CITY COUNCIL CHAOS
Public safety head condemned by colleagues after filing complaint against BLM leader
At a Saratoga Springs City Council meeting earlier this month, council members adjourned early after interruptions during the public comment period.
The Feb. 7 meeting grew contentious between members of Saratoga Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino.
Those interactions prompted Montagnino to file a request with the Saratoga Springs Police Department earlier this week to issue a summons to BLM leader Chandler Hickenbottom for disrupting the meeting.
Upon hearing about the summons, Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim criticized the move as a waste of city resources.
“I regret to hear that the Commissioner of Public Safety has filed a summons against a BLM activist for her disruptive conduct during the Feb. 7, 2023, City Council meeting. This action is counterproductive to a continued dialogue with all members of our community, a waste of city resources, and could potentially lead to additional costs to the City and taxpayers,” Kim said in a press release.
Kim was also critical of Hickenbottom’s behavior but didn’t feel it warranted this level of rebuttal.
“The BLM activist who interrupted our meeting on Feb. 7, 2023, acted in an irresponsible manner and I condemn any outbursts by a community member at our public meetings, but I do not believe it was criminal or requires any consideration by the Courts. This action is a misguided overreach by the Department of Public Safety which will waste our resources and could potentially lead to additional legal costs because the New York State Attorney General’s office is currently investigating the past administration for very similar actions,” Kim continued.
“When Commissioner Montagnino informed me that he was taking this action, I asked him not to do this, however under the unfortunate Commission Form of government, he alone has the final say in this action,” Kim noted.
Kim also reiterated alternative solutions presented to mediating issues between the City and BLM, as well as potentially reforming the public comment period.
“After the Feb. 7, 2023 meeting, I reached out to every City Council member with suggested changes to our meeting format to enhance and expand our ability to have productive dialogue with the community as a City Council. Not only did I propose lengthening the time each individual has to speak during public comment period, but I also proposed at the end of one City Council meeting every month to convene a ‘Mayor’s Community Forum’ which would be an open dialogue on specific topics with members of our community in an open public meetings format. While I will continue my efforts — this action today is counterproductive and regrettable,” Kim remarked.
“I respectfully call upon the Commissioner of Public Safety to withdraw this summons and join me in continuing to find common ground with all members of our community,” Kim added.
Kim’s fellow council members also released a joint statement condemning Montagnino’s filing, noting it would only stoke flames higher.
“The criminal complaint filed yesterday by Public Safety Commissioner Montagnino is not something I support, nor was it something I was consulted on. I believe there are much better ways to respond to and solve the issues raised by BLM and by the Police Reform Task Force, rather than escalating unproductive rhetoric and taking unnecessary legal actions,” Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub who also co-chaired the City’s Police Reform Task Force, said.
“BLM and the protests we’ve seen locally and nationally over the past few years give voice to a problem that must be taken seriously, and not dismissed by leaders. I believe the best path forward is a strategic and ongoing dialogue between BLM, members of the council, members of the police force, and other impacted constituencies with concrete outcomes and accountability. Everyone must come to the table and work together in order for us to progress. Nothing is being furthered by this criminal complaint or heavy-handed approach other than furthering mistrust and continuing to fragment our community. We need to work collectively to heal old wounds, bring people together, and implement solutions that move us forward as a city,” Golub explained.
Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi echoed those sentiments.
“I am deeply distressed to see that instead of moving towards engagement and dialogue through a community forum, the Commissioner of Public Safety has decided to waste tax-payer dollars by filing a criminal complaint against Chandler Hickenbottom of Saratoga BLM,” Sanghvi stated.
“I would recommend Commissioner Montagnino take a moment to reflect on the fact that Black history month and the upcoming Women’s history month remind us about the historic injustices that have impacted and continue to impact marginalized communities. Together, we should focus on productive solutions that are inclusive and create common unity, instead of adding more conflict and tension to our community,” Sanghvi noted.
“I am deeply disturbed by the unilateral actions taken by the Commissioner of Public Safety with respect to the charge levied against Ms. Hickenbottom. The criminalization of speech is simply unacceptable and will further widen the divide that exists within our community,” Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran stated.
“The only appropriate steps are collaborative engagement with those seeking answers about our efforts relative to the work of the Police Reform Task Force. Instead of moving forward with direct discussions, Montagnino has made the choice to poison the well. These are not the actions of a leader looking to bring resolution, but rather those of someone whose goal is to silence the voices of marginalized communities, like so many who have come before him,” Moran added.
Saratoga BLM also put out a statement against Montagnino’s decision.
“Saratoga BLM condemns the actions of Montagnino and we do not believe this is the appropriate response to this situation. We are also appalled by the parallels between this administration and the previous who used the same tactics in their attempt to criminalize Lexis Figuereo in which they are currently under an investigation by the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau,” a statement from Saratoga BLM read.
Montagnino, however, pushed back, noting his record in office of taking action on issues of criminal justice reform.
“I want to remind everyone that I was the one in February of last year, I had only been in office less than two months, I issued a 37page report on the events leading to the death of Darryl Mount. I’ll also remind people that the ordinance that created the CRB, the Civilian Review Board, I wrote that ordinance and it was passed unanimously in May of last year and it took the rest of the city council almost nine months just to appoint the members of that CRB,” Montagnino remarked.
“So, the reality is I’ve been a moving force in enacting the recommendations of the police reform task force and I’ve been the only commissioner to work toward achieving accreditation with the division of criminal justice services, which is to me one of the cornerstones of the 50 points and that despite the fact that the city charter has required a plan for accreditation for almost 20 years. I’m the first commissioner not only to get that moving but we’ve successfully passed our mock assessment which I reported on to the city council about a month ago,” Montagnino explained regarding his track record thus far.
“So, I’m the one who’s actively moving the ball forward to address the problems that have existed and have festered in the city,” Montagnino added.
The public safety commissioner also detailed his thought process behind filing the charge against the BLM leader.
“My point in filing the criminal charge is very simple. On Feb. 7, democracy stopped. The right of free speech for the other people who wanted their two minutes at the public comment was terminated unilaterally by Ms. Hickenbottom and BLM,” Montagnino said.
“After the first disturbance, and the first adjournment of that city council meeting, the mayor offered a special meeting with BLM and the city council and I exceeded in that request and that was done in the hope of being able to get the city council meeting back on track and that wasn’t good enough. The city council meeting was terminated a second time and we had to leave the council chamber with the city’s business undone and the people who wanted to be heard unable to be heard, all thanks to Ms. Hickenbottom and Saratoga BLM,” Montagnino explained.
“I spoke to the mayor and some of the other members of the city council about the possibility of filing a complaint and I held off on doing so, waiting to see what would happen at the next city council meeting, the one that just passed two days ago and once again Saratoga BLM disrupted the proceeding, it had to be adjourned for a time and that’s when I made the decision to seek the least intrusive legal means at my disposal to move the ball forward and get democracy back on track,” Montagnino noted on wanting to restore order to the meeting.
In filing the complaint, Montagnino remarked on the importance of protecting the rights of everyone to have their voices heard.
“The criminal complaint that I signed alleges one count of a petty offense, not a crime, a petty offense and I specifically requested of the court a summons in lieu of an arrest warrant and I note parenthetically that within a month of my taking office, I issued a written directive to the police department, which has been incorporated into their policy manual that mandates except for extraordinary circumstances the use of a summons in lieu of a custodial arrest for petty offenses,” Montagnino commented. “This is all part of my proactive movement toward police reform but I can’t in good conscience pretend to live up to my oath of office and do nothing when the business of the city is shut down by people who refuse to respect the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens,” Montagnino continued.
He also cited some of the fallout stemming from the meeting disruptions and stoppages.
“By way of one example, the shutting down of that city council meeting delayed the signing of a contract with a psychiatrist who was needed to provide mental health services to a number of our police officers and those essential services were delayed because of that shutdown of the city council meeting,” Montagnino said.
“It’s not a game that’s being played here, this is serious stuff that involves the operation of our city and it involves representative democracy and I took that very carefully into consideration when I chose to file the least intrusive complaint and sought the least intrusive alternative to have the court intervene and I would ask when the case does get to court that the principles of restorative justice, another one of the 50 points, be applied in the disposition of the case,” Montagnino continued.
“The principles of restorative justice begin with mutual respect, something that I have shown but has not been shown in return by the people who chose to take the microphone at the city council meeting, not relinquish it and use it to shut down democracy,” Montagnino explained.
“BLM is asking for a seat at the table but what they’re doing is flipping the table over,” Montagnino added.