Early voting in 1 week — catch up with our elections coverage
PLUS: Gaston responds to MSF, and a look at the weekend.
Elections round-up, the week that was
Gaston strikes back at Moving Saratoga Forward
Oct 17, 2025
Dems to control county board?
A story in the Times Union says that this may be the year that Democrats take more control of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. If all the county’s endorsed Democrats win, nine of the 23 town supervisors will be Democrats, but they would hold 120,387.5 of the 235,509 weighted votes in the county, a majority of the voting power. Democrats could choose leaders on the board and committees and more say in the county’s budget. One tiny potential problem for the Dems: GOP voters in the county outnumber them 68,386 to 56,830, with 56,439 unaffiliated voters.
MSF vs. Gaston
Shafer Gaston, the Democratic-endorsed candidate for Commissioner of Finance has been the target of the Facebook page Moving Saratoga Forward, a conservative website. The MSF group has highlighted Gaston’s foreclosure information about the house Gaston and his ex-wife Tara Gaston, the former County Supervisor from Saratoga Springs, owned jointly.
MSF contends that Gaston was choosing to support candidates in races while he should have been paying his mortgage, but in an email to the Dispatch, Gaston said the paperwork they are citing is just the process of moving the responsibility for the mortgage from Tara to Shafer.
The VA Mortgage he holds means that modifications move at the speed of the Veterans Administration, Shafer Gaston wrote to the Dispatch.
“Well, we needed to have a foreclosure conference [with the VA] to modify the mortgage to being under my name, and that required consent from the VA. October meetings turned into December, and then into February, and finally in May of 2025 everything was in order,” he wrote.
The loan is caught up with a new schedule of payments, and Shafer Gaston is now the party responsible for paying the bill, he wrote. Gaston faces JoAnne Kiernan, an independent who has won the endorsement of One Saratoga. She is also the current deputy mayor under Mayor John Safford, a Republican.
Sit-down’s with the candidates
District Attorney: A Times Union story highlights the differences between the GOP’s Brett Eby and the Democrat’s Bobby Logan in their race for County District Attorney. Eby says he has experience as a defender, a prosecutor and as a legal aid to judges, and having that experience from all views of the courtroom has prepared him for the county’s top prosecutor’s job. Logan cites his 16 years experience especially as an Assistant District Attorney, the story says.
Mayor’s race: Another Times Union story highlights the differences between incumbent Mayor John Safford, endorsed by the Republicans, and his opponent Michele Madigan, endorsed by the Democrats. She is a current county board supervisor and the former Commissioner of Finance. Madigan is looking at an AI future for the city and hopes to reignite the Smart City initiative that she spearheaded as commissioner. Safford, completing his first term as mayor, is running on a record of civility, bringing calm discourse to the oft-times raucous city council meetings and reinvigorating some of the smaller committees such as the Arts Commission. He also has been working on police Civilian Review Board, which he says is now operational.
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In Brief
‘SO Y’ALL DON’T CALL POLICE AND FREAK OUT LOL’
That post to the Nextdoor app certainly caught our attention. Turns out it’s Family Weekend/Homecoming at Skidmore, and there are fireworks planned from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. So if you’ve got a skittish pup or other animal, you’ve been warned. And don’t “freak out” or call the police — they’re the ones spreading the advance word.
Dig in: Saratoga Wing Off pops off tomorrow
Saratoga’s 8th annual Wing Off is hitting Downtown (and beyond) tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dig into $2 wing samples all over town, with flavors such as smoky pepper hot honey (Coat Room), Saratoga peanut butter red curry (Franklin Square Market), and apple cider donut (Bookmaker’s at the Holiday Inn).
For the full list of participants, visit discoversaratoga.org.
Before the weather changes: Final Sunday Stroll
You’ve got one last change to stroll Saratoga this season with the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. Sunday at 10:30 a.m., join George Demers for a stroll through the “Historic West Side.” You’ll learn about the neighborhood’s history as home to the African American and immigrant communities, going back to World War I and through the Urban Renewal Movement and Housing Act — and the consequences of these revitalization efforts on our city’s minority populations.
For more information, visit saratogapreservation.org.
Appeals Court upholds even-year elections
What this means for local races.
By: Stephen Thurston
New York’s Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, says a law that would move most local elections from odd- to even-numbered years is Constitutional. The law would shift elections for county and towns to even-numbered years. Some statewide elections, such as that for governor, already run on even years.
In rejecting arguments from the counties that brought a lawsuit to stop the law from taking effect, the Appeals Court writes: “We hold that there is no express or implied constitutional limitation on the legislature’s authority to enact the Even Year Election Law and therefore affirm.”
Hochul, who signed the law in 2023, called the decision as “victory for democracy and all New Yorkers.”
“I championed this legislation because I believe our state is stronger when more people have the opportunity to make their voices heard,” the governor said in a statement. “By aligning local elections with the state and federal calendar, we’re making it easier for New Yorkers to participate in government.”
Republican-run counties sued the state over the law arguing the change conflicts with many local charters and the rights of the local governments to self-rule. The counties appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or they could file a federal lawsuit, the Times Union story says.
On Spectrum One news, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said: “This is all an experiment from New York City politicians who want to exert their influence over upstate and Long Island political races.” New York City races will still run during odd years.
The races will not change this year, but the ruling will change when some positions are up for re-election.
The change excludes villages and races for county clerk, sheriff, district attorneys, local judges and other races set-out in the state Constitution. They will still be held during odd years. The decision was unanimous and the court’s lone Republican, Judge Michael Garcia, wrote the opinion, Spectrum News said.
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ICYMI…
