The Saratogian: ‘Very grateful’: Burger talks about journey to becoming Saratoga County Supervisor
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Out of all the competitive races in the most recent Saratoga Springs election, the candidate to get the most votes was Sarah Burger, who won one of the two Saratoga Springs County Supervisor seats with a total of 5458 votes, with 4,330 coming from the Democratic line and 1,128 from the One Saratoga Line.
Burger shared with the Saratogian, while chatting about the transition and preparing for office, how truly grateful she felt.
“It feels great, and it means that what I did worked. I’m very grateful to have received very broad support,” Burger said. “The numbers in my election show that I was broadly supported by Saratogians, so that didn’t mean just Democrats. It didn’t mean just moderates. I have a very broad base, and the results, I think, speak for themselves in that regard.
“I thought this election, for all races, was very interesting. There are a lot of interesting results — It’s not always gonna be what you think necessarily, and you shouldn’t take anything for granted. I didn’t take anything for granted. I had people all along who were telling me I was going to win, and what was I worried about, and telling me ‘you can sit back and go on vacation,’ but it was also my first time in a general election, so I was not necessarily entirely positive what to expect.
“My goal was not to just win, it was to win and be the highest vote getter. And I did achieve that goal.”
When asked what she was most excited about regarding being elected to this position, Burger said it was the opportunity to serve the public.
“I think until you’re really in it, you can’t feel it the same way,” Burger said. “Really just being there is what I’m excited for and for that opportunity, which I’m very blessed to have, and really it’s an honor and a privilege.”
Burger noted it was a combination of her previous work on several campaigns as well as her experience within multiple levels of the Democrat Party, as previous Chair of the City Democrat party and currently serving on the executive committee of the New York State Democratic Committee, along with watching how the “ball was dropped” during the Department of Public Works special election in early 2025 that inspired her to throw her hat in the ring for supervisor.
“This time around … I had decided, I think now’s the time. Nothing’s ever perfect. You try to make a decision and your life is never going to be exactly the way you want it to be. You’re always going to be busy, there’s always going to be something, and there’s always a reason to say no, but this time, I said to myself, ‘I’m doing this,’ Burger explained.
“Knowing what I now know about the City Council positions, how things work, the time commitments, our form of government and having been through all of this many times now, the county supervisor looked especially appealing.”
She added the reason for this was because the County Board, in her opinion, is able to function more as legislators, and while other municipalities’ supervisors may wear a town supervisor hat, while both Saratoga Springs County Supervisors represent the city at the county level, they don’t have that extra responsibility.
“I thought, given my skill set as an attorney, as a lobbyist and my working knowledge of local government, that (county) was the place where I really felt like I could make the most difference, especially facing the issues that we’re facing as a community,” Burger explained. “During this period of time, we really need people to step up and because we need people that believe in good governance … I thought that (the role) was good for me and as it turns out, the voters agreed.”
As she gears up to transition into the role of Supervisor, Burger noted one of the first things she wants to do is to spend some time getting to know the employees at the county as well as her fellow supervisors, due to her belief that it’s important to forge relationships because the better you can connect with people, the more you can get done.
She also added that she believes, at the end of the day, all of the supervisors really have good intentions and want the best thing; it’s just always a matter of how you get there.
One such way these strong relationships could benefit the City is in the pursuit of finally altering bar closing times. Burger noted that this is a high-priority issue for both her and her soon-to-be fellow supervisor, Minita Sanghvi, and that a big reason she believes that it wasn’t achieved was that it was seen too much as a Spa City-specific issue.
Burger also shared that the one thing she may be recommending on this front would be to adopt a schedule similar to that of Warren County, where establishments close at 2 a.m. during the weekdays and 3 a.m. on the weekend, year-round.
“The bar closing issue in Saratoga Springs, which has been percolating around now for over a decade, unfortunately, didn’t make it across the finish line last year, and I think that’s something we really need to deliver,” Burger said. “I’ve heard feedback from supervisors of other towns that they just don’t they didn’t feel like it was important enough, or that it’s really a Saratoga Springs problem and not a county thing, but I don’t know how you couldn’t care, because if you look at it through the lens of a public safety issue along with if you look at it through the instances of use of force late at night, use of force at night goes up significantly, and we can extrapolate that county wide.”
Another topic Burger wants to work on while at the county is helping to address homelessness, especially because, as she understands it, the city’s temporary low-barrier shelter will be closing in late 2026, and the need for a permanent Code Blue Shelter. With the county having purchased the land on Ballston Avenue, it is looking like the project can move forward; however, she also pointed to some complex legal complications as well as the fact that such a facility will take time to build.
“Some negotiating has to go on with this land lease situation in the property, and then decisions have to be made about the design purpose. Will it just be a Code Blue shelter, or should it also serve as something else? I believe it should also serve as something else, if we’re building the building and taxpayer money is being spent on this, and other money probably, but there’s a need and we should try to provide the services that are needed for the community and for the county,” Burger said.
“Hopefully, we can find a way to do that through that new building, and if not, we have to come up with another plan. We can’t just keep kicking the can.”
Burger also shared with the Saratogian she was contacted by Lindsey Connors, Associate Executive Director with RISE and co-chair of the Saratoga North Country Continuum of Care (SNC CoC) and asked her serve on the SNC CoC, which “works to ensure a seamless continuum of housing and supportive services aimed at the elimination of homelessness in Warren, Washington, Hamilton and Saratoga Conties.”
Regarding what committees Burger hopes to serve on, the two primary ones she pointed to were Law and Finance as well as Public Safety. She also requested Economic Development and Trails and open space, and while she shared she didn’t formally request Health and Human Services or Buildings and Grounds, she wouldn’t be disappointed with either of those.
Also, in anticipation of beginning her work as Supervisor, Burger acknowledged the “blue wave” which was seen across the county. While she understands that the Democrats don’t have a majority, she noted that some key seats were definitely picked up and that, depending on how some supervisors who are registered Republicans but ran the Democratic line vote, the Democrats could come very close to a majority.
“We don’t know necessarily whether they will caucus with Democrats or the Republicans, and where they may stand on certain things. If you factor them in, we’re pretty close to a majority, or maybe could be, because there’s also Republican supervisors that may, under certain circumstances, decide to go with us on things,” Burger noted. “There could be some meaningful change.
“That’s exciting and a little bit and somewhat daunting, because it feels a little uncertain. The uncertainty is interesting, but it’s exciting…We’re very fortunate to live in a county that has. done well and is successful, and I think we want, we all want to see that continue.”
Ahead of taking office, Burger shared she has had conversations with her predecessor, Matt Veitch, whom she anticipates she will call to ask his thoughts about various things and notes have been very helpful in preparing for the transition. She added that she and her fellow supervisor-elect Minita Sanghvi, have chatted a bit about “committee preferences and how that could shake out.
“We each have our strengths, I think some overlap and some complement each other,” Burger said. “At the end of the day, our job is to do what’s best for the city and for the county.”
While the city’s County Supervisors attend the City Council meetings, they currently have no voice or vote with the council — something Burger shared she would be looking to change.
With the Charter Commission currently ongoing, “I think the supervisors maybe should have a vote. We could have an enlarged seat,” Burger noted. “ I’ve always been supportive of the idea that we change the form of government because I didn’t like the wearing of the two hats for the commissioners; the department head role is often the problem. And, these are supposed to be part-time elected positions in City Hall as well.
“We could do things perhaps, where we change our charter or amend it, and even keep the form of government, but we could add seats to the council. Supervisors could have a vote … it’s time that we make some changes, because this is not modern at all, it is a very arcane form of government. There are a lot of inherent problems with it in modern times anyway, but because we’re a city that has enjoyed some prosperity in recent years, when you were doing well, it does not justify change.”
If there was one thing Burger would ask of the public, during her campaign, she mentioned forming her own Citizens Advisory Committee, which would feature Saratogians who would work with her on issues. What she had in mind was to appoint no more than seven people with varying backgrounds, interests and experiences.
The goal is to meet once a month, and those interested can reach out to sarah@burgerforsupervisor.com.