Help close wage gap

The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County commends Senator Kathy Marchione for becoming a co-sponsor of S.6737A, a bill to prohibit employers from asking prospective employees what they earned in their previous employment.

Forcing employee candidates to disclose their salary history unfairly targets women, minorities, and people with disabilities when an employer uses that information to set the salary for the new employment. This practice perpetuates instances of income disparity and unfairly targets those who have previously worked in lower income positions.

Why, you may ask, does using a person’s salary history perpetuate discrimination? Think about it. If a woman was willing to trade off income in order to be closer to daycare, if a person of color was forced to accept a lower salary in order to get a job at all – then that lower salary becomes the basis of future compensation offers, and it lowers lifelong earnings.

Saratoga County has the largest gender gap in NYS. On average women in this county make only 63 percent of what men earn. Senator Marchione’s support of the salary history ban will help to close that gender pay gap. Barbara Thomas Saratoga Springs The author is co-president of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County wanted to live out her life in Wesley Healthcare, however that wasn’t possible. The girls on 2 Springs never forgot her and loved her until the day she died. Saratoga Hospital C3 staff, Thank you a million times also for taking such special care of her. And Rabbi Linda, Rabbi Jonathan and Martina Zobel. Couldn’t of made it through without you all. She was taken care of and loved by you all. So again to all of you, Thank you.

Benita Pittinger Saratoga Springs to state that Boyd didn’t get the documents he wanted because he never officially asked for them having carelessly sent his request to the wrong person.

Likewise while Turner claims “I believe the judge erred in important ways” a reading of the decision indicates that again it was Boyd who erred in basing his arguments for a recount on reasoning that does not apply. For instance while Turner and Boyd argued that other areas require a recount in certain close elections, the Judge clearly indicates that that is not the case in Saratoga County. Boyd and Turner may wish this were so, but they can’t expect the fact that it’s done somewhere else to apply in a jurisdiction where that is not the case.

Like it or not there are clear requirements for a judge to grant a recount, and Boyd’s petition s simply did not meet those requirements. Nolan refers to Matter of Bradley v. D’Apice stating “Before a court may grant permission to examine voting machines and paper ballots or direct a re-canvass, the petitioner must provide facts which support the claim that irregularities, discrepancies or errors occurred which affected the outcome of the election.”

Turner is incorrect to tell the public that they are unable to get a recount because the judge won’t release the evidence, namely the ballots, that might indicate a problem had occurred. Other evidence of a problem in the election such as reports of machine malfunction would have strengthened their case, but they could not produce this evidence because there were no such reports of problems with voting machines occurring anywhere in the city on election day. Boyd was hoping that a fishing expedition might turn up something that they could use. Like it or not, this is not what the law permits.

Perhaps instead of criticizing Judge Nolan and the Board of Elections for following the law while ignoring it themselves, Boyd and Turner should direct their energies towards Albany to get the rules changed.

This disturbing attempt to spin a legal opinion to portray the charter change supporters as victims of unfair and irrational forces is not new. We saw similar attempts to claim they were the underdogs telling the press incorrectly, for instance, that they had been outspent in the campaign when the reverse was true.

One would hope that those who seek to change the city charter and urge Saratogians to trust them to construct a new government for the city would be more rigorous and accurate. Instead we see now, as we saw throughout the campaign, a reliance on spin, half truths, and misinformation to make a case they cannot make on the facts alone. Jane Weihe Saratoga Springs

West Hartford, Conn., has a similar problem and has a metered parking solution. I recall going into their city for dinner. I didn’t have the right change for the meter or was otherwise unable to figure out their metered system. In addition to being annoyed that I had to pay for parking to visit their city I was then welcomed with a ticket for not paying for parking. Their message to me was clear: “It’s already too crowded here. It would be better for you to visit restaurants elsewhere in the future.”

I understand that Saratoga has a parking problem. I have to mentally figure out where I’m going to try to find a parking spot every time I visit the city and I never know which way the alternate side of the street parking is facing. I seem to get it wrong every time.

Because the town seems unable to come to terms with being able to find enough parking their solution is to discourage people from coming to the city. This problem must be solved more creatively. Can the city come to an agreement to put in the long planned and disputed parking garage across the street from Hampton Inn? Do the city departments and police department need to be in prime downtown locations which also requires additional parking and prime real estate? As someone who enjoys going to Saratoga Springs often, I hope they will do the hard work of figuring out how to add additional parking without alienating the people who should be welcomed into the city. Ron Kalvaitis

Providence