City Republicans have elected candidate Matt Dorsey to run on the GOP ticket seeking a full-time city judge seat in November.
Dorsey, who has held several posts in Saratoga Springs in the past, received 58 percent of the votes, beating challenger James E. Doern. Doern is currently the city’s part-time judge.
I was focused on making the committee aware of my qualifications, legal experience, public service and dedication to the community. In the end they supported me and I’m happy to have their support, said Dorsey.
Dorsey is currently in private practice in the city. At one time he served as special counsel to the City Council regarding tax certiorari cases and has also served as a city attorney and assistant city attorney.
Dorsey and Doern each had 15 minutes on Tuesday, Feb. 12, to sell the committee on why they should receive the nod. Leading up to the meeting, members of the committee challenged the voter eligibility of others. Other members alleged they were coerced into voting for Dorsey.
Saratoga Springs Republican Committee Chair John Herrick said that the issues were resolved shortly after the election.
`There was a question of who was allowed to vote before the election. We sought a legal opinion. There were some new members and there was a different interpretation of election law and who was eligible,` said Herrick.
The committee retained Schenectady attorney James Walsh, who issued his legal opinion before the meeting clearing the issue up, said Herrick.
As for reports that some committeemen had been coerced into voting for Dorsey, Herrick said that turned out to be a neighbor of a committee member pushing for Dorsey’s endorsement. Leading up to last week’s vote, Herrick said there were also a number of calls that came in supporting Dorsey. The vote reflected that, he said.
`Matt was the endorsed candidate. His experience as a city attorney and the work he’s done in the city courts makes him a strong candidate. Matt received approximately 1,600 votes and Doern received approximately 1,100 votes,` he said.
The committee uses a weighted vote system that gives greater weight to representatives of districts based on the last round of gubernatorial elections. The districts are weighted anywhere from 8.5 votes, at Skidmore to as high as 118 votes in Republican-dominated districts.
Doern, who has been a part-time city judge since 1999, could not be reached for comment. He could challenge Dorsey in a Republican primary this fall.
In the meantime, Dorsey said that he’s looking forward to begin an active campaign and `door to door` effort, he said.“
