Democratic Candidate for Commissioner of Finance, Minita Sanghvi, is running for the position against Adam Israel, on the Saratoga Strong line, and Republican Joanne Kiernan. Sanghvi released a statement last week about her plan.
[Read more about Adam Israel here and Joanne Kiernan here. A fourth candidate, Sierra Hunt, on the Working Families Party does not seem to be actively campaigning. Editor's note: we had to miss Sanghvi's launch event, and so are running this instead.]
From a press release: Democratic Candidate for Commissioner of Finance, Minita Sanghvi, has a plan for Saratoga’s future.
Sanghvi is a tenured professor with an undergraduate degree in accounting, an MBA and a PhD in business. She has worked for several Fortune 500 companies, and has nearly twenty years of community service experience. She currently serves as the Finance Officer for the Saratoga Springs Public Library Board of Trustees.
Her plan for Saratoga Springs is to:
1. Rebuild Saratoga finances. “COVID-19 hit our community and its economy hard. I will focus on rebuilding our fund balances so we are better prepared for the future,” says Sanghvi.
2. Build the 3rd EMS station on the Eastern Plateau. Saratoga Springs must be safe for all residents, and this project is an important part of that. Sanghvi supports “staffing our fire trucks fully, to decrease response time and increase the safety of our fire-fighters.”
3. Boost our tourism. Our tourism has historically focused on the track and the summer season. We can do more. “I will work with local business leaders to expand our tourism base with opportunities for cultural tourism, sports tourism, historic tourism, and green tourism that brings more people year-round to Saratoga Springs.”
4. Invest in green, clean infrastructure. “I will work to get our city hall carbon neutral by 2030,” says Sanghvi. “State and federal funding initiatives can help build our city’s green infrastructure, and ultimately benefit our city’s bottom line.”
5. Inclusive Saratoga. Our community should make every resident feel safe and welcome. “Our city is torn right now and both sides feel unheard, disrespected and disregarded. My experience serving on the Human Relations Commission in Greensboro and the Human Rights Task Force in Saratoga Springs gives me the skills to bring people to the table and start the process of building bridges.”