network.  We will read about this in the newspaper days after the election.

Let’s remember transparency is the key for good government and it looks like Ivins is already showing what he will do.

SHAUNA SUTTON-DOWD'S ENDORSEMENT

 In the Saratogian today Sutton-Dowd has received the paper's endorsement for the office of mayor, this one should come as no surprise.  The paper gives kudos to both candidates and could have gone either way, but it follows the Mayoral picks of the past.  When some of your biggest advertisers are Adirondack Trust, Roohan Realty and Allerdice who not only as I said are big advertisers but also top Republican old timers what can one expect?  In the papers reasoning, the editorial staff gives reasons like negotiating union contracts bringing all but one to completion, when in fact it was one that was signed and the rest have been working without a contract.  The editorial staff also uses the Rec Center as a huge plus for Sutton-Dowd.  The Center may have come in under budget but we know the reasons, (a) inferior materials used, (b) The was not up to code, which cost a building inspector who was fired by Sutton-Dowd after the inspector refused her request to pass the inspection anyway. (c) Sutton-Dowd had promised that after the first year the Center would make a profit, which in fact every year the Center gains a bigger loss than the year before, (d) Sutton-Dowd in her role as top overseer of the Center had it built without any parking or showers needed for the out of town players. This is a great resume to be Mayor of Saratoga and the probable threat of pulling ads from the newspaper by Adirondack Trust, Roohan Realty and Allerdice and others might have been the tipping point for the paper.

TIMES UNION ENDORSEMENT 11-1-2013

Follow the link for the TU endorsement http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-Yepsen-for-Saratoga-Springs-4944682.php

FOLLOW THE MONEY

I got this information in the mail and thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I’d tinker with it a little.  Remember, Shauna Sutton-Dowd holds 2 FULL time jobs of at least 40 hours a week per job.  Yes, that’s 80 hours a week.  What kind of job can she do without overlapping one with the other?   Shauna also has been making noise about Yepsen taking money from unions.  I checked her donations on line and she has taken big money from large contractors, plumbers (who are union people), a local lumber company and the City’s outside attorney firm that Johnson and Sutton chose to represent the City in its lawsuits or other dealings.  Sutton will have to work with these donors so she is playing the blame game, when she herself could be accused of going the deed also.  Yes, that is Shauna smoking a pipe, working nights in a costume.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

$120,000.00 & BENEFITS

CITY HALL - $60,000.00 &

GRAVE DIGGING - $60,000.00

ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION

As we near Election Day and the removal of those darn signs, we were discussing the choices this year.  It’s not that one Party is better than the other although each Party will say they are, but it’s all about the candidates.  This year it happens that the Democrats have the better candidates running for office.

You can’t top Joanne Yepsen, she was our rep on the County Board of Supervisors and throughout her tenure did a very good job and was an excellent partner along with Republican Matt Veitch.

Shauna Sutton on the other hand has a record that is mostly bad.  Why?  Well for starters she is not well liked by those who work with her in City Hall (there has to be a few exceptions), she is not liked by many people she meets and even quite a few Republicans won’t be flying with her.  One of the things she said in the paper and at the debate is that she saved the City $32 million dollars with settlement of contracts this year, heck our whole budget is $38 million dollars.  She was part of the biggest cover up in Saratoga’s recent history.  Hiding public information when the City built the Woodlawn Parking Garage and then you had to FOIL any public information that you, a citizen, had the right to have.  Playing games with 2 or 3 building inspectors when they wouldn’t name her tune, that’s right games.   Hiring a City Planner that was dismissed from Wilton (could she be a friend)?  Spewing along with the Mayor that the money for the Garage was a combination of public and private money when the lot was owned by the City, the City financed the garage along with the downtown merchants.  The downtown merchant’s money came from the business district taxes which in fact is public money.  Where is the private money?

Sutton is also anti small business, ask the small businesses on the West side that Sutton is trying to close.  It seems if your name is not Bonacio, Roohan or Julie Bonacio you can forget about getting a building permit in the City or cooperation or a CO, which by the way the Rec operated for quite a while without a CO and that was just dandy with Johnson and the wannabe Mayor.  It seems that some builders can get fast tracked and also the Planning Board rules have changed to facilitate these large contractors, just look at who is contributing to Sutton’s campaign.  It is the right of the Mayor along with his Deputy (Sutton) to mould very important Committees but during their tenure every Democrat was replaced by a Republican, so much for equal representation,

Nobody knows John Arpie, so not too much can be said about him except he doesn’t know squat about paint (inside joke John).

We know the job that John Franck does and he does it well.  He does not play political games in his capacity as Commissioner and has even started programs during his tenure to help citizens understand how to go about lowering their assessments if the committee sees a reason to do so.

Skip Scirocco just doesn’t get it.  The City looks a mess.  Broadway is always dirty, Congress Park is a disgrace and the final straw was the back room deal he made to sell water to Wilton when we do not have enough water for Saratoga.  What happens when the Weibel Ave. project is done and Sonny buys more property out there and they start sucking water?  When you go by our reservoir on 50 take a look at how many inches the water level is down.  Skip keeps telling us that we have all the wells we need but where’s the water?  We need a change.

Dick Wirth had his chance and didn’t get anything done.  If he did he never spoke about it at a Council meeting.  Tony Izzo spoke more in a month than Wirth did in 2 years. Mathiesen ran on a platform and won; he also has carried out his promises and has gone above and beyond expectations.

The Supervisor race should be an easy one to pick.  Veitch has the experience and the know how to get things done.  The race will be between Martin and Ivins.  Martin is far and away the better candidate.  He has worked with the Supervisors in his capacity as County Clerk and can solve and articulate the problems not only as a representative of Saratoga Springs but as a County rep as well.  We also feel that having two smart and well spoken Supervisors one a Democrat and a Republican on the Board will represent all of Saratoga Springs

CHECKING THE IP ADDRESS

The problem for the local blogger seems to be getting worse.  The information heard on the street is that the IP addresses of his posters will be checked and that may spell trouble for the Mayor’s office if they sent him any confidential information or information discussed in executive session.  If this is did happen (there are many people trying to find out now how and when and by who he received information from City Hall) more charges could be pending not only for him but anyone who divulged confidential information.  This will be a wait and see and most likely a protracted experience for Tighe.

A MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE

In shocking news, Saratoga Wire has reported that Officers with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Computer Crimes Unit raided the homes of blogger John Tighe and 2 others yesterday.  John Tighe, who operates the website Saratoga in Decline, which has been shut down by State officials and had all computers removed from all 3 individuals along with computer-related documents, (so beware to those who had commented on his decline site about NXIVM).

The raids come after an 18-month investigation. A State spokesperson says an initial complaint was filed in April of 2012 by NXIVM, an organization based near Albany, involving unauthorized access to NXIVM computers. “The complaint itself was the subject of larceny of computer related information,” said spokesperson. The investigation, he says, is on-going, and despite earlier rumours that the FBI was involved with the raid, the spokesperson says it was a state police operation only. 

 The case will most likely go to the Fed’s if it hasn’t already not only because NXIVM owns homes in other states and possibly other countries, but the alleged crime is one of todays most serious of computer acts.  This is speculation however.

It was also rumoured that the Mayor’s office was closed today as the Republicans were running around in panic as they have lost their conduit for untrue attacks against Democratic candidates and allegedly from someone leaking information not only from their Committee meetings but feeding him with information from within City Hall.

There will be much more coming, as the news and case progresses. 

IS IT OVER YET? OR THINGS OUR LEADERS MIGHT SAY

We all know that Shauna Sutton-Dowd is famous for being the Director of Greenridge Cemetery.   One day Shauna went over to the house of a husband and wife to seal the deal on a cemetery plot as the husband was dying.    However, John can smell his favorite chocolate nut brownies cooking downstairs.  John summons all the strength that he has left, he flops out of bed and crawls downstairs.  He sees the brownies cooling on the counter and staggers over to them.  As John reaches for one, Shauna’s wrinkled old hand reaches out, smacks his and she yells:
'No John, you can't have those!  They're for the funeral!'

‘In her younger days Shauna worked for the Dept. of Social Services until she sent this letter out to a client:
Your food stamps will be stopped effective march 1990 because we received notice that you passed away.  May God bless you.
You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.
Shauna posted this note after she and the Mayor put up the office wall.
“As of tomorrow. employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards.  Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks”
See, Shauna is more fun in the cemetery than she is in City Hall.

Can Skip win re-election? Could Tid-Bits Skip could be using

‘What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter’

‘This project is so important; we can’t let things that are more important interfere with it’

‘Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule’

One morning a City highway department crew reaches their job site and realize they have forgotten all their shovels.  The crew’s foreman radios the office and tells the Commissioner the situation.  The Commissioner radio’s back and says ‘don’t worry, we’ll send some shovels… just lean on each other until they arrive.

‘Skip is on the stand and the Judge asks, so Mr. Scirocco, was it you who moved a supervisor (Betty French” from a supervisor post to a clerical post and keep her supervisor pay grade’?  Skip answers the judge, who’s Betty French’?

Remember, if elected Dick Wirth’s Deputy will be Al Calucci!

IT’S GETTING TO BE TOO MUCH!

Is it me, or is it the closer we get to the election, the Republican candidates are starting to get a little squirrely? 

In the Saratogian the other day Shauna Sutton-Dowd was given the praise of “Shauna Sutton was part of the team that increased parking in downtown Saratoga, saved millions of taxpayer dollars through contract negotiations, completed the Spring Run Trail and opened the Saratoga Lake Waterfront Park to name just a few of her accomplishments.”  The writer first says she was part of a team the closed with the list of HER accomplishments.  This seems to be the crux of this tag-team duo administration, The Mayor and Shauna take credit of everything good but not any of the crazy stuff and there has been plenty of that.

Do you remember when you used to walk into the Mayor’s office and be able to speak to the secretary and ask to see the Mayor or just ask a question?  Well the first thing this duo did was build a wall.  It seems they wanted people to know who the top dogs were and keep their employers (taxpayers) out. 

Remember when the Rec Center was being built and inferior building products were being used and a certain building inspector would not pass that portion of the job?  It was said at the time that the Deputy hired this engineer but had something over him.  She waived that piece of information and told him to pass it and when he said no, he was gone.  The administration then wanted to hire an engineer from Albany to pass the work but she declined (I wonder why).  Also, why did they never think about putting showers in a gym, or outdoor parking for that matter?

Next, it was another case of the disappearing building inspector, when a job at the Woodlawn Parking garage could not get approval because of a problem, the City Engineer vanished and a new inspector was hired; remember the architect who designed the garage was operating under building requirements of the State of Ma., all of these capers were reportedly approved by the Mayor in Wanting, (yes, I know wanting) who seemingly looked like she couldn’t get her way and pushed people out rather than deal with the problems.

Then things in the City got real bad for Sutton's department.  Building permits were not being issued for City projects, and people wanted to find out if the information they were hearing about all these wonderful things were true.  As a taxpayer of the City you can go to City Hall and ask to see a myriad of public records, well that’s how it is supposed to work in America, but not in Saratoga.  A ban was put in place by the duo (Mayor Johnson and Deputy Sutton-Dowd), that to see any information that you have a right to see, you had to file a FOIL request using a certain form filling it out and it had to be sent in our  City Attorney to see if what you want was justified for you to view, 99 ½% of the time it was and there was only a weeks delay in getting information but this was a tactic used by the Duo chatting they have an OPEN GOVERNMENT.

Now, we have a person in John Arpei who thinks he is running for Commissioner of Finance but in reality he is running for Commissioner of Accounts.  There has not been much talk from Mr. Arpei or about Mr. Arpei but when he does speak it’s always about the Finance Dept. and not the Accounts Department.  I wish he would stay on course and find out which office he is running for.

It was said to be overheard in Sperry’s one night that Shauna Sutton-Dowd is in favor of Casino gambling in our community, something very unsettling about that tid bit.  Now let's see her change her mind.

Remember that Al Calucci is in line for Wirth's Deputy.  That's scary for even me, your Captain.Al

WHAT THE HECK?

After some cajoling and hearing around town that some want me back, I'll start again sometime next week. Have a fun weekend.

I AM NOT PAT KANE, BUT I WISH I WAS

Well folks, in the interest of Pat Kane, the Captain will suspend activities for a while.  As I said in an earlier post, supporters of another blog and even the blogger has not mentioned a name that is a correct one, but I do this out of respect of Pat.  The posters of this other blog and most of them are the blogger’s own posts have tried to drag Pat down to their level.  Friends of mine who know Pat have nothing but the highest praise for him.  He stands behind his convictions and never wavers.  The lowest of posters probably don’t even know Kane and that is a shame.  So, since the other blogger has some sense of closure that I am not Pat Kane,  we will take a break and come back only if and when my posters feel it’s time to.

To Pat Kane, I’m sorry you and the names of other people have been bandied around as being Captain America, but no one will ever guess the real person, so keep up your good service work for the City.

ONE OF THE GOOD GUY’S, MIKE BENSON

Politics today is nasty business.  There are many good people serving our City and some who put themselves first, truthfully, one would have to be crazy to run for City politics today.  Let’s just stick with City politics, the babble that is spread around with no facts hurts candidates and even family members, some bloggers even go so far as to have minions follow families of candidates and  the candidates themselves then report what the perceive to be facts while they are only looking through binoculars and taking pictures.

This article however is about one of the good guys, who as far as I know wasn’t involved in politics, although if he was, it would be with the class and dignity which I heard is the way he lived his life.  The article is in today’s Saratogian, if you want to read it.

I never knew the man personally but those who did had high praise for him both as a teacher and coach.  He ended his coaching career from complications due to ALS and coached right up until the end.  He coached golf at Saratoga Catholic whose teams are nicknamed the Saints and it sure seems to me that Mike Benson will have a long term as one of God’s coaches.

FIND THE MONEY

Anyone that would like to, can see what a candidate has received in donations by following this link,  http://www.elections.ny.gov/recipientstext.html  and putting in the last name.  I did this and was quite surprised at some of the filings.  While we all know the Republican Committee, both City and County have more money than the respective Democratic Committees (there was never a real representative Democrat Party in Saratoga until about 12 years ago), you can tell who is dropping the G bombs on their candidates.  If you look and check it out, the Republican Committee has infused Sutton’s campaign with more than $6,000.00.  Also, the majority of Sutton’s donations are $1,000.00 or more and she has many family members donating quite a bit of cash (which is no surprise), her family has big money and there is nothing wrong in helping out family.  I do however notice the businesses that have been courting her and it does throw a red flag up.

Yepsen’s donations looks like they have been coming in from more people donating smaller amounts ($50.00 to $75.00) range, not that she hasn’t gotten some larger donations but not nearly as much as Sutton and I don’t think Yepsen has had any $500.00 - $1,000.00 per plate dinners as we know Sutton has had a few.

Looking up Bill McTygue’s donations, he also has donations from family members, but probably 1/10^th of Sutton's, as a comparison.

I was very surprised to see that Skip Scirocco has quite a number of donations from contractors, plumbing firms, engineering firms, etc.  Surprising because it sends a message even if not true that Scirocco is being given donations from either businesses that did work and want to keep doing business with DPW or that they want to work with DPW.  I would think that businesses would either donate to both candidates or to none at all, but Holy Joker, that’s just what I think.

Franck’s donations have been coming in mostly at $100.00 per.

Arpei’s donations aren’t looking good; it seems that the bulk of the money is coming from family, the Republican Committee and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority.

Well adios for now and remember if you see Bonita Sellers coming down the Street, Al Calucci (Dick Wirth’s choice for Deputy Commissioner) can’t be far behind.

Follow the link and look at the info for yourselves, you can look up anyone in NY State.

ERROR, ERROR

In past posts, I have alluded that Shauna Sutton, Director of the Greenridge Cemetery, that she (Sutton of the North) had hired her husband to work at the cemetery.  I would like to apologize, it is not her husband, it is her BROTHER.  The current Deputy Mayor has never taken or used her married last name of Dowd.  It is said that she tried to have her husband take her last name.  I find this quite comical, not that she would want to give  up her last name but woman usually use a hyphen between maiden and married names,  could it be that Sutton has never been married or is it because her husband is a car salesman and doesn't  fit her ‘station’ in life?

Also, why is the Republican team putting election signs on City properties?  Who the heck enforces these laws? Oh wait, it’s part of the Republican election team, now that makes sense.

One question everyone is asking themselves is : Who is John Arpei and why is he putting signs up?  It will be interesting to see how many votes he will get when no one knows who he is.

I hope that we finally have a small tax increase in this year’s budget. A City should never have a 0% budget.  Costs, wages, equipment replacement, benefits etc. rise every year and a tiny increase could add 2 or 3 jobs to the Fire and Police Departments, keeping the budget surplus there to tap when we need it.

Well, I must get ready to go to the meeting tonight, I heard there will be a ring of humanity (tonight it will be 4-5 people) protesting Super Fly who fell from the scaffolding and blamed the Police for brutality.  I heard that he broke a few laws being out that time of night and he was heard humming Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line”.

More after the meeting tonight, that will probably go on into Wed. afternoon.

Let’s end with Curtis Mayfield’s Song Superfly, or as 

Darryl Mount likes to say, it me theme song

“Darkest of night
With the moon shining bright
There's a set goin' strong
Lotta things goin' on
The man of the hour
Has an air of great power
The dudes have envied him for so long

Oh, superfly
You're gonna make your fortune by and by
But if you lose, don't ask no questions why
The only game you know is do or die”

PROMISES, PROMISES!

First of all, I must tell you that this information was given to me from a friend of one of the Republican candidates. It is said that if Shauna Sutton loses the election bid for Mayor and any Republican holds their office or wins an office that Sutton will be appointed to the Deputy’s position. I know what you’re thinking, why would she take another Deputy’s position? Well there are a few things that do sound right about this tactic. 1. She makes approximately $80,000.00 now and has been for 6 years. She only needs 2 more years to be vested in the City’s benefit for life plan. Right now if she loses, it is assumed that her salary would be $20,000.00 from the Greenridge Cemetery and the income of her husband who she hired to work at the Cemetery. The Mayor’s position only pays $14,500.00 a drop of about $65,000.00 but the position would still insure the benefit package although losing $130,000.00 would be a heck of a drop. The other piece of information floating around is that if Commissioner Scirocco is re-elected that he will either appoint her as his Deputy or as Director of Public Works. This $90,000.00 yearly position was eliminated from the budget during the Keehn administration but was funded and put back into the DPW budget by the Commissioner (just something to think about). Also, the rumor is gathering steam that none other than Al Calucci currently a Board member of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority is in line to be Dick Wirth’s Deputy Commissioner if Wirth is elected. Imagine that office, a Commissioner that doesn’t say 2 words and a Deputy that can talk all day. That may keep Big Al out of the Finance Dept. for a few days at least. These pieces of information are written here not because I received first hand information from the candidates but from people who are supposedly ‘in the know’. Has anyone heard of any Deputy’s to be appointed? Bill McTygue has said that no member of his family would be appointed as Deputy. In 2011, out of the 18,200 registered voters in Saratoga Springs, only 6,373 residents voted in the elections. Do the 11,000+ really care about Saratoga politics (go to about 3 Council meetings and see who is there, the same 7 or 8 people, even if there is something very important on the agenda)? There is the thinking in Saratoga that the 11,000+ non-voters are happy if the have running water and their lawn clippings and leaves are picked up, which may be a reason they don’t vote and don’t really care what is happening on the political front. Ask most people and they can’t tell you who a Deputy Commissioner is let alone what department they work in. This is apathy, and it abounds in our City, however quite a few of the over 11,000+ who do not vote, will complain when (a). They don’t attend a Council meeting to give the Council heck if they don’t like the way the Council is doing business or (b). They just want to give them a free ride to do what they want. This election season will be one to watch, for sure.

PRIMARY NIGHT

Congratulations to John Franck and Joanne Yepsen for their Primary wins on the Independence Line. Good wishes also go out to Shauna Sutton & John Arpei for making it a competition. It’s good to have a race in a Primary, it makes even a Primary exciting.

SIGNS, ELECTIONS AND DEFECTIONS

Well, all the candidates’ political signs are planted, joining the 4 who are running for the Independence line in the Primary this coming Tuesday, September 10th. As I stated before, I believe this will give us a hint of how the election might look like. However, Primary’s do not usually draw the number of voters that the election will. Let’s look at this Primary for instance. This will be for the Independence Party line on the ballot in November. It is reported and checked out at the BOE that a large number (50 – 60) of Republicans changed their affiliation to the Independence Party last year before the election, thereby qualifying them to vote in this Primary and we will see that number all out to vote. It is said that it took Shauna Sutton and John Arpei only 2 hours to collect the needed numbers on petitions to qualify and force the Primary, which is pretty much unheard of. There are still a very large number of Independence voters and I think you will see a larger number turn out than in past Primary’s. The campaigns will start in earnest now that the tourists have gone and everyone is home and settled. Were you invited to the fundraiser at Scott Johnson’s home to benefit Shauna’s campaign? Heard that the minimum plate charge started at $500.00 but the price was encouraged to be more generous. This, along with the anticipated Palacio de Riggi fundraiser also heard the price to be starting at $500.00 per plate, show it is good to rub noses with the rich and famous. Well, let’s see what Tuesday brings and go from there.

I CAN TALK TOO!

Hello Bat fans.  The run for the money has started in earnest.  Looks like Sutton will have her (2) $500.00 per plate dinner fundraisers compliments of Scott Johnson and reportedly by residents of Palacio de Riggi.  The Mayor didn’t need the fundraisers as past Republicans did but Sutton’s lack of funds needed to win (about $75,000.00) will be made up by the fundraisers and by Johnson and his out of town attorney groups.

The NYS Funeral Association convention is being held this week in Saratoga and the guest speaker will be none other than our very own Mayor Scott Johnson, it seems that a group of happy funeral home directors were walking downtown one night and passed by Mayor Johnson as he came out of Sperry’s and thought he looked like someone from the Walking Dead, so they just had to have him on the agenda to see if he indeed talks.

The Police of Saratoga Springs, handicapped by former Commissioner Wirth’s layoffs are doing an incredible job in keeping the City in fine shape, is Saratoga Springs without crime?, No.  Take a look at national averages though and our crime rates are on the low side of cities throughout the country. 

According to the Saratogian:

“Saratoga Springs does have more arrests from reported burglaries than the national average.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects crime data from thousands of police agencies across the country, including Saratoga Springs. The national clearance rate for burglaries is 12.7 percent, which is the percentage of arrests made from reported burglaries. The city’s clearance rate for the last decade is 16.4 percent.”

 I would call that pretty good;  as for those of you who want instant up to the minute information on what the Police are up to, one word of advice would be to join the force, why is it that in today’s world we have to know everything that is going on as it happens?

The capital budget has been set and it seems that the Mayor and his aide Shauna Sutton have told residents on the Eastern Plateau that EMS and Fire protection should not be a priority for them.  Something has to be done and if it takes a change of leadership in the Mayor’s chair to do it then the Eastern Plateau residents should tuck this info in their mind for Election Day.

City Deputy Public Works Commissioner Tim Cogan said there are intake valves at the water plant that date back to 1871 and need to be replaced.  Please, if you could wait just 8 more years, we could have another year of Saratoga 150 festivities for those intake valves.

Remember that the primary’s are coming up soon and it should be a gauge on what the election will bring, so stay tuned and please attend one of those $500.00 a plate fundraisers, I know I will.

CUT ANOTHER TREE

Have you started to receive political paper at your house yet?  Door hangers and political ads have started to be dumped by Republican candidates, so you can expect the Democrats to follow suit soon. 

The DROP seems to be starting a little early this year, but then again there are a couple of primaries in September.  PLEASE don’t throw your junk pieces away, give them back to the candidates so they can save on printing more junk pieces.

Has anyone else noticed that whenever the Mayor has been at any event lately that makes the newspaper accompanied by a picture, Shauna Sutton is somewhere in there, like a Where’s Waldo picture?

Well a new book store opens and the best Italian restaurant in the area burns down, happy and sad in the same day, however, Broadway will be that much better for having Northshire Books and Ballston Spa and our whole area will be glad when Augie’s is back up and running.  Augie’s is having a fundraiser for their staff, you can go here http://bit.ly/16YsPyx

to make a donation, starting at $25.00, businesses, area restaurants, customers and those touched by the effort of Augie have been supporting the fund.  On the website he says this:

“Augie's Family Style Italian Restaurant had a fire. The entire place was condemned. The most important headline of the day is that no one was hurt. Things can be replaced - and we will rebuild. However, while we rebuild, our faithful and amazing staff will be temporarily out of work. As per the nature of being service staff, supporting them is difficult when much of their money comes in as tips for their superb and amazing service.
We are making a fund for those who have experienced the service from Augie's to help hold over our employees while we rebuild. We hope we have the community reach out and help the staff. Nothing is more important to us than our dedicated and friendly service staff. Without them, there wouldn't be an Augie's.

Where the money goes:

The money raised will go towards the service staff's hold-over budget - split as we normally do with tips and money raised with normal business at Augie's. We will use the funds to assist our employees while they are out of work during rebuilding. Any remainder of the funds (in case we rebuild faster than estimated) will go towards local homeless shelters in the 518.
Those who assist will receive a one-time coupon good for a percentage discount off of their bill upon reopening - applicable for in-house dining. We will also have a page built on our website showing who loves and supports the Augie's staff. “
Augie, a classy guy and a businesses man dedicated to the well being of his employees.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Yes, we are having fun on our vacation.  We are staying overnight and I have a chance to read the home town paper and was I surprised by an article or two.

First of all, I spoke with a friend who knows such things and it seemed that a large group of Republicans switched Party’s for this election and joined the Independence Party, thereby giving Sutton and Arpei the number required to force a primary in September.

I still think that this primary will be a good litmus test for the general election.  The primary vote will indicate how many votes the 2 candidates get then deduct at least the 58 of the Republican who switched to guarantee they got the ballot (as they would have voted Republican anyway).

Now comes the money part.  According to the Saratogian, Yepsen after expenses leaves her with $17,724 balance, “Most of Yepsen’s contributions come in $100 or $200 increments. She reported 106 contributions Monday and said the number was doubled after Friday’s fundraiser.”

Sutton on the other hand has not had a fundraiser to date and it is starting to look like another big money campaign money matter, as in the momentous misstep during the 2005 campaign that led to a Democratic sweep. The Republican candidate was having $500.00 a plate dinner fundraisers and Sutton looks to be doing quite the same thing minus the dinners.  Sutton’s donors and amounts of money given so far are: 

The Republican Party - $2,400.00

Wally Allerdice - $1,000.00

Richard & Bonnie Sellers - $500.00

Marcia Mac Donald - $1,000.00

Kathleen Smith - $1,000.00

Amy Smith - $500.00

Sheila Sperling - $500.00

Ann Hiller from Ga. - $500.00

Scott Johnson - $1,000.00

Carusone & Carusone - $1,000.00

http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/reports/rwservlet?cmdkey=efs_sch_report+p_filer_id=C00635+p_e_year=2013+p_freport_id=K+p_transaction_code=A

 So, Sutton has 10 donors plus the Party’s money giving her $9,400.00.  Think of a few donors giving thousands of dollars against many donors giving smaller amounts and you may say to yourself who is for the people over big money?

There is no campaign filing page for Arpei yet.

Saratoga’s general elections are by rule, won by a few hundred votes and the Independence Party plays a role in the elections and again with the Republican move to the Independence Party they would vote Sutton anyway. .  The election will also boil down to how many cross over votes a candidate can muster.  The City’s declining Republican registrations along with an increase of Democrat and Independent (or, no Party), may end the Republican domination that has existed since Saratoga Springs became a City.

CANADA, HERE WE COME!

Well, off to the train ride from Montreal to Toronto to Alberta for a 14 day Trans Canadian Rail Tour.  Peace and better weather to all.