Saratoga League calls for County Charter Commission

The following letter requesting the appointment of a County Charter Commission was sent to the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors on May 12th and read at the Board of Supervisors' meeting on May 20th by Linda McKenney, Co-President.
Here is a link to the Board of Supervisors’ May 20th meeting.
The letter is read at timestamp 31:20.

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May 10, 2025

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors
40 McMaster Street
Ballston Spa, NY 12020

Dear Board of Supervisors,

The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County asks the Board of Supervisors to appoint a Charter Commission to examine options for types of governance that Saratoga County might consider adopting. The goal would be for the Commission to recommend one system of governance for the County to adopt (including the possibility of readopting our current form). Said Charter Commission would be given the authority to weigh the advantages of each of the types of legislative bodies and of executive (decision making) structures and to recommend one legislative and one executive type.

In 1987 the Board of Supervisors created a 16-member 21st Century Commission. They issued a 113 page report that dealt with many issues and made many recommendations, among them recommendations about the structure of the County Government, the two most important of which were to “enact a local law for the creation of a county board of representatives by 1991”, and to “establish a schedule of regular review of the structure and responsiveness of our county government.“  They also said, “Although we believe the accomplishments of Saratoga County government compare most favorably with other counties, it is prudent to carefully consider: -as Saratoga’s population and budgets continue to grow, “will the present form of government be able to meet the needs of its County residents?” (p.87)  

We are currently operating under the same form of government we had in 1791 when our county was established. On the last Tuesday in May 1791, the Supervisors rode their horses or drove their carts to the meeting at the “dwelling house of William Mead, of Still-water.”

There have been many changes in the past 234 years, and we believe it is time to once again critically examine whether our current governance structure continues to meet our needs. The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County believes this issue should be reexamined and asks you to establish a Charter Commission.

Note that if you do not establish a commission, the voters of the county can initiate the process by filing a petition with the clerk of the legislative board which contains the signatures of at least 10% of the total number of voters in the last gubernatorial election (10,482) asking that the board establish a Charter Commission.

If the legislative body of the county does not adopt a resolution creating a charter commission on its own accord, within three months of the petition filing with the clerk of the board, the board is required to submit the question to the voters, by referendum, on whether to establish a charter commission. This question must be posed to the voters at the next general election occurring not less than five months from the petitions filing. If the voters approve of the formation of a charter commission, the board must appoint members within two months of the public referendum.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Marie Pendergast and Linda McKenney, Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters of Saratoga County

The League’s Nonpartisan Legacy

Submitted by Patricia Nugent

Reprinted with permission from The Daily Gazette, as featured on May 7, 2025.

I recently pitched League of Women Voters membership to a millennial lamenting how powerless he felt in this political climate. He forcefully replied, “It’s impossible to be nonpartisan these days! That’s totally unrealistic!” It’s true that our hyper-partisan culture has gotten progressively worse over the last decade, and nonpartisanship may be viewed with suspicion by both sides. I’m frequently challenged by people questioning how I, an outspoken feminist, can pursue women’s rights within the confines of the League’s nonpartisan mandate when one party’s record is verifiably less favorable to women’s equality than the other. After the last federal election, a friend indignantly texted, “How can the League remain nonpartisan when states are toying with executing women who have abortions? We can’t stand on the sidelines!”

I agree – we can’t. And we don’t. What is not well understood is that the League is a highly political organization, advocating for policies and legislation that advance an inclusive democracy – no matter which party supports or opposes them. We chase the cause and not the actors, not supporting or opposing political parties or candidates. Instead, we support or resist political actions. Admittedly, this can get confusing when party lines are drawn around issues, creating the potential to offend either political party at any given juncture.

A biography of Alice Paul, titled “Claiming Power” by J.D. Zahniser and Amelia R. Fry, has deepened my understanding of the League’s nonpartisan roots: Alice was one of the leaders who took women’s suffrage over the finish line to become the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The book traces Alice’s feminist training in London under Emmeline Pankhurst to the streets of Washington D.C. Originally a leader in the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), she then formed a competing organization to engage in more militant strategies to secure women’s voting rights. She eventually founded the National Woman’s Party (NWP), with the goals of holding the party in power responsible for the roadblocks to suffrage and withholding support from any party that didn’t support suffrage. Since a Democratic president and Congress stood in the way of women’s voting rights, Alice’s organization launched full-scale opposition to all Democratic candidates in 1916 whether or not they individually supported women’s suffrage. In other words, she held the whole party responsible, no matter how individual politicians voted. She insisted it was not a partisan act – she would have gone after any party standing in the way. Women of both parties joined her picket lines in front of President Wilson’s White House.

The president of NAWSA, Carrie Chapman Catt, was horrified by NWP’s tactics. Suffrage had always been a nonpartisan cause, and NAWSA aligned itself with pro-suffrage politicians of both parties. Being nonpartisan was important to the movement because partisan politics was considered “dirty business,” rendering women “unfeminine.” (Heaven forbid!) And NAWSA had suffered repercussions in the 1890s after aligning with a political party (Populist) that later faltered. Catt did, however, publicize each candidate’s position on suffrage and “recommended” suffrage candidates to voters.

This was not the first time, nor the last, a social movement split due to a difference in strategy. Single-minded in their goal to secure the vote for women, activities of both groups bordered on partisanship at various times. The cause overrode party and candidate.

Catt went on to found the League in 1920 to help women use their right to vote in their own self-interest. Three years later, recognizing that voting rights were not enough to ensure fair and equal treatment of women in our nation, Alice Paul proposed the still-elusive 24-word Equal Rights Amendment.

Through more than one century of advocacy, the League has remained bound by its nonpartisan mandate ‒ stricter now than our foremothers’ interpretation. While members might have personal partisan affiliations, when serving in an official capacity, they must honor their obligation to nonpartisanship in words and deeds. It’s what makes the League credible and sustainable through shifting partisan alliances.

The League proves people can work together on a mutual goal, such as women’s equality, regardless of political affiliation. Those who want to work together to build a more-inclusive democracy, regardless of party or gender, should join their local League of Women Voters.

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Patricia Nugent is a past president of the Saratoga County League of Women Voters and is currently active in their Women’s Rights Action Coalition. She will be presenting “Deeds, Not Words” about Alice Paul’s campaign strategies at Saratoga Springs Public Library on June 11 at 7pm.

LWV Saratoga Founder, Betty Gallagher turns 100 Years Old

Shared by Barb Thomas

In 1965 Betty Gallagher, who The Saratogian referred to as Mrs. Orville Roger Gallagher, held an organizational meeting to form a League of Women Voters to serve the area of the Saratoga Springs School District. She had invited 57 friends and acquaintances. Like Betty, most of the attendees were wives of Skidmore faculty. The meeting was cut short because there were so many sirens blaring. It was a fire that burned down the hospital and other buildings. But following that memorable meeting a Saratoga Springs League was formed. Betty served as the first president (1965-69) and again from 1981-84 and also was a co-president from 1986-1988. Betty was (and is to this day) a staunch defender of voting rights and all reproductive rights including abortion. And she almost single-handedly led the successful fight to get Saratoga County to provide Expanded In home Services (EISEP) to its elderly residents.

Betty’s 100th Birthday was March 15, 2025. During League’s gathering at the Parting Glass for International Women’s Day, members sang Happy Birthday.

NYS Clean Energy Goals: Stick to the Plan

Submitted by Joanna Lasher, LWV Saratoga County,
on behalf of Capitol District Four League Environment Committee.

In the last five years, progress has been made across the country and in New York State (NYS)  in the deployment of renewable energy, such as solar, including rooftop installation and large-scale solar farms, as well as onshore wind and the beginnings of offshore wind. While these results are impressive, NYS has a long way to go to meet the first sub-goal of 70% renewable energy as projected in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) by 2030.

There have been legitimate technical and logistical concerns, conservation issues, land use concerns, and conflicts which need to be addressed. NYSERDA (NYS Energy Research and Development Authority) is attempting to address these concerns. “Further confounding progress are fossil fuel-based organizations using inflammatory and, in many cases, erroneous information to scare residents into opposing large scale solar and offshore wind.” 1

With the first concrete goal approaching, naysayers are suggesting the State’s goals are unrealistic. They are saying things such as, “We cannot afford these goals,” “We need to go slower,” and “We can spend lots of money and not make a difference.” Others point out that we are in the midst of climate change with impacts and their costs climbing exponentially in the billions of dollars now. We need to move faster, not slower!

Climate scientists indicate that our efforts to slow down global warming now will appear to have little impact for the next 25 years because the forces are already in motion. However, climate scientists still believe we have a short window of time to ameliorate the effects. If we do not act fast to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will be pretty much unlivable by the end of this century. 

NYSERDA has a State Energy Plan that was published in 2015 with updates in 2020 to align with the objectives of the CLCPA. Since then, the Scoping Plan Report has been released, examining energy issues that contribute to climate change and offering recommendations that are currently being implemented by the State. NYSERDA is now beginning the process of working on a new plan and “the public will have opportunity to provide comments on the draft scope and the draft plan throughout the process.” 2  We need to monitor this process, encourage speedy solutions and support green energy bills which will speed up the process.

The State Energy Planning Board will now convene, chaired by NYSERDA. The final Plan will provide a 15-year outlook and will focus on strategies to meet future energy needs and advance decarbonization, while balancing reliability, affordability, environmental and public health impacts and economic growth. 2

Governor Hochul has signed the Superfund Act passed by both houses of the legislature. Bills for 3 billion dollars a year for 25 years will be going out to Fossil Fuel Companies who bear much of the responsibility for accelerating climate change through disinformation and lies to the public. This year, the League is advocating for the NY HEAT Act to be in the budget. The NY HEAT Act reforms Public Service Law, allowing energy utilities to provide clean energy options while protecting families from high energy costs. An easy way for you to contact your legislators about NY HEAT: Text NYHEAT to 52886 to connect to an online form.
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1 Pete Sheehan (Pete.sheehan@sierraclubhudsonmohawk.org), Newsletter Editor, Sierra Club, Hudson Mohawk Group, Winter 2024, Volume 57, No.1.

2 See New York State Energy Plan.

Urge President Biden to publish the Federal Equal Rights Amendment!

In the United States, women are still not guaranteed equal rights. We have seen the devastating consequences of this reality.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which will update the US Constitution to protect the equality of rights under the law regardless of sex, can be added to the Constitution with one action. With just months left in office, we are urging President Biden to act to ensure that the ERA is published. 

The ERA has met all requirements for ratification.

ACTION:

Contact the White House and ask President Biden to take action on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by instructing the US Archivist to certify the 28th Amendment.

1. Call or text the White House Comment Line:
- Call (202)-456-1111 (Comment line is open Tuesday - Thursday only)
- Text text (302) 404-0880

2. Send an E-mail: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/share

3. Sign the LWV letter: https://www.lwv.org/take-action/president-must-immediately-publish-equal-rights-amendment

The ERA will protect against the rollback of rights, provide a vital tool for the judicial branch to decide sex discrimination cases, and pave the way for further legislative progress toward sex and gender equality.  

For more information and additional ways to support this important effort, see the ERA coalition website, or go to League of Women Voters ERA page (national website).