Outgoing Mayor Valerie Keehn says there is no repair in sight for the split in the city’s Democratic Party, but party officials say they’re optimistic.
I think that the members of the city committee are going to have to tackle this issue, said Keehn, who is no longer a member of the committee.
`There’s always an effort to try to reach out to the people who may have left the party,` said Lou Schneider, acting chairman of the city’s Democratic Committee, when asked about the secession of Keehn’s followers from the city party. `I’m always willing to do that.`
Schneider says that in the wake of the city’s elections, Democratic infighting, particularly between Keehn and outgoing Commissioner of Public Works Thomas McTygue, led to what currently stands as a loss of majority on the City Council. Republicans will grab a 3-to-2 edge on the City Council if Kenneth Ivins, their candidate for finance commissioner, holds onto his lead over Democrat Jane Weihe after absentee ballots are counted by the county Board of Elections. According to unofficial results, Ivins leads Weihe by 154 votes with at least 479 ballots yet to be counted.
McTygue, who has held office in the city for more than 30 years, lost by almost 2,000 votes; Keehn fell to Republican Scott Johnson by almost 500 votes, nearly the same amount garnered by Gordon Boyd, who was running on the Conservative and Independence lines.
Keehn said the split began when she did not reappoint Bill McTygue to the planning board because she saw it as a conflict of interest between that position and his role as director of public works. She said from that point on, there was a movement in the party to turn a blind eye to what she calls McTygue’s `bullying` and a concerted lack of support for her move toward a transparent government.
`I think everyone was on their own and (Thomas) McTygue thought he didn’t need the party,` said Keehn. `And, in fact, I didn’t either,` she said, noting her victory over Boyd in the Democratic Primary, despite not having the party’s nomination. `At this point, I don’t think the City Democratic Committee is capable of representing the Democrats of Saratoga Springs.`
Saratoga County Democratic Committee Chairman Larry Bulman says there’s blame to be had with Keehn and McTygue.
`I was very upset with the mayor for not appointing Bill McTygue, but Tom could’ve said, ‘You know, she’s the mayor, she has the right to make appointments.’ But instead, Tommy made a decision to go to war,` said Bulman. `In the end, it caught up with them.`
Bulman said he is proud of what his party has accomplished county-wide and is optimistic the Saratoga Springs party can be united.
`We’ve had much more success than failures in the county,` he said. `The only stumbling trip-up we’ve had this year is what happened in the city, and that was mostly between two people and two different personalities.`
Bulman said that come next June, when the party reorganizes, he won’t tolerate any divisiveness.
`What I’m going to put out as their leader is if they want to get organized and have a united party, then come aboard. But I won’t support any person who wants to divide this party,` said Bulman.
As for Keehn, she said she doesn’t feel that she or any of her followers need the city Democratic Committee in the future. When asked if she or any of her followers could go it alone in city politics, she said, `I think we have the ability, the will and the desire, but if that’s the approach they’ll take, I don’t know.`
She did say with certainty that she wouldn’t go courting the city committee anytime soon.
`I have no intention of going out and specifically reaching out to people who, I feel, sat on the sidelines while I was pushing an agenda of open and honest government,` Keehn said.
Schneider said he’s happy to have this election cycle behind him and he shares Bulman’s optimism for the future of the city Democrats.
`I’m an old Brooklyn Dodgers fan,` he said. `So I’m used to saying, ‘Wait ’til next year.’` “