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This year on November 6th, the country will head to the polls tasked with choosing our next president. Here in Saratoga however, the date holds additional significance. When Saratogians enter the ballot box next month, they will be voting for not only the next Commander-in-Chief, but also for the future of our city. A referendum will determine if Saratoga Springs chooses to amend its city charter altering the system of governance from a commissioner based system to a city manager setup.

A few weeks ago, Skidmore hosted a discussion be-tween the two sides of the debate with Professor Turner of the Government Department serving as moderator. The dis-cussion gave a good overview of the issue at hand while the backdrop of the Tang’s We The People exhibit put the discus-sion in perspective as an active part of our democracy.

The proposed changes to the charter create a city manager to carry out the day-to-day decisions necessary in running the multi-million dollar machine that is Saratoga. A qualified individual with a background in city management would be appointed to the post by city council, and would be subject to the executive and legislative powers of the popu-larly elected council. Essentially, this change puts administra-tive power in the hands of somebody with the experience necessary to make educated decisions while still maintaining the hierarchical supremacy of the elected officials. Supporters argue that the new system would be more fiscally and bu-reaucratically efficient than the current group of five part-time commissioners.

There is however, some give and take with the pro-posed system. Opponents voice concern over the prospect of having an unelected official wielding so much power without being directly accountable to the people. While the opposi-tion recognizes that having a city manager would be more efficient, they argue that it does not justify vesting power in an individual not directly representative of the community—

a classic debate with roots in the Constitutional Convention. In fact, Alexander Hamilton originally proposed a system supporting a strong executive with a life term. He reasoned that the efficiency would outweigh the perhaps undemocratic ideals of a lifelong leader. Now, while the city manager would in no way serve for life since his/her term would be contractual with city council, the balance between pure de-mocracy and efficiency still comes into question.

Furthermore, the opposition questions the accounta-bility of a city manager. This again is an issue analogous to some of those that faced the Founders. One of the original constitutional blueprints involved Congress directly electing the President. The problem with this method was the de-pendency it created between the President and Congress. Since Congress was responsible for the President’s reelec-tion, the President would ultimately answer to Congress. In short, this system was flawed because it made the Legislative Branch superior to the Executive Branch. The rejection of such a system is logical. Separation of powers and checks and balances cannot be achieved if one branch is responsible for the election of another. In the case of Saratoga, the city coun-cil appoints the city manager, creating a system much like the failed constitutional proposal. However here, such a system is a positive. The council holds power of the purse and contract over the manager and thus, the manager needs to be account-able to the council. According to proponents of the change, this makes up for the lack of election process in choosing the manager by ensuring that the elected officials are still running the show.

With both sides campaigning for supporters and more discussions like the one held at Skidmore planned for the near future, it is hard to tell which way Saratoga will vote. So, as the ballots are cast this November, not only are the next four years of our country’s leadership at stake, but also the future of our city.