Dems Will Not Appeal Judge’s Ruling in Saratoga Springs Special Election; New City DPW Commissioner will be Chuck Marshall 

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.”