Dark Side Of The Moon

Much has been written about the current struggles of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority. No one can deny that Executive Director Ed "Spike" Spychalski is receiving gluttonous compensation for his duties. Recently, The Saratoga Affordable Housing Group, a so-called affiliate of the SSHA, has been caught up in the downhill avalanche of negativity surrounding the Housing Authority. The leading antagonist in this drama is city resident John Kaufman. From an outside perspective, most would view Kaufman as some altruistic soul hell-bent on exposing corruption for the betterment of humanity. But alas, as is often the case, reality is a far cry from what is exposed in the press. Kaufman has a score to settle...and, ultimately, the poor of Saratoga Springs will bear the brunt of his animus.

Back in the day, Kaufman and his "partner" Jane Weihe were very active in City Democratic circles. She, losing multiple elections for City Council seats and he, working behind the scenes to ensure development in the city was appropriately demonized to ensure future homogeneity. His appeal was centered around the idea that "certain kinds" of multi-family developments didn't pay for themselves. Pretty sure he wasn't talking about luxury condos on Railroad Place. This may seem a peculiar stance for a progressive liberal but its pretty much status quo in Saratoga Springs for these types.

Kaufman's beef with the SSHA is nothing more than a tangent of his larger squabble with former SSHA Board Director Dennis Brunelle. Back in the early 2000's, Brunelle, along with a large group of concerned citizens, formulated a group dedicated to providing housing for the County's working-class poor. The purpose of the group was to, in the face of virulent anti-development opposition from people like Kaufman, advocate for development projects that included affordable housing. This was a no-no. Kaufman lambasted Brunelle for having the tenacity to support development in the city and claimed he ought to be ashamed (for, presumably, getting in bed with evil developers). Of course, Brunelle's efforts were largely unsuccessful until the completion of new, affordable units on Allen Drive. The same units Kaufman is now identifying as having undergone some sort of illegal asbestos removal.

Now, say what you will about Brunelle's defense of the SSHA fiasco, the fact remains that Brunelle didn't profit from his position on the board (aside from travel expenses associated with purportedly acceptable trips for the SSHA) and he has been a life-long advocate for the poor and disenfranchised in Saratoga County. Was he guilty of sticking by his man? Yes. And the appropriate punishment has been leveled. As many of you know, I would be loathe to praise anyone that had ANY kind of personal/professional association with Val Keehn, but Dennis Brunelle is a good man who simply got in over his head. The same cannot be said for John Kaufman. The only time Kaufman gets involved with an issue is:

1. When his roommate is running for office.
2. When developers attempt to change the demographics of the City. And,
3. When he's got a personal score to settle.

The latter is whats playing out right now. Kaufman will ride the Allen Drive pony till its slumped in a heap on the side of the road. Sure, there are problems with Allen Drive. But those problems are a direct result of the combative atmosphere created by virulent NIMBY's like Kaufman and his ilk. No doubt those same forces were instrumental in ensuring that any lottery for the new units were restricted to current city residents. No doubt short-cuts may have been taken to stretch scarce development dollars. No doubt Kaufman will piggy back these issues to drive the Saratoga Affordable Housing Group into the ground and halt any further affordable housing development in the City.

Score Settled.