Youngblood

Even in the go-go times of this cybernetic century, it’s difficult to represent your election district’s interest in a political party when your primary residence is more than 200 miles away. It’s also difficult to form an objective opinion about the inner workings of your party when you can only attend a small number of their meetings that happen to fall in between mid-terms, keg parties and on school breaks.

This reasoning hasn’t stopped the so-called “Democrats for Change” movement in the mule party from offering a pair of out-of-region college students as viable candidates to lead the city committee. The candidates –Ariana Vacs Renwick and David Lombardo –will be vying for the two seats in the city’s 25th election district during September’s democratic primary. While it’s easy to overlook their young age –a sophomore and senior in college –it’s a bit more difficult to fathom how they’ll return to the area for meetings when they’re coming from New Hampshire and Geneseo respectively.

Even more interesting is the fact that Lombardo is none other than the progeny of recalcitrant Saratogian editor Barbara Lombardo. As some may recall, the elder Lombardo was behind the newspaper’s endorsement for Keehn in the run up to the 2007 election. Can you say quid pro quo?

Conspiracy theories aside, the Democrats for Change slate of candidates reads more like a roster for the Valerie Keehn Booster Club than a viable direction to steer the party. It’s no bother for Shawn Thompson, the conductor of this out-of-tune orchestra, who doesn’t necessarily need committee members that will think, vote along the lines of their constituents or even attend meetings. He needs folks that are going to represent Shawn Thompson. And what could be better than a pair of wet-behind-the-ears rubes lackeys who are unlikely attend many party meetings?

As many know, Thompson is the commander in chief of a coup that is threatening to sweep through the city Democratic Committee. Already, Thompson’s splinter has been directly responsible for prompting two mayoral primaries and another for city court judge. This year, he’s waging an all-out primary battle to claim 24 out of 25 election districts in Saratoga Springs. The idea is to stock the committee with a majority of loyalists and shadow committee members so he can dictate a field a full slate of “Democrats for Change” candidates before the 2009 election.

Their mantra is fairly simple: Either you’re one of us, or you’re against us. If you happen to be among the latter of these two categories, you might as well have a bull’s eye painted on your forehead. This is likely why the “opponents” tab on this group’s Web site remains conspicuously empty. They’re going to need to upgrade their storage capacity to simply list all these names.

Of course, he isn’t getting much help in this quest from the one member of his group now in office. Characterizing Public Drama Commissioner Ron Kim’s second term in office as an utter embarrassment is putting things lightly. In just seven short months, he’s isolated himself from everyone else on the City Council, all but ensuring his limited scope of objectives –or is it his objective –will receive little if any attention.

Meanwhile, the Public Safety Department has become a laughing stock of city government, even more so than when it was besmirched by former deputy Erin Dreyer. Kim has accused the city mayor of “running City Hall like the Nixon White House” and has even spent $55 of tax dollars to print the ludicrous “Failure-ometer” he posted outside the city Police Department. Adding to this folly was his assertion that the poster would “go on tour” through the city, so everyone can see how absolutely insane the commissioner has gone.

Then again, Kim’s follies are probably a bit more marketable than the trail of news clips that trailed Keehn’s path through office. Her best accomplishment in office was presiding over a dead-locked council that wasn’t able to accomplish anything outside of steering the city’s Democratic electorate into voting for Republicans. And then there’s patronage sponge Lew Benton, who allegedly engaged in a heated City Hall screaming match with Accounts Deputy Michelle Boxley this month over her lack of support for Kim’s proposed Public Safety castle, even though it remains more than $1.7 million over budget.

So maybe Thompson has the right idea in offering a pair of committee candidates that haven’t yet secured the legal right to purchase booze. After all, he’s running out of names to throw into the fray without drawing a chorus of uproarious laughter from people in the know.