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Category:
Published: May 2006
Tom: What made you decide that you wanted to run for Mayor?
Valerie: I think people kind of pushed me towards that decision actually. People on the committee knew that I and my husband were very involved, they knew our politics. I think they believed that we were sort of the ultra progressive mind of the democratic wing if you want to go that way. And you know politics in Saratoga is changing it's been historically a republican town. And with a lot of new comers Saratoga is the place to be, people are coming to buy homes, their buying second homes. I think that there is a lot of new blood here in the city and a good number of those people are democratic.
Tom: What do you think the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties? What are you trying to do in the city?
Valerie: Well, I think it's because the Republicans have dominated politics in the city they didn't have to be creative in what they thought about, in how they expanded, they knew that they had a monopoly over politics and so, I think that they didn't feel the need they had to bring people into the fray and into the world of politics. Whereas that's what I'm speaking about, I really want to bring people in and get new ideas. And I think that's where we are going to continue to develop and expand our base. Because politics was so republican dominated, they knew they were going to get elected year after year. So they didn't have to do really much of anything except for be here and run for office. We knew it was going to be a difficult thing and therefore we had to be very creative in how we went about getting elected. We were pounding the pavement almost every single day for about 8 months. Really touching the residents.
Tom: Obviously there is a change. You see more of an affluence of people in the Long Island and Westchester areas who might have been a democratic base down there as well. They are coming north and buying large and beautiful homes.
Valerie: Absolutely. Well, I think in fact there are a wide variety of people that we're speaking to and speaking with and speaking for. And one of those that really was unexpected to me were lifelong republicans who have been here for many generations. According to Republican party they live modest lives, live in modest homes, and have seen that affluence come into the city and affect their own lives. We know one of the big issues of the campaign was the assessment and the assessment process. People saw their homes triple in value just in a period of two to three years. People on fixed income who had fifty years ago purchased their Victorian maybe what's not a mansion now but back then was a mansion probably with a lot of money then, but didn't bankrupt them and they worked very hard and put a lot of hard work and hard money into the fixing of their homes. Living on fixed incomes now, possibly senior citizens, and they are struggling now to pay the taxes on their homes. Those two things makes me think that they've been left in the lurch and not been represented well, and they're struggling to stay in Saratoga and there is no voice for them.
Tom: What can you do as far as the assessment of the taxation?
Valerie: One thing that we have been talking about, and all of the democrats have talked about, that came out during the campaign is that there are a lot of commercial buildings and commercial properties in the city that may not be assessed at their proper full value. We really want to take a hard look and make sure that all properties across the city are assessed fairly and at their full value if that's where we are going to.
Tom: So will you be appointing a business owner at that point who is now going to assess at proper value? There are several different ways to assess commercial property, how will you do it? Is that part of your support structure in the democrats and what about democrats holders there who will be distressed because their taxes are going to go up to help the residential plight?
Valerie: John Frank who is the City Counsel Commissioner and is thereby the City Assessor, spoke very clearly about the formula and compared the formula that was used on some property to the same formula that was used on another property. And you know I think it is a trip to say that you have to juggle whether or not a formula works for certain types of property and do you need to re-evaluate the kind of formula that you're using. I'm not going to second guess the formula itself. I think that people in general have a very hard time feeling badly for business owners who have large commercial properties and are making a lot of money off of the city and are complaining about assessments. And as to whether or not democratic property owners or business owners are going to feel nervous about that. in fact, if they're a true democrat, they probably won't. Because I think that's part of the democratic principle is fairness and equity. If you're a business owner and you're making a lot of money and you're living in a city and parts of the way that you make money is by the residents that come to your business or buy your products it's good business and it's being a good neighbor to let the people that are actively supporting you know that you want to be fair and that you want to be a friend to their community.
Tom: With regards to our concept what does success mean to you?
Valerie: Success within the city?
Tom: And personally.
Valerie: Well, let me speak of the success within the city. I've lived in small cities and I've lived in very large cities, like Oklahoma City, and I have never been in a city that has a downtown that's just driving and friendly and as unique as what's here in Saratoga Springs. I think that we want to continue to make sure that it's as prosperous to our community. We want to continue to strive and continue to grow but we don't want to take away from the unique character of Saratoga Springs. People come from all over the world to Saratoga to enjoy the water, to enjoy the horse races, to enjoy a walk along downtown Broadway and to look at our architecture. Once we start fenagaling with that formula which has worked so well in Saratoga for so many years, then I think we might be getting into some areas that will not be beneficial. I heard during the summer, shop owners say that tourists come to Saratoga every year and maybe haven't come for a couple of years with all the new developments commented that wow this isn't Saratoga anymore when you start to see a lot of chain stores coming into Broadway and the Gap and Banana Republic. People want to see that at a minimum because they can go to those stores at home.
Tom: They can go right up to the mall and do that.
Valerie: Right, like the mall. What brings people to Saratoga is unique stores where they can go in and buy something that is totally and uniquely Saratoga, but is not just touristy junk. Here that's not what we're about. We're all about quality products and goods something that's really the trademarks of Saratoga; horses, history, and water.
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