SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Spa City was the fictional setting in an episode of the NCIS TV series which aired on CBS March 3.
The episode, titled “Close to Home,” tells the story of a 14-year-old girl who claims to have discovered a satchel filled with $35,000 in cash behind a library dumpster.
Following an investigation by detectives, the found money is traced back 15 years to being part of a $5 million bank heist by The Saratoga Spector – “some guy who slipped through the back door of the Saratoga Springs Bank and single-handedly stole $5 million and then disappeared without a trace,” according to the detectives.
The investigate team reads all about the “Saratoga Spector” in a 2010 copy of “The Saratoga Register” newspaper, which is brought up on their office computer screens.
“Never before has any town in upstate New York or perhaps even the world experienced a crime quite like this,” gushes the lede of the article titled: Saratoga Specter Strikes!
The main suspect quickly becomes the owner of a Saratoga Springs heating & cooling company – “We Put The VA in HVAC” is their slogan, but the investigation goes sideways after a search for the suspect finds him with a bag over his head in the closet of his ransacked apartment.
The mystery does eventually get solved and most everyone lives happily ever after.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — City Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll on March 4 released the department’s annual report.
The Department is comprised of full-time Administrative Office Staff, a Police Department, Fire Department, Code Enforcement Division, Central Dispatch, Traffic Maintenance, Animal Control Officers and a Health Officer. It is tasked with the protection of city residents and their property from crime, fire, hazard, disorder and natural disaster.
Overall, the Public Safety Department is comprised of approximately 204 full-time and 14 part-time employees.
Speaking during this week’s City Council meeting, Commissioner Coll said during the past year, the department received a tech grant of more than $1 million which will be used to link department technologies, installed new cameras, and in 2024 “graduated the largest recruiting class ever with 10 officers completing field training.”
Currently, the Saratoga Springs Police Department is staffed with a Chief, one Assistant Chief, 4 Lieutenants, 14 Sergeants, 11 Investigators, and 46 patrol officers.
Regarding the Saratoga Springs Police Department specifically, Coll reported 26,667 call responses. The most frequent call type was traffic stops, with nearly 3,200 in number.
“And we had some very significant investigations – a homicide in the city (with the subject was convicted and sentenced to 23 years-to-life), we had a robbery at the Belmont Stakes that was very sophisticated where someone lost a watch valued at $250,000 (and arrest warrants were issued for those folks), and then we had the Lola burglaries – caught as well and two of those subjects have plead guilty,” Coll said.
Data maps provided by the Capital Region Crime Analysis Center show that throughout 2024, Saratoga Springs had a consistent primary density of Calls for Service in the area of Woodlawn Avenue. Secondary hotspots consistently observed were in the area of Broadway between Caroline Street & Lake Avenue, and in correlation with Track Season a consistent density of Calls for Service emerged in the area of the Saratoga Race Course – more specifically Union Ave/ NY-9P, in July and August.
Of the 26,667 calls for service handled by members of the SSPD in 2024, officers generated 3,648 cases that resulted in 892 arrests. Sixty-nine of the calls for service resulted in a use of force by SSPD standards. Of the 69 reports documented by the SSPD, only 25 met requirements for reporting by New York State standards, according to the report showcasing that the city police department has a higher standard for reporting uses of force than New York State requires.
The Department of Public Safety is the city’s largest single department and represents approximately 58% of the general operating expenses this year. Coll spoke of the department’s most recent successes curbing overtime costs.
“We did have a very large reduction in overtime,” the commissioner said, “from 2024 just January and February – compared to 2025, we reduced overtime by 846 hours.” The remarks drew high praise from Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi, tasked with initiating the city’s overall $62.6 million budget for 2025.
Regarding the Saratoga Springs Fire Department, Coll reported a volume of 7,121 calls – a 2% increase over the previous year. Of these nearly 5,000 were Emergency Medical Responses, nearly 1,000 were alarm activations, and 87 were fires. Fire prevention and the Code Department conducted 2,178 inspections.
In June 2024, the fire department opened the much-anticipated Station 3, which is located on Henning Road. The opening of Station 3 has significantly reduced response times to areas east of I-87 and improved coverage of the city as a whole, according to the report.
The population of Saratoga Springs is just over 28,000 and soars to more than 75,000 during the summer months. The city is comprised of 12,000 private homes and businesses that stretch over 29 square miles.
Proposals for development at Caroline Street, provided to the city in late February.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Applicants are seeking an Architectural Review regarding a proposed mixed-used development at 33-35 Caroline St.
The multi-level building would include a penthouse and stand just west of Clancy’s Tavern on Caroline Street, at properties long associated with D’Andrea’s Pizza and Union Coachworks.
The applicant is requesting a build out of the property to a height of just under 61 feet and would include commercial use on the ground floor and residential condominiums on the upper floors.
The UDO provides a maximum height of 55 feet, according to submitted documents, adding that the height sought is comparable with neighboring properties at 30 Lake, and the redevelopment of 30 Caroline – the latter of which was approved in 2022.
The applicant is listed as Oldest Lighthouse LLC, according to documents filed with the city, and Burton Schwab and RSJATTOS as owner. The property stretches to approximately 9,962 square feet (.15 acre) on the north side of Caroline Street.
Additional applications under Architectural Review consideration by the city’s Land Use boards include the determination of significance and discussion of partial demolition of an existing building at 30-30-1/2 Caroline, and the determination of architectural significance for demolition and review of new construction at 128, 132 Washington.
The three land Use boards in Saratoga Springs – Design Review Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals, each meet throughout the month on a regular basis at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public. For specific times and dates of the meetings, visit the city’s website at: saratoga-springs.org.
Chuck Marshall sworn in by City Judge Francine Vero during an official ceremony in Saratoga Springs on Nov. 4, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Chuck Marshall was sworn in as the city’s new Commissioner of Public Works at Saratoga Springs City Hall on March 4.
Marshall will occupy the seat through the remainder of the term, which expires at the end of this calendar year. All five City Council seats – as well as both supervisor seats will be up for vote in November.
Marshall, who was endorsed by the Republican Party, will serve as DPW Commissioner as well as one of five voting members on the City Council. He has been a vocal advocate in opposition to the paid parking plan instituted in city garages and lots last year.
When asked about his paid parking stance at this week’s swearing-in ceremony, Marshall said he remains opposed to paid parking measures in the city, but as it is in the budget as city revenue it would be irresponsible to simply un-fund it, which in turn would create an unbalanced budget.
“So, the reality is it’s on me now to figure out how to get rid of it,” Marshall said during the ceremony which was attended by family members, some City Council members and former state Sen. Roy McDonald, among others.
The position of DPW Commissioner position is both departmental and legislative. The commissioner is responsible for oversight of Saratoga Springs’ street and highway maintenance, its buildings and grounds, and for ensuring that the water system provides sufficient quantities of safe potable water, among other duties.
The position also plays a role in the legislative body of city government by placing the commissioner at the City Council table. The Council proposes and enacts legislation and establishes policy for the city. The mayor and four commissioners form the five-member City Council, and having five members is key in potentially acting as a tie-breaking vote in any deadlocked city-related decisions at the table where majority rules.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was Aug. 1, 1981 – the premiere of MTV – and three dozen songs into the playlist, up came the video of Blotto’s “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard.”
Upstate New York rock band Blotto experienced national success in the 1980’s through touring, record sales, radio airplay and exposure of their videos on that then-brand-new music cable station MTV.
A new documentary film – featuring a broad and entertaining look at the career of the band – was created by Rob Lichter. Hello! My Name Is Blotto – The Movie! Is set to premiere at Cohoes Music Hall on Saturday, April 12.
The film spans the origins of the band members starting as The Star-Spangled Washboard Band in the 1970’s, their evolution to Blotto and heyday in the 1980’s, and their long afterlife up to the present.
Blotto enjoyed a wide and loyal following for their music and engaging live shows that would find Bowtie, Broadway, Sarge, Cheese and Lee Harvey (mostly) good-naturedly lampooning a grab bag of musical genres.
In August 2017, Haymes graciously accepted an invitation to speak at a History of Rock & Roll in Saratoga event this writer was hosting at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Haymes, who died in 2019, was prolific writer, musician, visual artist and supporter of the Capital Region arts scene for several decades. He was also a co-founding member of the band Blotto and its predecessor, the Star-Spangled Washboard band – of the early 1970s.
“We played a couple of shows at Caffe Lena, and within a year we played at SPAC, opening for Sha Na Na,” recalled Haymes. “Star-Spangled Washboard Band lasted through about September ’78 and everybody went their separate ways and got real jobs. Our bass player, Cheese Blotto, got a job bartending at his friends who had just opened a bar that was called 17 Maple Avenue. In the back there was a stage, probably about six inches high, tops. Cheese struck a deal with (the owner) that if he could get some friends to come up and play in the back room then he would still get paid his bartending fee, but he wouldn’t have to actually bartend. So, every weekend he would call up and say: hey, you want to come up this weekend?” said Haymes, who would take on the moniker Sarge Blotto
“Eventually it coalesced into a group and we needed a name. We came up with the name Blotto. We came up with these little cardboard convention badges that would say: Hello My Name Is. That became the title of our first record: Hello My Name is Blotto.
“There was a night, later on, late in the evening, we’re doing our third set or something and there’s a group of gentlemen who come in and stand in the back. Big poodle hair. Satin baseball jackets with the sleeves pushed up. This was like ’79. So naturally we started making fun of them. They’re a band? Ahaha. It’s a Friday night and they’re not playing anywhere,” Haymes recalled.
-Hey, you wanna come up and jam?’
-Oh yeah, sure.
“So we did ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ because everybody does ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ and I think we also did ’We Gotta Get Outta This Place..’ Maybe four guys came up – and they were pretty good! We were very impressed. After our set, it was time to say thank you and wrap up the night. We asked them who they were. Neal, Steve…it was Journey. Earlier that evening they had played at SPAC. Ha. They were pretty cool about it.”
Two years later I was in Colonie Center, somebody said ‘Have you seen the poster?’ We had to go to Spencer’s Gifts and in the back there were these racks of posters and there’s a Journey poster. They’re just kinda standing there. There are some green trees and some white pillars and I’m looking at it and saying, ‘Yeah, it’s Journey. And?’”
“No, look closer, look closer.”
“I looked and hanging from (drummer) Steve Smith’s belt is a cardboard tag: Hello My Name is Blotto. What’s Yours?”
This film is the brainchild of Rob Lichter, aka Bert Blotto, a multimedia expert and longtime friend of Blotto. He recorded performances and interviewed the band over the last 25 years to capture the material for the documentary. He also incorporated a vast collection of archival footage and photos going back as far as 1972. The result is a fun, lightly censored, self-effacing romp through the improbable life and times of the members of Blotto.
The premiere performance of the film will take place at Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen St. in Cohoes on Saturday, April 12. VIP Reception, cash bar and hors devours opens at 5 p.m. and the film screens at 7, with a Q&A to follow at 9. VIP Reception and admission (limited availability) is $40, and Regular admission is $25. For more information and tickets, go to: www.blotto.net or www.guthriebellproductions.com.
BALLSTON SPA — For eleven minutes on Thursday afternoon more than a dozen members representing the legislative authority of Saratoga County government sat in silence and listened, the gravity of the moment spreading across their faces.
The supervisors spent the earlier part of their monthly meeting working on the executive decisions for which they had been elected – authorizing memorandums, accepting grants, amending policies and designating for use funds in Saratoga County’s nearly half-billion-dollar annual budget.
When Ballston Spa resident Cari Scribner stepped to the mic to hold up a photograph during the meeting’s Public Input segment, silence fell upon the large room.
“This is my son Nicholas,” she began. “He worked for the Saratoga County Sewer district.”
Nicholas Scribner grew up in Ballston Spa, graduated from Ballston Spa High, served four years as a lifeguard at the village pool – “after that decided he didn’t want children,” his mom quipped – and worked as an associate electrician for the Saratoga County sewer system. “It was a job he loved.” After his death last November, the American flag was lowered to half-staff and flew over county facilities for seven days.
“Nick had a very common affliction: insomnia. Since he was a child, he could not sleep,” Scribner said. “A friend told him about an herbal, all-natural energy enhancer to overcome fatigue with no side effects. This substance was kratom. Of all the adults that I’ve talked to about it about 10% have heard of it; of all the kids I’ve talked to about it, it’s 100%.”
When Nick was 17, a doctor prescribed medicine to help with insomnia. “In an effort to take something from nature rather than from a pharmaceutical company, my son chose this all-natural substance,” Scribner said. “And that choice ended his life.”
Kratom – a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, commonly refers to an herbal substance that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects, according to the National Institutes of Health. While its use or sale has been banned or restricted in several countries, kratom and kratom-based products are currently legal and accessible in many areas.
“Kratom managed to stay under the radar. Most adults have never heard of it, but here is its tricky little secret: it is enormously addictive. It affects the same opiate brain reducers as morphine, exposing users to high risks of addiction, abuse and dependence,” Scribner said. Recent media reports have referred to it as “gas station heroin.” It may be sold as powder or gel, tea, gummies, fruit flavored energy drinks and honey sticks.
“Kratom sells all over Saratoga County at gas stations and quick stop markets,” said Scribner, displaying a colorful can labeled as kratom Seltzer energy drink to the supervisors in the room. “I purchased this in the village for about $7. Zero sugar, zero alcohol, zero calories – OK, great! And the name on it: A Different Kind Of Energy Drink, Watermelon Candy Kratom Seltzer,” said Scribner, gesturing to the can. “Now who is this watermelon seltzer with a cartoon rabbit aimed at?”
While there are no uses for kratom approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, people report using kratom to manage drug withdrawal symptoms and cravings (especially related to opioid use), pain, fatigue and mental health problems, according to the NIH. An estimated 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021. It contains two main chemical compounds which bind to the same receptors in the brain as opioid drugs such as codeine.
“Within a short time unless they keep upping their dose, kratom users will experience shocking side effects – including crushing stomach pain, migraines, tremors, hot flashes, insomnia. My son was trying to overcome insomnia and chose something that caused insomnia. No side effects on the can. Nowhere does it say this is what it will cause, no warnings,” Scribner said.
“In 2016, in response to increasing calls from poison control centers, the DEA sought to classify kratom as a Schedule 1 drug. This means the substance has no currently accepted medical use and high potential for abuse. But no action was taken. And you know what? My son would be alive if they had done something in 2016.”
Without federal action a handful of states have taken steps to protect its people, she says, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island and Vermont among them. There are currently no age restrictions in New York state to buy kratom.
“Due to my big mouth all over Albany,” Scribner said there are currently four bills in the New York State Assembly and one in the New York State Senate. Some simply place purchase age minimums. A recent state Senate Bill, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Fahy and introduced in February, seeks to prohibit the sale of kratom to individuals under the age of 21, imposing a civil penalty of up to $500 for its sale.
“We all know how kids are. Someone who is 22 will get it and pass it around. I mean that’s what we did with cigarettes back in the day,” Scribner said.
“Nick did not overdose on kratom or mix it with other drugs or alcohol. His death was a complete accident. Two common kratom side effects, again not listed anywhere, are vomiting and catatonic sleep,” Scribner said. “He lived alone and while sleeping on his back in November he began to wretch, couldn’t turn over, and asphyxiated from the contents of his stomach. Twenty-seven years old. His brother found him later, already cold.”
Scribner urged supervisors and residents to contact legislators to support the bills.
“As a family we are gutted. None of us sleep. I cry in waiting rooms, in the grocery store. At stop signs in my car. My tears froze to my face while I was out shoveling these past couple of weekends and I’m really afraid that I’m going to forget the sound of his voice,” Scribner said. “Parent-to-parent, please help me save some of the other children, because no one sounded the alarm in time to change to keep my son alive. Please. Sound the alarm.”
BALLSTON SPA — After more than a decade of failed attempts, a measure to go to earlier bar closing times across Saratoga County – including in the city of Saratoga Springs – is picking up momentum and will likely stage a Public Hearing in March in Ballston Spa.
The New York State Liquor Authority would need to ultimate give its approval, but the Saratoga Springs proposal is, unlike previous efforts, making positive inroads at the county level.
The proposal targets an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026 and details new closing times of 2 a.m. – from Nov. 1 through April 30, and 3 a.m. from May 1 to Oct. 31.
“So, we would no longer be at 4 a.m. in the city,” said Saratoga Springs Supervisor Matt Veitch, who chairs the county Law & Finance Committee, and is also co-chairperson of the entire Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
Currently, the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law prohibits sales of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption in Saratoga County between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sunday, and between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. on any other day.
The county Law & Finance Committee discussed the proposal at its meeting Feb. 12.
“We did not make any decisions at the meetings – there were a couple of supervisors who wanted to have a little more time to think about it, although nobody expressed any opposition to it at the meeting,” Veitch said.
The county Law & Finance committee is expected to return to the discussion at its next meeting – which will take place at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 – and it is anticipated that a legally required Public Hearing will also be held at that time.
The full county supervisors board – which next meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 and then again on April 15 – would then be required to vote to approve the matter and sent it off to the SLA for ultimate approval.
All Saratoga County meetings take place at the county complex in Ballston Spa.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Chuck Marshall will serve as Saratoga Springs’ new Commissioner of Public Works and one of its five voting members on the city council.
Citing “an expensive cost to mount an appeal,” interim Saratoga Springs DPW Commissioner Hank Kuczynski announced Feb. 24 that Democrats will not legally challenge a recent ruling by Saratoga County State Supreme Court Judge James Walsh regarding the citywide special election between the Kuczynski – a Democrat, and Marshall – a Republican.
The announcement came minutes after Kuczynski served as council member at the table in a special meeting at City Hall.
Approximately 3,500 city residents cast ballots in the Jan. 28 election for the Saratoga Springs DPW Commissioner/ fifth City Council seat, in which Marshall’s name appeared pre-printed on the ballot, and Democrats backed Kuczynski as a write-in candidate.
The unofficial election results from the Saratoga County Board of Elections showed a 29-vote lead for the “write-in” candidate. Following two days of inspecting ballots in the basement vault of the Saratoga County Board of Elections, Republicans objected to just over 100 of the ballots.
On Feb. 14, Saratoga County State Supreme Court Judge James Walsh released his 12-page decision. Judge Walsh, a Republican, ruled invalid several dozen ballot votes that Democrats said showed voter intent for write-in candidate Kuczynski, and which Republicans objected to. Republican candidate Marshall was shown to emerge with a margin of victory close to equal the number of ballots ruled as invalid.
The county Board of Elections certified the election Feb. 25. The position will seat a commissioner for the balance of this calendar year, with elections for all five council seats slated to take place in November.
Kuczynski was appointed by the City Council late last October to fill the vacant Public Works Commissioner position. He said he will not seek election in November.
In his statement regarding the election, Kuczynski said: “I received more votes for a total of 1,769 but lost the election. A judge invalidated ballots based on legislative intent versus voter intent.” He added that after reviewing the decision with counsel and an election attorney, however, “the expensive cost to mount an appeal precludes me from moving forward.”
Kuczynski, who had previously served Saratoga Springs’ first deputy mayor, said It was “an honor and privilege” to serve as DPW Commissioner, and wished “the best to the department’s hardworking employees who are the backbone of the city, and to the incoming administration.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS – It was Aug. 1, 1981 – the premiere of MTV – and three dozen songs into the playlist, up came the video of Blotto’s “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard.”
Upstate New York rock band Blotto experienced national success in the 1980’s through touring, record sales, radio airplay and exposure of their videos on that then-brand-new music cable station MTV.
A new documentary film – featuring a broad and entertaining look at the career of the band – was created by Rob Lichter. Hello! My Name Is Blotto – The Movie! Is set to premiere at Cohoes Music Hall on Saturday, April 12.
The film spans the origins of the band members starting as The Star-Spangled Washboard Band in the 1970’s, their evolution to Blotto and heyday in the 1980’s, and their long afterlife up to the present.
Blotto enjoyed a wide and loyal following for their music and engaging live shows that would find Bowtie, Broadway, Sarge, Cheese and Lee Harvey (mostly) good-naturedly lampooning a grab bag of musical genres.
In August 2017, Haymes graciously accepted an invitation to speak at a History of Rock & Roll in Saratoga event this writer was hosting at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Haymes, who died in 2019, was prolific writer, musician, visual artist and supporter of the Capital Region arts scene for several decades. He was also a co-founding member of the band Blotto and its predecessor, the Star-Spangled Washboard band – of the early 1970s.
“We played a couple of shows at Caffe Lena, and within a year we played at SPAC, opening for Sha Na Na,” recalled Haymes. “Star-Spangled Washboard Band lasted through about September ’78 and everybody went their separate ways and got real jobs. Our bass player, Cheese Blotto, got a job bartending at his friends who had just opened a bar that was called 17 Maple Avenue. In the back there was a stage, probably about six inches high, tops. Cheese struck a deal with (the owner) that if he could get some friends to come up and play in the back room then he would still get paid his bartending fee, but he wouldn’t have to actually bartend. So, every weekend he would call up and say: hey, you want to come up this weekend?” said Haymes, who would take on the moniker Sarge Blotto
“Eventually it coalesced into a group and we needed a name. We came up with the name Blotto. We came up with these little cardboard convention badges that would say: Hello My Name Is. That became the title of our first record: Hello My Name is Blotto.
“There was a night, later on, late in the evening, we’re doing our third set or something and there’s a group of gentlemen who come in and stand in the back. Big poodle hair. Satin baseball jackets with the sleeves pushed up. This was like ’79. So naturally we started making fun of them. They’re a band? Ahaha. It’s a Friday night and they’re not playing anywhere,” Haymes recalled.
-Hey, you wanna come up and jam?’
-Oh yeah, sure.
“So we did ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ because everybody does ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ and I think we also did ’We Gotta Get Outta This Place..’ Maybe four guys came up – and they were pretty good! We were very impressed. After our set, it was time to say thank you and wrap up the night. We asked them who they were. Neal, Steve…it was Journey. Earlier that evening they had played at SPAC. Ha. They were pretty cool about it.”
Two years later I was in Colonie Center, somebody said ‘Have you seen the poster?’ We had to go to Spencer’s Gifts and in the back there were these racks of posters and there’s a Journey poster. They’re just kinda standing there. There are some green trees and some white pillars and I’m looking at it and saying, ‘Yeah, it’s Journey. And?’”
“No, look closer, look closer.”
“I looked and hanging from (drummer) Steve Smith’s belt is a cardboard tag: Hello My Name is Blotto. What’s Yours?”
This film is the brainchild of Rob Lichter, aka Bert Blotto, a multimedia expert and longtime friend of Blotto. He recorded performances and interviewed the band over the last 25 years to capture the material for the documentary. He also incorporated a vast collection of archival footage and photos going back as far as 1972. The result is a fun, lightly censored, self-effacing romp through the improbable life and times of the members of Blotto.
The premiere performance of the film will take place at Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen St. in Cohoes on Saturday, April 12. VIP Reception, cash bar and hors devours opens at 5 p.m. and the film screens at 7, with a Q&A to follow at 9. VIP Reception and admission (limited availability) is $40, and Regular admission is $25. For more information and tickets, go to: www.blotto.net or www.guthriebellproductions.com.
BALLSTON SPA — Interim DPW Commissioner Hank Kuczynski remains seated as a member of the City Council following a too-close-to-call special election in January, a subsequent ruling by a county State Supreme Court Judge on Feb. 14, and in advance of a potential appeal that may ultimately play out in the appellate division of the State of New York Supreme Court.
Approximately 3,500 votes were cast the citywide special election for the Saratoga Springs DPW Commissioner/ fifth City Council seat between Republican candidate Charles (Chuck) Marshall – whose name was pre-printed on the ballot, and Democratic write-in candidate Hank Kuczynski. The unofficial results showed the candidates separated by approximately one dozen votes.
Republicans objected to just over 100 of the ballots, and on Feb. 14 Saratoga County State Supreme Court Judge James Walsh released his 12-page decision. Judge Walsh, a Republican, ruled invalid several dozen votes of the ballots that Democrats said showed voter intent for write-in candidate Kuczynski, and which Republicans objected to.
Specific to the ballots ruled invalid: 63 showed the written word Dem, or Democratic, or Democrat, on an area outside the ballot area designated for the write-in vote; 14 had candidate Kuczynski’s name correctly written in the write-in box, but showed his name also written additionally in other areas of the ballot, and a handful of others depicted discrepancies in either name or in writings on the physical ballot.
Following the judge’s ruling, Republican candidate Marshall was shown to emerge with a margin of victory essentially equal to the number of ballots ruled as invalid. Approximately two dozen undervotes – ballots cast but with no voting machine discernible candidate preference – were not believed to have been involved in the judge’s ruling, and their status remains not known.
“In a democracy, adherence to rules is fundamental, especially during elections,” the Saratoga Springs Republican Party responded in a statement. “We have full confidence that Commissioner Marshall will hit the ground running and serve the entire city with dedication and integrity, making all citizens proud, regardless of how they voted.”
Democrats, however, said they had yet to come to consensus about whether to appeal the judge’s ruling and that a court transcript was requested and review by appellate counsel underway.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see this partisan effort to disenfranchise 90 voters and invalidate their ballots despite absolutely clear voter intent,” interim commissioner Kuczynski said Feb. 18. “We hope to appeal the judge’s ruling and look forward to the court of appeals protecting every vote of every Saratogian.”
As of Feb. 19, the county Board of Elections had yet to conduct a final canvassing of the ballots; the completion of the adjudication of ballots and an understanding of whether or not an appeal will be conducted is necessary before the election may be officially certified.
