SARATOGA SPRINGS — Republicans currently enjoy a 4-3 majority in elected city offices, and party officials say they are confident they will increase their majority in this November’s elections.
John Herrick, chairman of the city Republican Committee, said a cornerstone of the party’s election strategy will center on backing the four incumbents: Mayor Scott Johnson, commissioners Kenneth Ivins Jr. and Skip Scirocco and Supervisor Matthew Veitch.
“All of our incumbents have done an excellent job,” Herrick said. “Our committee feels the same way, and I expect that those four incumbents will come before the committee and receive their unanimous support.”
Herrick said that since taking office in January 2008, the Republican elected officials had maintained close communications with the committee, a relationship that he called “beneficial,” as the officials were able to get feedback from the committee.
“All the incumbents have a good chance at re-election,” Herrick said. “They’ve all done good jobs in their offices, and the City Council did a great job with no tax increase in ’09. That was an extremely positive vote for the council.”
Even in a party known for careful control of its members, Scirocco, commissioner of public works, frequently chose to vote against his party-mates on some city matters, most notably the indoor recreation center. Even so, Herrick said he still expected Scirocco to receive the party’s endorsement.
“Skip has always been an independent person. All the times he was county supervisor he voted his own mind, and I think that’s just Skip,” Herrick said. “I think he has a good feel for what the community is saying on a lot of different issues, and sometimes those are contrast to what the mayor thinks. But that’s the way of a democratic society.”
The Republican committee will meet May 11 to interview candidates. Although a press release issued in mid-April primarily called for candidates seeking the party’s endorsement for positions currently held by Democrats, Herrick said the party would also interview candidates for Republican-held seats, should anyone express interest.
“I expect that all four incumbents will be interviewed by the committee. We will interview people interested in running for positions held by incumbents,” he said, “but the incumbents will have a lot of support from the committee, and it will be hard for a new candidate to receive party support.”
In the last round of city elections in 2007, Republicans fielded candidates in five of seven races, winning four. Democrat Ron Kim, commissioner of public safety, successfully defeated Richard Wirth. Fellow Democratic Commissioner of Accounts John Franck did not face a challenger, and Supervisor Joanne Yepsen retained her seat after receiving the highest number of votes among three candidates for the position.
This year, Herrick said he hopes the party will field a full slate of seven candidates, but noted that running for — and holding — elected office is a time-consuming prospect, which can sometimes lead to difficulty in finding candidates.
Republicans also hold a significant enrollment advantage in Saratoga Springs, but Herrick said that party affiliation can no longer be seen as the sole indicator of how a person will vote.
“You have to have good candidates, and you have to be on the right side of the issues to get people elected,” he said “It’s always a challenge. Some years the Republicans do well, other years Democrats do well, and some years it’s split. But it’s always competitive, and I anticipate that this fall will be the same.”
“We’re looking forward to a good, positive campaign based on the positions. Everyone worked hard two years ago, I expect that the candidates will work hard again this year and not take anything for granted,” Herrick said.
