Elise Stefanik has announced she will challenge Governor Hochul in the 2026 election (Official Portrait).
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-22) has announced she is running for governor in 2026 against incumbent Kathy Hochul.
The announcement came on Nov. 7, three days after the municipal elections in the state. In her statement and announcement video, Stefanik attacked the incumbent and highlighted affordability as one of the top issues.
“Kathy Hochul is the Worst Governor in America,” The opening line of her statement read. “Under Kathy Hochul’s failed leadership, New York is the most unaffordable state in the nation with the highest taxes, highest energy, utilities, rent, and grocery prices crushing hardworking families.”
Stefanik’s Congressional District encompasses the northern half of Saratoga County. The entire town of Saratoga and the majority of Wilton fall within the district on the eastern side of the county while everything north of and including the Towns of Greenfield and Providence falls within the district in the west.
Stefanik, 41, has served in Congress since first being elected in 2014. At the time of her election, she was the youngest member of the House of Representatives. Prior to serving in Congress, she worked for then President George W. Bush’s administration from 2006-2009 as well as her family’s business in Essex County, according to official biographies. Stefanik lists her home as being in Schuylerville.
In Congress, Stefanik serves the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. She previously served as Conference Chair for the House GOP and had been nominated to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations.
In 2024, the most recent election, Stefanik beat her Democrat challenger Paula Collins with 62% of the vote. Prior to announcing her run for Governor, Stefanik raised $1,980,190.47 for her run for reelection in the House of Representatives.
After announcing her run for Governor, Stefanik quickly received the backing of most county Republican Committees in the state — including Saratoga County — as well as several elected officials. State Senator James Tedisco, who represents Saratoga County, offered his endorsement as did Assemblywoman Marry Beth Walsh.
If Stefanik earns the nomination, she will be the first woman to run as the Republican Party nominee for New York Governor.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says that a plane lost power before crashing into a residential area in the Town of Milton.
The report was issued Nov. 8 and reveals several details about the aircraft history, prior maintenance, flight plan and crash. It doesn’t list the cause of the accident or potential impact of wind that was present in the area.
The crash killed pilot Frederick Baber and seriously injured Alexander Hoff, a flight instructor from New Hampshire. At the time of the accident, they were flying to Punta Gorda Florida, where Baber lived.
Hoff told the NTSB that the plane only made it to 200 feet above ground before rapidly losing power. After losing power, Hoff took control of the aircraft from Baber and tried to return to the airport. While making the turn, he realized he was too low and made a left turn to avoid a house before crashing into a tree, according to the NTSB report.
This wasn’t the first time the plane had lost power. Hoff told investigators that a month prior to the accident, Baber was flying the plane on a test flight when the engine lost power, but he was successfully able to recover and land back at the airport. According to Hoff, the fuel had been contaminated with algae and debris. It was later repaired by a local mechanic.
The NTSB said that six gallons of fuel was recovered from the right wing fuel tank with no water or debris in the tank but the left tank was destroyed by a post impact fire. No blockages or debris were found in the fuel or exhaust systems.
The same fire consumed portions of the engine, instrument panel and cockpit. According to the NTSB, no useful information could be obtained from the remaining instruments.
Baber and Hoff met the night before the flight, according to the report. Baber was required by insurance to have flight instructor with him on the flight to Florida due to inexperience the make and model of aircraft. Prior to the flight, both performed a pre-flight inspection and sampled the fuel multiple times with no issues found.
As for the model of aircraft, the Mooney M20E, a review of NTSB data found that the plane has been involved in 528 accidents since it entered service in 1964, of those 118 have been fatal. These accidents have resulted in 245 deaths, 72 serious injuries and 126 minor injuries. In 1966, the NTSB released a recommendation regarding the landing gear of the airframe which the manufacturer accepted.
A Cohoes man has been arrested by Saratoga Springs Police after he tried to steal cigarettes from a Stewart’s and pulled a knife on responding officers.
Craig Valcik, 45 of Cohoes was arrested on Nov. 7 at 3 pm during a robbery attempt at the Stewart’s on Church Street in Saratoga Springs. Police said officers were in the parking lot at the time of the robbery and were alerted to the incident by a store employee.
Once inside the shop, the officers attempted to take Valcik into custody, but he refused to comply. He then pulled out and knife and began to threaten officers. Ultimately after more commands were issued, Valcik dropped the weapon and surrendered without incident.
Valcik was charged three felonies — first degree robbery, menacing a police officer, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was also charged with criminal possession of stolen property and criminal tampering.
Valcik was arraigned and placed in custody at the Saratoga County Jail. He is set to appear in court on Nov. 13.
Flags line the road leading into the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery on Veterans Day
A ceremony set to take place on Veterans Day was canceled this year due to the government shutdown.
The ceremony was set to take place at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery at 11:00 but couldn’t go forward due to loss of federal funds.
“We’re saddened to share that this year’s Veterans Day Ceremony has been cancelled due to a lack of cemetery funding and the ongoing government shutdown,” the Cemetery said in a Facebook post.
Due to the government shutdown, the annual ceremony honoring veterans at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery was canceled
While the ceremony may have been canceled, there were signs of the holiday up around the cemetery. Students from Stillwater High School put up flags along the roadway leading to the cemetery.
In addition, the cemetery was open to the public allowing those who wished to honor veterans buried at the cemetery.
One person died and another is seriously injured after a plane crashed near the Saratoga County Airport in Milton (NYDOT)
One person is dead, and another is seriously injured after a plane crashed into the driveway of a home in the town of Milton.
The pilot, Frederick Baber, 58, of Port Charlotte Florida was killed in the crash while the passenger, Alexander Hoff, 39, of Hollis New Hampshire was seriously injured. He was transported to Albany Medical Center with serious injuries.
The crash occurred on Oct. 31 at 10:24 am in a residential area on Wyndham Way in the Town of Milton. Nine fire departments, three police agencies, Community EMS, Saratoga County Office of Emergency Management and Saratoga County Hazardous Material Team all responded to the crash, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.
In a press conference the day of the crash, Saratoga County Sherriff Mike Zurlo said that the plane is believed to have hit a tree and dropped into the driveway of a residence.
While the crash was initially dispatched as a structure fire with entrapment, responders on scene determined that the fire was limited to outside the residence and that the structure was not impacted.
The house was occupied at the time, but the residents were not injured and were able to safely evacuate, Zurlo said.
The aircraft involved in the crash was a Mooney M20E that was originally manufactured in 1964, according to the FAA Aircraft Registration. It is listed as a fixed wing single engine aircraft. It first received its airworthiness certification in December 1964 and its current registration was issued in January 2025.
The listed owner was not involved in the crash and told other media outlets that he sold the plane the month prior.
The plane first came to Saratoga County on Oct. 9 according to Flightradar24, a real-time flight tracking service. Its last flight prior to the crash occurred on Oct. 21 with Flightradar24 showing that it circled the Saratoga County Airport for about 13 minutes before landing. The fatal crash on Oct. 31 did not appear on the service’s website.
The aircraft pilot, Baber was listed as having received his private pilot license in July 2019 with his last listed medical certification coming in July 2025. According to the FAA, Baber had a single engine and instrument rating. His daughter said in a Facebook post that he died doing what he loved.
Saratoga County hasn’t seen a fatal plane crash since 2014 when a pilot crashed in Gansevoort while attempting to pick up a towable banner, according to the NTSB. The last non-fatal accident occurred in 2023 when a student and instructor were forced to make an emergency landing in a field after running out of fuel.
As for the Oct. 31 crash, no cause has been issued for the crash, and the NTSB announced that they are currently investigating.
An earlier version of the story misspelled Frederick Baber’s name. We apologize for the mistake and have since corrected the mistake.
A Northumberland man is facing a slew of charges stemming from a robbery in the town.
Pedro Correa Rodriguez, 36 of Northumberland was charged with 11 different counts ranging from drug possession to robbery after an incident that occurred the morning of Nov. 3.
According to New York State Police, Correa Rodriguez struck another person, stole their cell phone, and pointed a handgun at them before fleeing the scene.
A short time later, he was found walking in the area and taken into custody where Troopers found a loaded handgun, the victim’s damaged cell phone, a glass smoking device and drugs.
Correa Rodriguez was arraigned in Northumberland Court and is currently being held without bail at the Saratoga County Correctional Facility.
He was arrested on the following charges: Possession of a Weapon in the second degree, Robbery in the third degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the third degree, Criminal Mischief in the third degree, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Assault in the third degree, Four counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance in the seventh degree, Menacing in the second degree, Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the second degree and Criminal Mischief in the fourth degree.
A Corinth Woman has been arrested after she broke a Saratoga County Sheriff’s Deputy’s thumb.
Jozzelynn Slimmer, 22, was arrested on Oct. 29 for 2nd degree assault stemming from an incident that occurred Oct. 20 in the village of Corinth.
According to Deputies, Slimmer was being taken into custody on a separate incident when she resisted arrest which resulted in the Deputy breaking their thumb.
Slimmer was arraigned in Corinth Town Court and is currently in custody awaiting further legal proceedings.
One of the victims who was hit by a vehicle at the Wilton Walmart has died.
Michael Bushey, 69 of Saratoga Springs died Nov. 3 while receiving treatment at Albany Medical Center. Bushey was struck by Timothy W. Besaw, 34 of Gansevoort in October after an incident at the Wilton Walmart.
According to State Police, Besaw had attempted to leave the store with items he hadn’t paid for before being stopped by an employee. He then left the store with some of the items but got into an altercation with an employee. After this he got in his vehicle and intentionally drove it into two employees.
At the time, Troopers listed their condition as serious but not life threatening.
After fleeing the scene, Besaw crashed his vehicle on Perry Road and was taken into custody. After initially refusing a breathalyzer, Besaw later received a blood test at Glenns Falls Hospital.
Besaw was initially charged with vehicular assault in the first and second degrees, driving while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of an accident. As of time of publication, Besaw has not been charged with any additional crimes related to the incident.
It was a late night in Saratoga Springs as candidates waited to see who would win control of City Hall.
While results didn’t come in until 11:00 p.m., by the end of the night it appeared that the One Saratoga line had nearly swept city hall — winning five out of the seven races, assuming results hold.
“I’m very happy about five out of the seven races,” One Saratoga chairwoman Courtney DeLeonardis said. “I feel we ran really wonderful campaigns with civility, integrity and professionalism. To me this is a sign that our community is looking for city before party.”
Incumbent Mayor John Safford will continue to lead the city. He defeated Democratic challenger and current Supervisor Michelle Madigan, who previously served on city council and ran on the One Saratoga line in her 2023 run for supervisor.
At the time of publication, Safford was ahead by 287 votes.
Safford will be joined on City Council by Incumbent Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll who was endorsed by One Saratoga, as well as the Republicans and Democrats. Coll ran unopposed and defeated any attempts at a write in candidate 7340-63.
Not returning to City Council is Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran. The embattled commissioner was defeated by One Saratoga and Republican backed Jessica Troisi by 433 votes.
In a Facebook post, Moran conceded the election, thanking his Deputy and expressing pride in the work that he did as commissioner. He also took a jab at his opponent while wishing her the best.
“Negative campaigning seems to work, to lose to a campaign without ideas, knowledge of the position or the challenges currently facing it is difficult,” Moran said in the post. “That said, I wish Ms. Troisi the best and we as citizens need her to be successful.”
Safford will also have a trusted familiar face on City Council as his deputy, Joanne Kiernan, was elected Commissioner of Finance. Kiernan ran on the Republican and One Saratoga Line, defeating Democrat Shafer Gaston by 183 votes as of publication.
She will take over a seat currently held by Democrat Minita Saghvi, who ran for Supervisor this year.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for One Saratoga. Incumbent Commissioner of Public Works Chuck Marshall was defeated by Democrat B.K. Keramati who beat Marshall by 342 votes. While Marshall seemed confident on election night, telling reporters he was used to close elections, by the next morning he announced that he had called Keramati to concede.
Marshall only took over the role after winning a closely contested special election in January for the seat vacated by former Commissioner Jason Golub.
In terms of who will represent the city at the county level, a clear favorite emerged early on as One Saratoga endorsed Democrat Sarah Burger received the most votes of any candidate running in a contested election in Saratoga Springs with 5157 votes. The only candidate who secured more was the aforementioned Coll.
Burger will be joined by Current Commissioner of Finance and fellow Democrat Minita Sanghvi who received 4354 votes, defeating One Saratoga Endorsed Republican George Ehinger by 333 votes. Burger and Sanghvi will replace retiring Supervisor Matt Vietch (R, One Saratoga) and Michelle Madigan who ran for mayor.
Around the County
Saratoga Springs wasn’t the only place in the county with contested elections this year.
In the hotly contested race for Saratoga County District Attorney, Republican Brett Eby defeated Democrat Robert Logan 27955-26944, a margin of around a 1,000 votes. Eby will replace Karen Hagen who retired in August.
It wasn’t as close in the race for Sherriff, it wasn’t nearly as close with Republic Jeff Brown defeating Democrat Ryan Mahan 29212-25884, a margin of over 3,000 votes. Brown, who currently serves as Undersheriff will take over for his boss, the retiring Sherriff Mike Zurlo.
Several new faces will also be coming to the Board of Supervisors. In addition to the aforementioned Burger and Sanghvi, five different new members will join the board, if current results remain the same.
In Wilton, Democrat Toni Sturm holds a 104-vote lead over incumbent Republican Supervisor John Lant. The incumbent also lost in Greenfield where Michael Gyarmathy defeated incumbent supervisor Kevin Veitch.
This isn’t the first time this year the two have faced off. Veitch defeated Gyarmathy in the Republican Primary back in June 290-233. After losing, Gyarmathy, a registered Republican, ran on the Democratic line.
Democrats also picked up a seat in Clifton Park where Democrat Ram Mohan Lalukota defeated Republican Juliano Febo for the second of their two supervisor positions 5383-4989, a margin of 394 votes. Current incumbent Republican Angela Thompson decided not to run for reelection while Republican and Chair of the Board of Supervisors Phil Barrett didn’t face a challenger for his position.
In Stillwater meanwhile, Democratic challenger Robert McCoy failed to defeat Republican Incumbent Edward Kinowski. He lost 1320-936.
All told, democrats now hold seven seats on the Board of Supervisors compared to 15 held by Republicans plus Joseph Grasso who ran on the Conservative, Republican and Democratic lines.
The Town of Milton this year has one competitive race in 2025.
While incumbent Supervisor Scott Ostrander (R, Conservative) doesn’t face a challenge, the same can’t be said for the Town Council. Here are the three candidates running for the two seats on the council.
Candidate for Milton Town Council: Michele Juda (D, Working Families)
Thank you for the opportunity to share a bit regarding my candidacy for Town Council in Milton.
I am a twenty-six-year resident who has been an active citizen voice in town government for many years, frequently calling for transparency and accountability during public comment periods. While I commit to always being open-minded and considering the input of all, it certainly is time to have more balanced representation in the Town of Milton. My candidacy is about ensuring the checks and balances necessary to good government. Town business should not be conducted behind closed doors or influenced by insiders. I have pledged to make sure it is in front of the public where it belongs.
My election would ensure a critically needed counterpoint on a board where lockstep votes, with little to no public discussion or disclosure, are the norm. The board that is elected in this cycle will be tasked with adopting revised zoning codes based on the soon to be completed Comprehensive Plan update. These zoning codes will guide development and growth in Milton for many years to come – if there ever was a time to elect someone who is not afraid to ask questions and push back where necessary, this is it!
Protecting the character and natural resources of our small town are important to me. I believe we can remain a vibrant community, with low taxes, and a terrific quality of life without creating sprawl from the Town Center or focusing all economic planning on national retail and 24/7 airport operations. And we can do this while welcoming and offering opportunity to all who wish to call our community home.
I respectfully ask for your consideration and vote on Tuesday, November 4
Incumbent Candidate for Milton Town Board: Eric Delnicki (R, Conservative)
Twenty-five years ago my wife and I moved to Milton to raise our kids, and from the start I knew that I wanted to be involved in this community. When beloved town Councilman Frank “Doc” Blaisdell retired in 2024, I was honored to receive the widespread support required to represent the beautiful place we call home.
My extensive private-sector experience has proven to be a valuable asset to the town, and my background in business and management helps me to approach local issues with a balanced perspective, prioritizing fiscal responsibility, efficiency, and long-term planning. With these skills, I have worked with my fellow board members to ensure that Milton continues to meet residents’ needs and protect its quality of life.
Since joining the Town Board, I have joined our current team in focusing on thoughtful and responsible growth that puts residents first, as we strive to keep Milton affordable for working families while also creating an environment where small businesses can succeed. Through smart planning, the current Board has helped leverage the town’s growth to protect greenspace, enhance recreational areas, and improve public facilities.
I believe in listening to the people of Milton, amplifying their voices in town government and making sure their concerns and ideas shape local decision making, because for me serving Milton is about more than policy; it’s about people. I am deeply committed to preserving our area’s small-town charm, while strengthening its sense of community, and ensuring that Milton remains a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come.
Incumbent Candidate for Milton Town Council: John J. Frolish (R, Conservative)
As I seek re-election for a third term, my record speaks for the commitment I have to our town. Having been actively involved in Milton government for over 40 years, on the Fire Advisory and Planning Boards then as a Town Councilman beginning in 2018, it has been a privilege to serve my neighbors. Each of these roles involved a team working together for a common goal–exactly like the current team of our Town Board.
Throughout my tenure I have had the privilege of serving with bi-partisan members of the Budget committee, and have helped to craft balanced annual budgets that meet the town’s needs without raising the tax rate. The proposed 2026 budget will lower taxes by 1.9%. With proper planning, funds are available for long-range projects, such as park improvements and land acquisitions like the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve.
Additionally, working on the Facilities committee with input on the Reimagine Milton studies, we’ve transformed public input into the future of our Town Center. Improvements were made to our Veterans Park, and the Burgess Kimball Memorial Park with the Milton Mile trail, and pickleball courts, with additional phased improvements for generations to come.
I’m proud to be part of a team dedicated to serving our town, nurturing continued good relationships between members of the board, community, department heads, and staff. Serving on the Personnel Committee has led to the selection of the best candidates to fill open positions.
Much of this success was accomplished with long range planning, collaboration and a practical approach to management. Continuing to work as a team allows us to face challenges in a fiscally responsible manner with low taxes, a safe community and valuable public services.
Resident feedback is always welcome and I look forward to incorporating your input into Milton’s future!
