Image courtesy of Robin Dalton For Mayor Facebook Page
In April of this year, Saratoga Springs’s Public Safety Commissioner, Robin Dalton, announced her decision to run for mayor after it became clear that current Democratic Mayor Meg Kelly would not be seeking re-election. Having left the Republican Party just a couple months prior to her candidacy decision, in February 2021, Dalton is running as an Independent in this election on the new nonpartisan ballot line, Saratoga Stronger Together.
Although she grew up in New York City, Dalton moved to Saratoga in 2007 and has lived in the city since then. A 2002 graduate from Cornell University with a degree in Government, Dalton lives in Saratoga Springs with her family. On January 1, 2020, she was inaugurated as Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of public safety, and now as she nears the close of her first term, she is looking to secure the position of the city’s next mayor.
Dalton is confident that her experience in Saratoga’s city hall, navigating the public health and financial concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, qualifies her to assume the title of mayor. In her interview with The Skidmore News, Commissioner Dalton detailed her plan for implementing effective communication between the community and city hall, supporting the city’s police and fire services, and advocating for nonpartisan elections in Saratoga Springs.
What motivates you to run for the position of Saratoga mayor? What do you think qualifies you to step into this city role?
Of her past 22 months in the city’s Public Safety department, Dalton was clear that she believes she has not only gained valuable experience in city leadership, but also watched how weak mayoral leadership can have a great effect on our community. “Our mayor has been silent,” Dalton expressed, “she has systematically shut down access to city hall and city officials.” Candidly, Dalton said that current Mayor Meg Kelly has “taught [her] what not to do.” The failures of the current city leadership incentivize Dalton to aim to be “a mayor who is strong in their communication, strong in their leadership, and open to public feedback.” She believes that her existing understanding of Saratoga’s government, and the nuances and complexities of issues that the city is currently facing, will allow her to fulfill these expectations.
When speaking on her qualifications, Dalton cited her accomplishments that have protected Saratoga’s public safety amidst the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, she referenced her pushback against COVID-19 budget cuts that sought to lay off city police and firefighters. Dalton saw how these proposed job cutbacks could have been “catastrophic for the city.” She was proud to say that as Saratoga’s Public Safety Commissioner, she saved all of these job postings and advocated for their future job security; as mayor, Dalton would continue to “save all of these jobs moving forward.”
Why did you decide to run as an Independent and not under the Republican party?
Dalton described her decision to run as an Independent in this election as two-fold. Firstly, when she left the Republican party earlier this year, Dalton was acutely aware of the disconnect between the party’s national agenda and her own core values. It was evident that the party was one of “racism, bigotry, and intolerance,” Dalton stated. She also expressed feeling pressure from the party on the local level: “I was running the city’s safety response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she continued, “and everyday I was getting pushback on every single possible issue from the Saratoga Republican party.” At the height of the pandemic in January 2021, when the city’s hospitals and ambulance emergency services were overrun, Dalton recalled being pressured by the Saratoga Republican Committee to reinstate high-contact sports in the city. Stating that she was aware of the serious threat that COVID-19 posed (and continues to pose), Dalton experienced “such cognitive dissonance” in relation to her connection with the Republican party, as she refused to resume high-contact sports in the city.
However, Dalton’s decision to step away from the Republican party was not made without consideration of its consequences. She stated that she knew removing her affiliation would lower her chances of being elected as mayor. “Maintaining my personal integrity was more important to me than being politically opportunistic,” she added.
Can you give a general description of your platform for students who may not be familiar with city politics? Which of your intended policies do you believe will be of most interest to Skidmore students?
Dalton said that the fundamental focus of her platform is to “build clean, consistent channels of communication both inward and outward bound from city hall.” As mentioned, she expressed her great disappointment in how current city leadership has caused such mistrust and miscommunication in the relationship between the Saratoga community and its city hall.
In terms of her specific issue-based plans, Dalton talked about her goal to increase the city’s recreational programming alongside her agenda for more affordable housing and public transportation. She also mentioned that the allocation of funds for local nonprofits comes from the mayor’s budget. If she were to become mayor, Dalton intends to rework this nonprofit funding system to make it more equitable. To date, she believes that the city’s application of these funds has been random and inefficient, causing many local nonprofits to not receive their deserving support. In our interview, Dalton did not elaborate on what specific nonprofits she would focus on.
Dalton also spent time explaining her plans to build a third fire station within city limits, which she frankly stated “has been needed for the past thirty years, to be honest with you.” The third station, which should be ready by Spring 2023, will serve the Eastern side of the city, specifically the area around Saratoga Lake. Dalton highlights the importance of the third station as currently emergency services are not able to reach that part of the city within the recommended amount of time. In terms of public safety issues, Dalton views alleged violence on Caroline Street, reported to have increased over this past summer, as a problem, but not a larger concern than the lack of access to emergency services on the eastern section of the city. Despite recent city financial struggles, Dalton stated “our department has been able to push forward on finances for [the third fire station] throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Under your term as Public Safety Commissioner, there has been criticism of the Saratoga Springs Police Department’s (SSPD) treatment towards Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors and local BLM activists. One especially memorable recent event was the September 7th arrest of activists, including activists right outside of City Hall. A video of the arrests was circulated and shows a mother being forcefully brought into city hall while her children watched. What do you have to say to voters who watched the video and disliked the actions of the SSPD?
In response to this question, Dalton spoke more generally about incidents related to the SSPD and community members over the past year, rather than addressing the specific happenings outside of city hall on September 7th. She explained, “In terms of the SSPD in general, what I’ve been doing is I’ve been following through with the 48 police reform recommendations that we pushed through back in March.” The originally passed 48 police reform recommendations did not include a Civilian Review board, a point highly criticized by many Saratoga Springs residents. However, recently the city council has begun to re-address the issue of a Civilian Review Board. Dalton told us she “introduced [the] first version of [a] civilian review board to the council about two weeks ago.” She took information from Jason Golub, who served as co-chair of the Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force, and adapted it into an ordinance that was put up for public comment. A second version of the Civilian Review Board will be voted on at Monday’s (November 1st) city council meeting, the night before the election.
In relation to how a Civilian Review Board may impact students at Skidmore, Dalton stated “there should be an independent body that Skidmore students feel comfortable going to” on matters related to the SSPD. Dalton further elaborated, “No matter the situation, there should be a civilian review board to look at these situations.”
One of the issues that we believe Skidmore students care most about is the city's treatment and policies concerning BLM activists. How would you work to repair the relationship between the SSPD, Saratoga City Council, and BLM activists?
In an effort to repair a fraught relationship between local activists and the city council, Dalton attended a Saratoga Black Lives Matter event in August. Dalton’s intention for attending the event was to connect with BLM activists, as she said that their prior communication had not been great. She explained, “it’s really challenging when the only public interaction we have is at a city council meeting when Saratoga BLM activists express frustration and I’m not able to speak back to them, and the mayor continues to stay silent as well.”
Additionally, Dalton attended Saratoga BLM’s Rock The Vote event held on Saturday, October 23rd in Congress Park. Dalton called her experience at the event “great” and stated she “had meaningful conversations, and was able to connect with people to break down these barriers.” At this event, Dalton was looking for activists to “tell [her] what [they were] upset about.”
Moreover, Dalton was hopeful that the Rock The Vote gathering would allow her to meet with activists in a less emotionally charged space. She cited her conversation with Saratoga BLM activist and one of those arrested on September 7th, Lexis Figuereo, at the event as a constructive step forward. From their conversion, Dalton believes that she was able to hear more of Figuereo’s perspective outside of the constraints of a city council meeting as well as receive contact information of Paul Collins-Hackett, a friend of Figuereo and the Secretary for the Albany civilian review board.
When asked to make a statement on their conversation, Figuereo acknowledged connecting Dalton to Paul Collins-Hackett. He also affirmed that him and Dalton did in fact have a brief positive conversation at the Rock The Vote event. However, Figuereo questioned “why now” does Dalton “want to have these conversations.” He stated, “we know why” in reference to her agenda for succeeding in Tuesday’s election.
In further reflection on the Saratoga BLM event, Dalton highlighted only seeing one Republican candidate present, which to her, “speaks volumes.” Dalton elaborated, “I was dismayed that I did not see a single Republican candidate that day” other than John Safford, a Republican candidate for Supervisor. Dalton stated that her attendance at the Saratoga BLM event is an example of the “types of things [she is] going to keep doing.”
What do you visualize as the ideal change for Saratoga political culture? And what issues would you prioritize for the community moving forward?
Dalton’s key problem with Saratoga political climate is the visciousiness within the system that she directly correlates to divisive parties. Dalton openly told us that she would not tell anyone that she cares about to run for office in this city: “what you’re put through, what your family is put through, it is disgusting.”
She elaborated, “we have two little political committees [Republicans and Democrats] who are telling us our options from the city council, but they are engaged in death politics. They are in it to win and they will go to any lengths to win, they will do anything to smear other candidates” and “I find that disgusting.” Dalton believes non-partisan elections would help to fix Saratoga’s political culture – a change that would need to be passed by ballot referendum.
Another aspect of Saratoga politics Dalton commented on was a “weird tribalism” referring to a tendency for community members to harp on who has lived within the city’s limits the longest. Dalton emphasized, “I have just as much invested as my Republican opponent and her family” – referring to Republican candidate Heidi Owen West – despite Dalton not being a native Saratogian. Dalton highlighted “everyone experiences public safety when you’re in the city no matter where you’re from” and while “I respect the taxpayers of this city, it does not mean that the experience of someone from out of town in this city does not count.”
Overall, Dalton hopes that those registered to vote in Saratoga this upcoming Tuesday, November 2nd, will use their voice to amend the political division in the city. She believes that we need to be “working collaboratively, healing our divide, towards the community that we ultimately want to be in.”
Campus Polling Information sent out by Skidmore College:
The campus polling site in The Center, located on the second floor of Case Center across from the Campus Life and Engagement offices, will be open for voting on Tuesday, Nov. 2, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where to vote:
If you are a student living on campus, the campus polling site will be your polling place.
If you are living locally in an off-campus house or apartment, check your polling place here.
If you are living outside New York state, find your polling place here.
Read Skidmore News’ Interview with Democratic Mayoral Candidate Ron Kim.
Read Skidmore News’ Interview with Republican Mayoral Candidate Heidi Owen West.