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 Times Union Agrees with Us - SEDC

The Times Union Agrees with Us - SEDC Needs to be Transparent

A recently published Times Union Editorial (Jan 16, 2024) (“SEDC, try transparency”) states, “public money means public accountability. Why doesn’t the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation seem to get that?” This need for transparency is the same point that LWV Saratoga County made in its December 2023 statement sent by letter to the editor of the Times Union - see below.

December 2023 Statement of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County:
The public wins when SEDC is transparent.

The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County is pleased that the Appellate Division of the State’s Supreme Court Third Judicial Department ruled that the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) must comply with the Public Authorities Accountability Act.  This is a win for the public, since the Act requires the SEDC to publicly disclose its finances – to actually be transparent.
The League position holds that any economic development entity created and or funded by the County should be subject to the direction of the County Board of Supervisors and, in order to promote accountability and transparency, should comply with complete and accurate reporting and open meeting requirements. This position, adopted by consensus following a League study, was established in 2007 and revised in 2013, 2016, and 2023 as the entities changed over time. This position also urges that any such entity should be required to provide annual public reports on its accomplishments against the contract deliverables.
When entities like the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation are transparent the public wins.

Call for Immediate Removal of President Trump

League of Women Voters of the United States Calls for Immediate Removal of President Donald Trump

1/8/2021

WASHINGTON – Thursday night, the League of Women Voters board of directors met and voted unanimously to call for the immediate removal of Donald J. Trump from the office of the President of the United States of America via any legal means, including and in order of preference: impeachment with disqualification, the invocation of the 25th amendment, or resignation. Today, the League of Women Voters board of directors issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump must be immediately removed as President of the United States of America and banned from running for federal office ever again.

“The sitting president was the instigator of Wednesday’s domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five Americans dead and many more injured. He commanded an army of insurrectionists to forcefully overturn our free and fair elections in an effort to maintain power. These are the actions of a tyrannical despot, and they are in direct opposition to American democracy. President Trump continues to present a clear threat to national security as well as the safety and security of the American public.

“For violating his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, Donald Trump must immediately resign or be removed from office by any measure possible in accordance with the law. Removing President Trump from the office of the president and swearing in Vice President Mike Pence to fulfill the duration of this presidential term will ensure our Constitution is maintained and upheld.

“The League of Women Voters calls on both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to immediately impeach President Trump with disqualification and remove him from office. Should Congress fail to impeach him, we call on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office immediately.”

Dark Day in Our History

This is a dark day in our history. Today should have been a procedural exercise to finalize the 2020 election. Instead, our nation's Capitol is under siege by domestic terrorists bent on violently invalidating the will of the people.

President Trump should concede that the election is over and call for his supporters to stand down, respect the certification process and support a peaceful inauguration on January 20th.

League of Women Voters of the U.S. 1/6/2021