SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — In what is being billed as the first in its committee history, the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee on Wednesday announced its endorsement of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for a full term in the fall.
According to a press release from the Hochul campaign, the endorsement is the Spa City Democratic Committee’s first-ever of a gubernatorial candidate.
Hochul, who became the state’s first female governor in August following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, said she was honored with the historic endorsement, overwhelmingly approved by the approximately 40-member committee at its monthly meeting in December.
“I am honored to be the first recipient of a gubernatorial endorsement by the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee,” Hochul said in a statement. “Their impressive grassroots organizing has helped grow and strengthen our party, and I look forward to working together to ensure Democratic victories up and down the ticket this year.”
“Governor Hochul’s visits to our community enabled us to get to know her priorities and we believe she is the right person to move our community and state forward,” Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee Chairperson Pat Tuz said in the release. “The kind of responsiveness that Governor Hochul provides has a great impact on our ability to move our agenda items forward, benefitting the growth and success of Saratoga Springs. We want that partnership to continue.”
“In an effort to provide continuous public outreach, the SSDC will inform and educate the public via endorsements of candidates that respect and promote Democratic principles of equal rights and equal opportunities for all,” Tuz added.
In late October, on the first day of early voting for the November elections, Hochul and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam) headlined a “Get Out the Vote” rally sponsored by the SSDC in the city to support the slate of the then-Democratic candidates for city offices.
Democrats were then victorious in five of the seven city-wide races, including Ron Kim for Mayor, Minita Sanghvi for Commissioner of Finance, Dillon Moran for Commissioner of Accounts, James Montagnino for Commissioner of Public Safety and Tara Gaston for 1 of the 2 Saratoga Springs representatives on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
“I support Gov. Hochul because she has stood up for Saratoga Springs and upstate residents and I am gratified that the Saratoga Springs Democratic City Committee has endorsed her,” Kim said of the endorsement.
