Mayor’s races lead local contests in N.Y., Mass.
By FRED DALEY Editor
Mayoral races in Hudson, Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls and North Adams are headlining a host of local contests as voters cast ballots in the Nov. 4 general election across New York and in the cities of Massachusetts.
Voters in Columbia County will be choosing a new county sheriff, Saratoga County voters will elect a new district attorney and sheriff, and Rensselaer County is in the midst of a spirited race for county executive. There also are contested town supervi- sor races in a dozen rural and suburban towns across Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.
And voters across New York will decide wheth- er to amend the state constitution to permit new Nordic ski and biathlon trails on Adirondack for- est preserve land at the state-run Olympic winter sports complex near Lake Placid.
In Hudson, Mayor Kamal Johnson is seeking a fourth two-year term on the Working Families Party line after losing the Democratic primary in June to Joseph Ferris. Ferris, who won the primary by 9 per- centage points, has criticized Johnson’s manage- ment of city affairs as well as the incumbent’s close ties to local developer Eric Galloway and his Galvan company, which has become a major landlord in the city over the past two decades.
FALL FERTILIZATION FOR
Johnson, who became the city’s first Black may- or when he was elected in 2019, currently lives in a four-bedroom home owned by Galvan but has refused to disclose how much he pays in rent for the property. He has argued that having a good re- lationship with Galvan has helped the city’s efforts to develop more affordable housing.
Ferris and Johnson are joined on the November ballot by Republican candidate Lloyd Koedding. A fourth candidate, independent Peter Spear, sus- pended his campaign in August, saying he didn’t want to be an obstacle to Ferris defeating Johnson.
In Saratoga Springs, Republicans are defend- ing the City Council majority they won last year for the first time since 2011. Although the city’s voter rolls have turned steadily more blue over the past two decades, Democratic divisions over policing re- forms, racial justice and other issues helped GOP candidates find a path to victory in the 2023 city elections and in a special election last year.
One factor in voters’ decision this year could be City Council’s passage this summer of a controver- sial “camping ban” that targets people homeless people gathering on downtown streets and at the city’s parking garages. The measure passed on a 3-2 vote with only Republican support.
First-term GOP Mayor John Safford faces a challenge from Democrat Michele Madigan, who previously served as city finance commissioner for 10 years and currently represents the city on the county Board of Supervisors.
In Glens Falls, 3rd Ward Councilwoman Diana Palmer defeated incumbent Bill Collins by a mar- gin of more than 2-to-1 in June’s Democratic pri- mary for mayor. But Collins has continued his bid for a second term on the Conservative Party line.
In North Adams, Mayor Jennifer Macksey is seeking a third two-year term but faces a challenge from Scott Berglund.
Berglund, who has 25 years of professional ex- perience in sales and marketing, says he has devel-
oped an interest in community planning, and he was active in the recent local debate over forestry and logging around the city reservoir.
North Adams voters also will choose from among 13 candidates for the City Council’s nine seats. Seven of the candidates are incumbents: Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona, Peter Oleskiewicz, Bryan Sapienza, Ashley Shade were re-elected in 2023 as Andrew Fitch and Peter Breen won their first terms.
The new voices are Aprilyn Carsno, CarrieAnn Crews, Alexa MacDonald, Marie McCarron, Virginia Riehl and Lillian Zavatsky.
Municipal elections are nonpartisan in Massachusetts.
In Columbia County, voters will choose a new county sheriff after incumbent Democrat Don Krapf opted not to seek a second term. Krapf has endorsed Undersheriff Jackie Salvatore as his suc- cessor; she is opposed by Republican candidate John Rivero.
There are contested races for town supervisor in Ancram, Austerlitz, Claverack and Ghent.
In Rensselaer County, Democratic candi- date Tiffani Silverman is challenging firebrand Republican Steve McLaughlin’s bid for a third four-year term as county executive.
All 19 seats in the Republican-dominated coun- ty legislature are up for election, but Democrats are fielding only 12 candidates for these races. There are also contested races for town supervisor in North Greenbush and Poestenkill.
In Saratoga County, voters must choose a new district attorney after the mid-term resignation of Republican Karen Heggen in August. GOP can- didate Brett Eby has experience as a prosecutor in Warren County, while Democratic candidate Robert Logan III previously was an assistant district attorney in Saratoga County.
There are contested town supervisor races in Greenfield, Malta, Stillwater and Wilton as well as a three-way race for the two county supervisor seats representing Saratoga Springs.
In Warren County, Queensbury 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Dixon, a Republican, is chal- lenging longtime Democratic Supervisor John Strough’s bid for another term.
In Washington County, only one of the coun- ty’s 17 towns has a contested supervisor race. In Putnam, Republican Darlene Kerr and indepen- dent Kathleen Coffman are vying for an open seat.
Kate Abbott contributed reporting from North Adams.