Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton announced her candidacy for mayor of the city Wednesday evening. About 40 cheering supporters attended the event on the back patio of Hattie’s Restaurant, 42 Phila Street, in Saratoga Springs.
Dalton, a former Republican, is running as an independent on the Saratoga Stronger Together line. Adam Israel is running for commissioner of finance on the same line.
She highlighted her trial-by-fire experience as the safety commissioner, who had to negotiate the sudden and complex changes in government at the state and federal levels when the pandemic hit in March 2020. She had been in office barely a year at that point.
“So here I am, having amassed years of experience,” she said, the joke sounding in her voice.
The pandemic and the budget crisis that came with it, forced her to find a way to stop 20 firefighters and 30 police officers from being laid off, she said. When she added that no one was laid off, a round of applause followed.
“Now is the time to put politics aside and put the city first,” she said, hitting on a theme that has been part of her earlier statements. [See our coverage here.] She has said that party politics have played too strong a role in the city, and she warned everyone to avoid the bickering and divisiveness found in the federal government.
She said that she is the only mayoral candidate who had to go out and collect signatures to be on the ballot, adding that she is “powered by the people and not sponsored by political parties.”
She was required to gather the signatures in order to place the Saratoga Stronger Together line on the ballot for the fall.
She said her priorities include an after-action report on the city’s response to the pandemic, with a focus on business development strategies.
During her term, the city must continue to invest in smart city initiatives and work with the "tech valley"--the Clifton Park area--to the south, without forgetting to develop affordable housing and a workforce development system.
“We must protect open space and preserve our ‘city in the country’,” she said. She says the city should follow its comprehensive plan and the Unified Development Ordinance that city planners are considering and revising now.
“We also must create modern, consistent centralized and accessible channels of communication to and from City Hall,” she said. “Residents need and deserve to know what the city is doing and how we can help them.”
To cheers she says she fully supports developing Fire Station #3, [see our coverage here and here.] and continues to support the police and firefighter unions.
She will pursue this while working within the current commission structure of Saratoga Springs’ government.
Under the commission structure of government in Saratoga Springs, the mayor controls the agenda, somewhat, but is not an executive with veto authority.