Braim, Martin seek public safety post
Voters to pick new commissioner Tuesday
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » City voters will pick a new commissioner of public safety Tuesday.
One candidate, Don Braim, who worked at Saratoga Harness Racing Inc. from 1996 through 2016 following his 13-year career as a patrolman and criminal investigator with the Saratoga Springs Police Department, said his resume speaks for itself.
However, the other candidate, Peter Martin, said he believes his experience as an attorney — he was counsel to Ayco Company until his retirement — and in Saratoga County government, where he has served as the county clerk and a supervisor for the city, make him the best person for the job.
One of the most talked about topics surrounding the race centers around a proposed third EMS/fire station, which would be in the eastern part of the city.
Martin, a Democrat, said he hopes to use current Commissioner of Public Safety Chris Mathiesen’s proposal: acquire the land for the third EMS/fire station, and then staff each fire truck with three firefighters, instead of the four firefighters used currently, and have two ambulances ready to go — instead of just one — with each continuing to have two EMS trained firefighters in them.
City officials could decide to go ahead with a plan for the third station before the next public safety commissioner takes office in January, 2018.
Braim, a Republican, said he is
for a third fire/EMS station, but said the discussions and planning — which include fire chief Robert Williams and Mathiesen — for it are still ongoing.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for any current candidate to offer up plans while there may be something in the works behind the scenes that may or may not come about before January. If they don’t come about well fine, we will move forward,” said Braim. “We will look at all opportunities, all proposals past or present and come up with what we think is something that, for one, is financially feasible for the community, serves the needs, most importantly, for the people that are out there who have been fighting for this for well over a decade; and we need to take in consideration the safety and the input of the people in the fire department from the fire chief down.”
Martin said the plan to go from four firefighters to three on each truck will save the city a considerable amount of money. The state requires a minimum of 14 people at a structural fire, he said, and under the proposal 14 would still be sent, but just in a new way.
“Change is difficult. Anytime you change stuff up, it’s unpopular. But I really think this is something we really need to do,” said Martin. “I think if we just keep saying, ‘We’re going to do it under the old routine, we’re not going to make any changes,’ we’re not going to get it through City Council. It’s just not going to happen.”
A big topic of interest for Braim is retaining city police officers.
“They have a lot of turnover, especially in the younger ranks and I think that needs to be reviewed,” said Braim. “I would sit down and have some conversations with the chief of police and see if he had any recommendations that I could in turn be helpful with through the council.”
Martin spoke at length about the Geyser Road trail and the Greenbelt preservation.
“It’s really well thought out. I’ve studied it very closely. It’s a very safe trail and it’s very much needed, in my opinion,” said Martin. “...The trail is set up so intelligently to service to lead to the Geyser Road Elementary School, if we can get more kids walking to school what an incredible public health benefit that is.”
Braim spoke about his relationship with Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo. Braim plans on providing educational workshops for the community on opioids.
“The Complete Streets Initiative is a forward thinking project that touches most everyone in the community. From my perspective, as it relates to public safety, I would like to spend some time evaluating the use of our trail system by our residents. I have some concerns involving safety on the trails and would favor the expanded use of the Police Mounted Patrol and Police Bicycle Patrol in these areas,” said Braim. “Additionally, I am in favor of the continued use of these assets and the beat officer in particular on our city streets and downtown corridor. The personal interaction of our police personnel with the general public in the use of these assets I believe are of extreme value and should not be underestimated in the building of meaningful relationships with our community residents.”
Martin also said he believes in the same personal interaction with police and the public.
“Our police force is just so different from what it was 20 years ago. Every one of our officers wears a camera. That’s huge. I like getting into an area that’s in change, that’s cutting edge, but I’ve got some ideas for the police,” said Martin. “I really want to work with the city council to increase our staffing in the police department, because what I see is missing — you don’t see the foot patrol anymore because we’re just too low on staffing to do it. You don’t see a lot of the types of community engagement that we would be able to do if we had a fully staffed police department.”
The polls are scheduled to close Tuesday at 9 p.m.
The part-time commissioner of public safety position carries a two-year term. The position has a salary of $14,500 and health benefits.