Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the United Nations Ambassador, testifies during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing for her pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 21 in Washington. (AP photo — Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

SARANAC LAKE — A Saranac Lake resident, Fred Balzac, is asking local government boards to pass a resolution supporting his call for a more open special election process for the NY-21 Congressional seat, which Rep. Elise Stefanik is expected to be vacating soon.

Party chairs, who are tasked with picking the candidates to run for their parties in the special election, say they are following the law and being as fair and transparent as possible. But Balzac, a local activist and Saranac Lake resident, called the current process “anti-democratic” and is advocating for a more transparent process.

A special election is not run like a normal election. Instead of primaries — where members of each party vote on who will represent their party on the ballot — the candidates are selected by the 15 county party chairs in the district.

Essentially, its a primary with only 15 voters.

Balzac’s proposed resolution voices support for a state Assembly bill which would add primary elections to the special election process. This would not be able to be passed soon enough to impact the impending special election process. But his resolution also calls for several other changes to the current process to make them more open to the public.

It is unclear if any of these requests will be taken up by the party chairs.

Warren County Democratic Chair Lynne Boecher, who is heading up her party’s 15 county chairs, said they’re not being secretive. They’re doing more than is legally required. By law, the chairs don’t even need to solicit candidates to apply, or to interview them.

Boecher’s heard from plenty of people who are frustrated by the special election process. She understands it, but said they’re just following state law.

“It would be a lot easier on the 15 of us if we did have a primary,” Boecher said. “This is the process that we’re stuck with.”

The Enterprise was not able to reach Warren County Republican Chair Tim McNulty, who is heading up the GOP’s process.

Balzac presented his resolution to the Saranac Lake village and town of North Elba boards. Right now, it does not appear either board will be taking the resolution up for a vote. Balzac said his resolution has been endorsed by the state Green Party, the local World BEYOND War chapter and the local NY-21 Congress Watchdogs group Balzac helped found.

He’s passionate about the issue because he believes it is likely the winner of the election will be a major party candidate. The winner will be up for election again in 2026. He said incumbents typically have an easier time keeping their seat.

“The winner of this election is likely going to be somebody who could potentially be in office for a long time … and they were picked by 15 people,” Balzac said. “The selection of a party’s nominee should not be relegated to 15 county chairpersons haggling in the modern equivalent of a smoke-filled room — that is, what’s likely to be a Zoom or other online session closed to the public.”

The resolution requests the party chairs to release the names and application materials of each candidate and for them to host online and in-person forums with the candidates to hear them talk side-by-side. This would provide “maximum transparency” with the “widest possible input,” he said.

“Democracy is at its strongest when the greatest number of citizens as possible have a say in making decisions that affect their lives,” the resolution reads.

Balzac knows the time is short to hold forums, but said it wouldn’t take long to set up.

“It’s not that hard to set up a Zoom meeting,” Balzac said.

A Zoom webinar fits 500 people and attendees other than potential candidates and moderators would only be viewers.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Balzac said.

He said the application forms could be released with personal information removed or redacted. If people want to run for Congress, he feels they should all be public.

Boecher said they could release information and hold public forums, but at the end of the day, the 15 chairs still make the call.

All the Democratic chairs agreed to not share other chair contact information with the candidates. They had to reach out on their own with a letter and resume. Boecher said this set up a couple “hoops” to jump through in an effort to get serious candidates, and ones who knew the area well enough to apply. So far, 10 Democratic candidates have jumped through those hoops. The chairs have interviewed all 10, having them pitch to the group over Zoom calls.

Between 10 and 20 people have applied for the Republican Party’s slot. All GOP chairs have met individually with each of the candidates several times.

There’s not a formal way to give public input to the county chairs. But Boecher said voters are calling them “left and right” asking who they are going to choose. They’re getting campaigned to from candidates and voters alike.

Balzac’s resolution calls for the prioritization of candidates having detailed positions over the ability to self-fund their campaign. Boecher said self-funding is an important part of their process. Running for office is not cheap and local political parties do not have much money. Candidates need to be able to figure out funding to win, she said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s vote on Stefanik’s nomination is set for today. If her nomination is advanced by this committee, then it will go to the full Senate to vote on. If the Senate approves her appointment, it is likely she’ll resign from the House shortly afterward.

After Stefanik submits a resignation letter, Gov. Kathy Hochul will have 10 days to issue a proclamation calling for a special election. Then, the election must be held within 70 to 80 days of the proclamation. Major party nominations must be made within 10 days of Hochul announcing the election. The party chairs’ votes are weighted by the number of party members in their county. Independent candidates will have 12 days to collect signatures to be nominated.

Manhattan Democratic Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has proposed a bill to reform special elections and add primaries at least nine times since 2009. It has never left committee. The bill would extend the special election to 90 days after the governor calls for it, instead of the 70-80 it is now, and would hold primary elections on the first Tuesday falling between 30 and 36 days before the special election.

Rosenthal recently reintroduced the bill again for the current legislative year.

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Local Democratic chairs

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Essex County Democratic Chair Maggie Bartley said she gets a 5% weighted vote out of the 15 party chairs.

She is amazed with the number of people who have applied and said the parade of candidate hopefuls has been a bit overwhelming. But, she added, that’s a good thing. She said the candidates are all sincere, with good Democratic values and good American values.

Bartley said she understands the weight of making the candidate decision for voters of her party.

“We’re trying to be very fair,” she said. “We’re trying to make sure that everyone who wants to, has the opportunity to submit and give us their sales pitch.”

There’s been a lot of them.

“I’m amazed that there are so many, because so often, I can’t get one candidate to run for an office,” Bartley said.

She’s telling prospective candidates if they don’t get picked to represent the party in the NY-21 race she’ll ask them to run for another office. She’s hoping this surge in candidates will be a catalyst for other positions around the area.

Bartley said the special election needs to happen this way. The state doesn’t want to leave seats with long vacancies.

Franklin County Democratic Chair Kathy Fleury said she wouldn’t say much before there’s a vacancy in Stefanik’s position, but she’s looking for a candidate who can bring back services to the North Country.

Boecher said they’re all ready to vote when Stefanik resigns. She just hopes Mother Nature cooperates, since they plan to meet in person to vote. She’s hoping for a consensus on who her party picks.

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Local Republican chairs

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Franklin County Republican Chair Jason Ellis said he gets a 4.95% weighted vote out of the 15 party chairs. Ellis said with the compressed timeline, he feels there’s not enough time for a primary vote. This puts a “huge responsibility” on the chairs and he takes it seriously.

“It’s a privilege to be a part of it,” he said.

He plans to pick the person he believes will represent the district and Franklin County the best, as well as someone who will be as visible as Stefanik was. She set a “high bar,” he said.

He feels the GOP is blessed with a lot of of good candidates and is confident they’ll be able to keep the seat in their party.

Essex County Republican Chair John Gereau said he wouldn’t say much before there’s a vacancy in Stefanik’s position.

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The election

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This special election will be a strange one, all the chairs said. They’re all curious about who their party will pick to run as a candidate, and more so, who the other party will pick. With so many people seeking nominations, it’s hard for any of them to predict.

After their candidates are selected, then they’ll all be starting “get out the vote” efforts. Special elections historically have low turnout and with both major parties vying for control of the district in a House with a slim Republican majority, each group will want as many of their members to cast ballots as possible.

Bartley pointed out that many normal election practices can’t happen with a special election, even down to lawn signs. The ground is frozen and they’ll get covered in snow by plows, she said. Traditional methods of stirring up voters are out the window. Also, she said that many North Country residents spend winters in warmer climates down south, so she’s expecting a lot of absentee voting.

With the House having a close party split after the last election, this race could also attract national attention for its importance for both parties.