Three candidates for mayor highlighted their strengths in an online debate hosted by the Saratoga chapter of the League of Women Voters. It was posted to the group's Facebook page last night.
Robin Dalton, the current Commissioner of Public Safety and unaffiliated candidate running on the Saratoga Strong line, highlighted her current experience, especially as part of the city government during a pandemic.
Ronald Kim, an endorsed Democratic, highlighted his previous service in government, and with the “Saratoga Listens” tour he and other Democrats have conducted in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in the city.
Heidi Owen West, an independent with the Republican endorsement, highlighted her deep ties to the community as a born-and-raised citizen who owns three businesses downtown.
[Click here to view the full debate.]
The debate lasted just over an hour, covering six questions plus opening and closing remarks.
What follows are some key answers, edited for length and to try and show the differences between candidate responses [Editor's note: an ellipsis (...) indicates words removed from an otherwise direct quote.] The candidates are organized by order of response:
Question on affordable housing:
Kim: “Invite the right developers into our city to offer projects. There are many developers who work on this issue and specialize on it. And we need to attract...those developers to our city to address affordable housing...And we're also going to team up with the Democratic administration, President Biden, and look for federal funds.”
Dalton: “[I]nclusion rezoning would mandate that a percentage of any new development be set aside to be affordable or workforce housing, and I think that's something that Saratoga would really benefit from.”
Owen West: “I believe the...community development office actually has done a great job of working with builders and real estate firms to secure housing for residents in the city. I think a lot of what happens is, we're not aware of all the opportunities. Right now the city's on target to exceed units more than twice what HUD requires, so I think part of it is really getting the message out there and the knowledge about the programs that are available so that everyone is insured a place in Saratoga Springs.”
Kim response: “I don't hear anyone saying we've got enough affordable housing. To the contrary, what I hear is that this is an absolute need that has to happen.”
Dalton response: “It insults residents to say that we're just not aware of all this low income or affordable housing. So I just wanted to point out, it is a huge priority of mine...And that means creating more workforce and affordable housing, and it does not exist right now.”
Owen West response: “So I didn't say that I that...there was enough affordable housing, I said I would start by making sure people were aware of what we have, what's in the pipeline...I just wanted to be sure that people understood that we were at twice the limit of the HUD requirements so that we are doing a great job, but we can always do better. I did not say there was enough.”
Question on homelessness:
Dalton: I think there's a real educational component of understanding the difference between someone who's homeless versus someone who's a vagrant. So that would be number one, but I have worked extensively with Shelters of Saratoga to address this issue of our most vulnerable population in Saratoga Springs and reach out to those who need housing, in every possible way. But I think the key to the success of any good outreach and fulfilling the mission of getting homeless people the services and housing that they need is to establish a year-round, drop-in shelter, that where people who go and have not just shelter and not just when it's winter time but all year round, can go drop in and have access to services that they might need all in one centralized hub.
Owen West: So, this issue actually hits really close to home for me, because I have had a close family member, living on the street...Funding the community outreach court which is now the homeless court, we're starting to see a lot of success with the homeless court and what happens when our participants work with a homeless court coordinator to receive services for non violent offenses. And these services can address the underlying issues of homelessness...They were partially funded through the CARES Act but that will run out, so that is going to be a priority for me.
Kim: So I'm glad to hear that the, there will be a drop in facility, because that would be the first thing that we need to do as a city is have a place where these individuals can can go. And that's one of the biggest issues that, what I'll do on day one, is make sure that all our various organizations not only just the nonprofits, but the churches, the clergy...that the various support systems, are meeting at least on a monthly basis because the nature of homelessness changes with seasons...We need to make sure that we're coordinating all the resources and making sure that they're utilized as efficiently as possible to address this...because...it does change as the year changes.
Question on Police Reform and the police oversight Civilian Review Board:
Owen West: “I actually support all solutions that could help our community including the CRB [the Civilian Review Board]. I know that the city and the City Council may actually be voting on it before I get into office. So whatever they vote on, and I'm handed over, I will work really hard to make sure it's the right CRB for Saratoga Springs.”
Kim: “Yes I do support the Civilian Review Board and the other reforms that were recommended by the Police Task Force...There's no defunding the police that I’ll support...When I was Commissioner 2009, I believed in...making sure that our police officers trained as efficiently and effectively as possible, and I'll continue to support that.”
Dalton: "I'm someone who came into office in 2019 started January 1, 2020, and was not in favor of a Civilian Review Board, but I spent the last 20 or so months having one foot as a civilian in City Hall and one inside the police department. And now, many months later, I've actually come to not just support the idea of the Civilian Review Board, but I've been working extensively with Jason Golub who was appointed by our current mayor...I've been working closely with Jason to develop a Civilian Review Board, not rushing it, but making sure that it is just right for our community, that it does right for our police and it does right for the people who have concerns, that it builds in another layer of accountability and trust."
This was the second LWV debate. The first, found here, covered the supervisor race.
The next is set for Oct. 7 and covers the race for the Commissioner of Public Works. The debate for commissioners of finance and public safety will be Oct. 15. Both will be recorded without an audience and posted later, the LWV website says.