Kuczynski Follows Party And Goes Low

In a disturbing comment to the press, Hank Kuczynski, Democratic candidate for Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works, seemed to imply that Judge James E. Walsh acted improperly in his decision to allow the special election scheduled for January 28, 2025, to proceed. Referring to Walsh, Kuczynski told the Saratogian:

“I believe people should have a choice, that judges shouldn’t pick who can be elected officials,” Kuczynski said.

The judge, of course, did not “pick who can be elected officials.” He simply ruled that once the date for an election has been set, it cannot be changed. This decision is not complicated and clearly supported by statute and legal precedent. Even the Democrats’ previous candidate for Public Works Commissioner, Sarah Burger, told the Gazette that “…as an attorney, I don’t see any good-faith basis…to try to appeal.”

The political parties controlled who would be on the ballot in the election, not the judge. Quite simply, the Republicans filed the correct papers at the proper time, and the Democrats did not.

So did Mr. Kuczynski truly not understand the judge’s decision or did he deliberately misrepresent it falling into line with what appears to be a major Democratic strategy in this campaign.

The Spin Machine In Overdrive To Misinform Voters

With no line on the ballot, the local Democratic Committee has launched a write-in campaign to elect Hank Kuczynski.

They have launched a media campaign that attempts to portray themselves as victims and the city Republican Party as somehow manipulating the system to freeze them out.

This line of attack does not stand up under the most casual scrutiny. There are a set of procedures for getting on the ballot. They are not complicated. The Republicans adhered to these. The Democrats did not.

Here is a sample of the Democrats’ conspiracy theory.

“There’s been a process which is basically marked by underhanded maneuvering on the part of Saratoga County Republicans including the Saratoga County Committee chair who is also an election commissioner and a judge who is a Republican, to create a ballot with only one candidate on it. And that is—basically we have a Democratic majority in Saratoga and the Republicans are trying to get something done with a power grab they can’t do in a straight-up election. So, I think Hank’s feeling is that this was just not fair, not democratic and he decided to do something,” said [Otis] Maxwell [Chair of the city Democratic Committee].

WAMC

“They continue to obstruct our ability,” Moran said on Thursday. “I filed the documents with the Board of Elections. We have not gotten approvals. We are well past any sort of dates. I’m done fighting with these people. They only want an election that is rigged for their candidate.”

Times Union November 9, 2024

“I can’t emphasize more how deviant the Republicans have been through this whole process,” [Otis] Maxwell [Chair of Democratic Committee] said.

Times Union January 6, 2025

These sentiments have been amplified by Democratic Committee members commenting on this blog and at City Council meetings. James Thompson addressed the Council last night (1/7/25) describing the City Republicans as engaging in “shenanigans” and trying to “cook the books” and stating that Judge Walsh had “suspect credentials.” Likewise committee member David Morency commented on this blog that the Republicans had decided to “bull through the election” and that the Republican committee is “attempting to hijack this election”.

Kuczynski Campaign Echos Misinformation

It is unfortunate that the Democrats, including their candidate Hank Kuczynski, are now resorting to falsely accusing the Republicans of some kind of misconduct rather than admitting that they themselves intentionally or unintentionally are the ones who failed to follow legal election procedures.

Some will say that this Democratic campaign is “just politics.” This blogger thinks that Kuczynski, Moran, and Maxwell badly underestimate the voters in our city. Many earnest and informed voters are looking for candidates who will be straight with them. If Kuczynski wants to win, he needs to concede his party’s failure in the ballot fiasco and run a campaign that focuses on his credentials and ideas rather than taint himself by making unfounded accusations.