In the meantime, if you need assistance please contact our chairman, Mike Groves townofballstongop@live.com

(518) 884-0597

730 Goode St. Ballston Spa, NY  12019

Contact:  Mike Groves, Chairman                                             

townofballstongop@live.com                                                                                            

(518) 884-0597                                                                                                                   

730 Goode St.                                                                                                               

Ballston Spa, NY  12019

Ballston Republicans to Interview Potential Candidates

Ballston Spa—The Town of Ballston Republican Committee announced today that it is seeking potential candidates to interview for the Committee’s endorsement to run for the following elected offices:  Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, Tax Collector and Town Council.

Any town resident who may be interested in seeking the Republican endorsement is invited to attend a Candidate Information Night on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at Carney’s in Ballston Lake.  Members of the Town Board, other elected officials and Committee-people will be present to answer questions and meet with potential candidates.  Formal interviews will follow later in March with exact dates and times to be determined.

“This committee has established a tradition of openness and transparency, particularly when choosing to endorse candidates for elected office,” said Chairman Mike Groves.  “We certainly hope that anyone who may be interested in seeking a Town office either this year or perhaps in the future takes advantage of this opportunity to meet with current Committee members and elected Republicans.”

To be considered for the Committee’s endorsement for any of the elected offices listed above, interested candidates should send a letter of intent and current resume via e-mail to townofballstongop@live.com or by mail to Mike Groves, Chairman at 730 Goode St. in Ballston Spa, NY  12019.  To speak with a member of the Committee about running for office, Vice Chairman Wes Carr can be reached at (518) 399-7135.  For more information about the Committee, visit our website at www.gopballston.com or the Facebook page found by searching for Ballston Republican Committee.  Town residents are also invited to join the Republican Committee monthly meeting on Thursday, February 17 at 7 p.m., also at Carney’s.

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“Setting the Record Straight”

Dear Editor:

My name is Michael Groves and a resident of the Town of Ballston, since 1999.  I am also the new Chairman of the Town Republican Committee.    Recently, I have read some letters to the editor concerning this year’s Town Justice race. 

As Chairman of the Republican Committee, I need to set the record straight.  The Town of Ballston Republican Committee endorsed John Fantauzzi for the position of Town Justice, through a fair and open process.

On May 10^th   Press Releases were sent to The Ballston Journal, The Spotlight Newspapers and The Schenectady Gazette  announcing the Town of Ballston Republican Committee’  intention to hold interviews for the Town Justice  position, at our meeting of May 28^th.  The release gave my personal email address and solicited anyone interested in seeking the committee’s endorsement to contact me directly. 

 The announcement was published in the Ballston Journal on May 20^th, 2010. 

We received no responses, from the public and two responses from two of our Committee Members.  The two candidates were interviewed by the full committee and Mr. Fantauzzi received the endorsement.  .  Our endorsement was based on his experience as both an attorney in good standing with the state bar and his prior experience as a Town Justice.

There were no “deals”, nor did we have “our guy” picked out in advance.  Our decision was based solely on the best interests of the town.

In closing I thank you for the opportunity to clear the air, and would like to extend an invitation to any registered Republican  in the Town of Ballston interested in our committee to contact myself or any committee person, directly or through our committee email at;  townofballstongop@live.com. We welcome new members and supporters.

Michael Groves, Chairman of the Ballston Republican Committee, thanked Fantauzzi for seeking the endorsement adding, “The Committee is proud to endorse John Fantauzzi.  His prior experience as Town Justice will serve him and our Town well should he be elected in November.”

“I believe that my private practice experience and my one-year appointment as Town Justice make me uniquely qualified to serve in this important position,” said Fantauzzi.  “If elected, I can assure the people of the Town of Ballston that I will serve with respect and integrity.”

An active member of the community and respected attorney, Fantauzzi is a frequent guest speaker on topics ranging from elder law to estate planning.  He has been married to his wife Cara for 12 years.  They live in Burnt Hills with their four children, Isabella (8), Sophia (5), Devlin (3) and Francesca (2).

Chris Gibson grew up in Columbia County in the town of Kinderhook.  He was the Point Guard and Co-Captain of Ichabod Crane’s High School Basketball Team and went on to graduate magna cum laude with a BA in History from Siena College while earning a ROTC Commission there. 

Over the course of his 24 year Army career Chris was deployed 7 times; including 4 combat tours to Iraq, and separate deployments to Kosovo, the Southwestern US for a counter-drug operation, and most recently (just prior to his retirement) to Haiti where he commanded the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team during the opening month of that humanitarian relief operation.

Other key assignments included tours teaching American Politics at the United States Military Academy at West Point, serving as a Congressional Fellow with US Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA), the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and completing a Hoover National Security Affairs Fellowship at Stanford University.

Among his military decorations are 2 Legions of Merit, 4 Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge with Star, the Master Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. For their actions in Mosul in support of the first national election in the new Iraq, his Battalion Task Force earned the Valorous Unit Award. For their actions in Tal Afar during the 2nd and 3rd national elections in Iraq his Battalion and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment were recognized for excellence by President George W. Bush and earned a 2nd Valorous Unit Award.

Chris holds an MPA and PhD in Government from Cornell University and is the author of Securing the State, a book on national security decision-making published in 2008. Chris has been married to Mary Jo, a NYS Licensed Clinical Social Worker, for over 13 years and they have three children: Katie (12), Maggie (10) and Connor(8).  Their home is in Kinderhook where Chris is active in several civic organizations and St. John’s Church of Valatie.

To learn more about Chris Gibson, to make a donation or to volunteer for his campaign, please visit his home on the web at www.chrisgibsonforcongress.com.

On Tuesday, January 5, the Ballston Town Council held their first meeting of 2010.  Sadly, Supervisor Patti Southworth and the newly elected Jeremy Knight made clear that they will continue a years-long tradition of undermining fellow Councilmembers for political gain with shameful disregard for the best interests of the Town.  It has become painfully obvious that Supervisor Southworth and her minions prefer not to resolve Ballston’s water issue but rather, to use the dilemma we now face to their political advantage for as long as possible.  Granted, there was an unfortunate oversight which resulted in two water deals, committing our Town to the daily purchase of more water than we could use in the foreseeable future.  A former Town Attorney lost his job as a result and a former Republican Councilman lost a bid for the Supervisor’s seat with the water deal for which he voted hanging over his head.  But it is now three years since the ink dried and the Democrat/Independent Patti Southworth (who has made a political living criticizing the arrangement) has proven utterly incapable of securing a resolution.  Or perhaps we should be asking if Southworth’s apparent incompetence is actually a matter of will. 

By refusing to pursue solutions to Ballston’s water problem, the Southworths have been able to focus their energy on attacking their Republican counterparts, most notably Mary Beth Hynes.  To her credit, Councilwoman Hynes succeeded where Southworth has failed by reaching an agreement with the Saratoga County Water Authority which reduces Ballston’s daily water purchase requirement.  For her efforts, Mary Beth was blindsided by a cowardly setup undoubtedly orchestrated by the Southworths, questioning her ability to vote on the proposed agreement as she also sits on the Water Authority Board.  Supposing Patti had proven able to work with fellow Saratoga County Supervisors to reach a water-sharing agreement, would Republicans have been expected to welcome an arrangement which would save the Town hundreds of thousands of dollars?  Or would Mary Beth have requested a ruling on an inflated conflict of interest charge?  The good people of Ballston should be ashamed of Patti’s and Jeremy’s behavior.  Their pettiness and grandstanding is not due to an honest misreading of a water contract but a reprehensible commitment to the politics of personal destruction.  Town Democrats and Independents have proven, yet again, that their only goal is holding onto power and destroying their political opponents.  It is imperative that we all begin attending Town meetings in force and demanding that Patti Southworth and Jeremy Knight support a water deal that is in the best interest of the Town of Ballston.

In fact, the Councilwoman’s decisive action reflects the striking difference in approach between Mary Beth and Ballston Democrats.  While her political rivals spent two years unfairly assailing Republicans for signing a second water deal, Mary Beth quietly went to work in the hope of either renegotiating one or both of our purchase agreements or finding a nearby municipality willing to purchase water from the Town of Ballston.  This week’s announcement should come as a welcome reminder to townspeople that their elected Republican officials remain committed to addressing the issues not their political opponents.

Please join us for this important, informative event as your Republican candidates will be sharing their ideas, goals and successes with the voting public.  This is a great opportunity for voters to hear the facts directly from the candidates.

The second step is to fill out the application and get it to the Board of Elections.  It may be delivered in person or mailed.  If delivered in person it must be received by October 27^th for the General Election.  If mailed it must be postmarked by these dates.  The absentee ballot will be mailed to the applicant.

The third and last step is to fill out the absentee ballot and get it to the Board of Elections.  It may be delivered in person or mailed.  If delivered in person it must be received by November 2^nd for the General Election.  If mailed it must be postmarked by these dates.  The Post Office has up to seven (7) days after these dates to get the absentee ballot to the Board of Elections, after that no absentee ballots will be accepted.

Any person who is expected to be out of town may vote an absentee ballot.  This includes members of the military, family members on vacation or away on business, college students attending college out of the area.

For your lawn sign, contact the Town of Ballston Republican Committee at TeamHuckNewYork@gmail.com or through the “Contact Us” section of this website.