Courtesy HeidiForMayor.com (2021)
Heidi Owen West admits that the role of mayor under the commission form of government in Saratoga Springs “presents challenges,” but “I see my role as the consensus builder,” she said in a recent interview. "It's a lot of work."
Owen West, a Saratoga Springs native and owner for three retail stores downtown, is running for mayor and has won the endorsement of the Republican party.
However, on her campaign websites and in the interview, she called herself an independent candidate.
She said if she is elected to the position, she is ready for it, that consensus building is a skill she has honed for 30 years as a business owner and as a volunteer on committees in the community.
Saratoga Springs has many “brilliant voices” but the work is to bring them to the table and get them talking, she said, adding that her time spent in the area has meant a lot of opportunity to bring people together.
She cited most recently her work helping on the Stronger Together campaign in Saratoga to help businesses get through the pandemic when "we as small business owners were struggling, suffering."
She wants to bring a sense of respect and professionalism back to city hall, she said. A pandemic and the closure of so much that makes Saratoga Springs tick has made for a difficult year, she said, but “I don’t see the commissioners working together right now.”
Her focus will be on economic development and recovery and working to learn what the city can from the pandemic and how to lessen the impact of one in the future.
Among her other focuses will be working to help the homeless population in downtown. She has been on a committee that addressed that issue, and "I really want to continue that work.”
At the same time, she said she has been hearing from people, especially women, that they do not feel safe downtown, something she said she finds “unacceptable.”
"That needs to be addressed," she said.
The EMS and fire station on the city’s east side would see completion under her watch.
The city approved the planning process for the building earlier this year, but some in the community do not like the location, a parcel of land leased from the New York State Racing Association on Henning Road. It will fall on the next council to see it through.
She said she understood that some people thought she was against it. They were mistaken, she said: "We will get that built...One hundred percent, I'm behind that."
Her reasoning is simple: "I want services. When we call, I want police to show up. I want fire to show up." She ties this back to her notion of feeling safe in the community.
Along those lines, she said she supports sensible and reasonable police reform, but at the same time the possibility of more protests that block traffic and sidewalks puts a business owner like her into a difficult position. She wants people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but hopes to see peaceful demonstrations.
She said she trusts Mayor Meg Kelly to put together the right police reform task force as mandated by a resolution the city council passed at the end of last month. The resolution adopted many reforms but left questions about no-knock warrants and a Civilian Review Board up to a task force that the mayor will convene.
"I think we have to trust that process and see how it plays out,” she said.
She owns the stores, Caroline and Main, Union Hall Supply Co., and Lifestyles of Saratoga.
"I really do want people to understand my background,” she said. "I have been in this community for a long time.”
Some background provided by the candidate:
- HeidiForMayor.com
- Downtown Business Association Board Member VP Current
- Gateway House of Peace Board Member Current
- SPAC Action Council 2020
- The Saratoga Collaborative to End Homelessness 2019
- City of Saratoga Springs Flat Rock Centre Committee 2018
- City of Saratoga Springs Parking Task Force 2015