Local elections are taking place Tuesday, November 3. Be sure to go vote for a more sustainable Saratoga!

We sent the candidates below a survey to get their opinions on what sustainability means to them and the implications for the community with respect to programs and policy. Sustainable Saratoga does not endorse any candidate. The questions we posed to the candidates are as follows:

  1. What sustainability initiatives or efforts have you implemented or advanced as an elected official or private citizen?
  2. What, if anything, would you propose to do locally to confront climate change?
  3. The City Council recently adopted a new Comprehensive Plan, which embodies and continues the “City in the Country” vision for Saratoga Springs. According to the Comprehensive Plan: “This concept reflects a city with an intensively developed urban core and an economically vibrant central business district, with well-defined urban edges and an outlying area of rural character, comprised of agriculture, open lands, natural and diverse environmental resources, and low density development.”
    • Do you support the “City in the Country” vision?
    • Do you believe that sustainable economic growth can be achieved through this vision?
    • Do you think the “City in the Country” vision should be altered? If so, how?
  4. What comments do you have about the following priority issues for Sustainable Saratoga?
    • Affordable housing
    • Managing downtown parking
    • Waste management, including plastic bag reduction
    • Promoting renewable energy
    • Expanding the city’s urban forest, and increasing green infrastructure
  5. If elected, what types of sustainability efforts (other than those listed above) would you
    promote or emphasize?

Please click on the candidate’s name for his or her responses.

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR OF SARATOGA SPRINGS

Joanne Yepsen

John Safford

CANDIDATES FOR COMMISSIONER OF ACCOUNTS

John Franck – No Response

CANDIDATE FOR COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE

Michele Madigan

Ken Ivins

CANDIDATES FOR COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Christian Mathiesen

Richard Wirth

CANDIDATES FOR COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS

Anthony “Skip” Scirocco

William McTygue

CANDIDATES FOR COUNTY SUPERVISOR

Matthew Veitch

Peter Martin