While the special election to fill the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works vacancy is now set for January 28, 2025, it now appears that only one candidate, a Republican, will be on the ballot.
Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran, a Democrat, was granted his wish to manage the special election to fill the Commissioner of Public Works vacancy. As noted in an earlier post, at the October 15 Council meeting, he was authorized to work with the Saratoga County Board of Elections to arrange for the election. Also, at that City Council meeting, Moran submitted a resolution to the Council, making January 28, 2025, the date for the special election. The Council supported him and passed his resolution unanimously.
Moran then crafted a “Special Election Political Calendar.”
According to this calendar, political parties were required to submit a “Certification For Nomination” by October 25 to get their endorsed candidates on the ballot for the January 28 special election. Moran’s calendar required candidates to accept or decline the nomination by October 27.
Unfortunately for Moran and the Democratic Committee, they did not submit a “Certificate For Nomination” by the required date to get their endorsed candidate, Sarah Burger, on the ballot.
In contrast, the Republican Committee submitted the certification for its Commissioner of Public Works candidate on October 25, and its candidate submitted his acceptance on October 27.
So, as it stands, only one candidate will be on the ballot on January 28, 2025, and that person will be Chuck Marshal, the Republican.
Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran and Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi have continued to insist that they will not agree to move forward to appoint someone to fill the vacancy created when Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub resigned until the city establishes a date for a special election. Mayor John Safford and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll have expressed concerns that setting a date and organizing an election are not simple tasks and have argued plans to make a temporary appointment can and should move forward while election issues are being addressed.
Moran and Sanghvi have repeatedly rejected proposals by Safford to begin interviewing the six candidates who have expressed interest in being appointed to fill the vacancy. The two instead continued to accuse Coll and Safford of using their concerns about the propriety of some of the proposed election plans as an excuse to block a special election despite both Coll and Safford repeatedly stating their support for one as long as it was legal.
In the meantime, as proof of the relevance of Coll’s and Safford’s reservations, Moran has called for six different dates for a special election over the last month and a half as he has bumbled his way forward. He has proposed various dates in November, as well as in December and January including November 5, the date of the Presidential election. This was clearly illegal given the date of Golub’s resignation, but Moran didn’t bother to confirm this before pushing for it (as did ill-informed members of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee who turned up at public comment to support the November 5 date) . Moran has never explained his rationale for choosing these various dates nor has he discussed his reasons for continually abandoning one date and moving on to another.
In frustration, Safford and Coll presented a resolution at the Council’s October 11 pre-agenda meeting that stated the entire Council supported a special election and granted Moran, as Commissioner of Accounts, full authority to take whatever actions were required to hold one.
Here is the resolution:
So, having gotten a resolution establishing his authority over selecting a date and organizing the election, what did Moran do? He announced he would vote against the resolution.
When you watch the video below of the meeting, remember that Moran carries on lengthy attacks on Mayor Safford and airs other grievances despite the fact that the proposed resolution would give him full authority to shepherd to fruition the special election he claimed to be seeking.
Among his many grievances, Moran claimed the Saratoga County Republican Commissioner of Elections (the county appoints one Democrat and one Republican Commissioner) had already stated publicly that he will not approve a special election for Saratoga Springs. Moran did not indicate where he had gotten this information, and there is no record of the Saratoga County Republican Commissioner of Elections, Joe Suhrada, opposing the election either in the media or in any correspondence with the city before the pre-agenda meeting.
Moran consistently opposes anything Mayor Safford proposes no matter what the substance. His ploy this time to avoid supporting Safford’s resolution was to insist he would only vote for it if the resolution were amended to add that the city would sue the county if Suhrada blocked the special election. This was, to say the least, an unusual demand since the city obviously cannot pass a resolution authorizing a lawsuit before any offensive action has actually been taken.
Not surprisingly, Moran’s intemperate remarks about the Republican Saratoga County Election Commissioner prompted an equally intemperate response from Suhrada later that week. Moran pointed out that Suhrada is also the chair of the Saratoga County Republican Party, but up until recently, Moran was the vice chair of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee. His name as vice chair is still on the county website, but he told the Council he no longer held that title. Long time Democratic Election Commissioner Bill Fruci was the County Democratic Committee treasurer during his time in office and the current Democratic Commissioner Cassy Bagramian was a member of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee.
An Excerpt From The Pre-Agenda Meeting
Dillon Moran: “I have a target on my back.”
At the regular meeting of October 15, 2024, the Council took up the Mayor’s resolution. Moran voted against the resolution again, but this time for a different reason.
Gone was the demand that the resolution contain a declaration that the city would sue the county. Moran now claimed that giving him the authority to pursue the election would, in his words, “put a target on my back.” He claimed that, somehow, this would allow “the Mayor’s friends” to sue him.
Moran chose the opportunity of this discussion to oddly wander into an attack on those criticizing him for hiring a lawyer at $1,250.00 an hour.
Commissioner Sanghvi asked City Attorney Tony Izzo to come to the microphone. She asked him whether this resolution would make Moran individually vulnerable to a lawsuit. Izzo responded that if there were lawsuits, they would be directed to the entire Council as it was a Council decision.
Despite this, Moran voted against the resolution. In a rare split between Moran and Sanghvi, Sanghvi voted along with Safford and Coll to adopt the resolution which passed
Video Excerpt Of Discussion And Vote For Mayor’s Resolution
Politicians Behaving Badly
In the October 17, 2024, edition of the Times Union, Saratoga County Republican Commissioner of the Board of Elections Joe Suhrada threw down the gauntlet in response to the city’s proposal to have a special election on January 28. In language reminiscent of Moran, he called the idea of having an election in late January a “horrible idea.”
In a wandering statement, again reminiscent of Moran, he cited multiple reasons for refusing to allow an election. He vigorously asserted that having an election in late January would discourage participation, whereas having the election in November of 2025 would draw more people.
He then told the TU that the city should seek clarification from the New York State Attorney General as they had been directed to do by the NY State Board of Elections weeks ago.
In a further bizarre twist, the New York State Board of Elections refused to comment on the debacle, asserting that it was a local matter.
The original letter to the city from the state Board of Elections claimed that a special election was impossible. It referred the city to the New York State Attorney General’s Office regarding the city’s authority in the matter as stated in the city charter. The city has reached out to the Attorney General’s office but has yet to receive a reply.
According to David Harper, the city attorney, the state Board of Elections told him in a phone call that the letter they had sent was in error and that the city could hold an election. So, for the state Board of Elections to now refuse to comment to the Times Union on the local conflict was particularly strange.
Can The Adults Please Step In
It should be clear now that Mayor Safford and Commissioner Coll’s concern that the city proceed cautiously and cooperatively with the county in pursuing a special election was merited.
The Council has made it clear that it wants a special election. The question is what is the way forward? Moran and Suhrada seem unfortunately to share some common character traits that will make putting an election together challenging.
In a previous post, I wrote that Joe O’Neill, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, had resigned.
At the October 15, 2024, council meeting, O’Neill was seated with the other deputies. Dillon Moran made a show of his presence, telling those present that a certain blogger had misreported O’Neill’s resignation.
Moran apparently was unaware of O’Neill’s situation.
O’Neill had been in a civil service position when he became deputy commissioner of public works. To protect himself if a different commissioner did not want him as deputy, he worked out a deal by returning to his civil service job at intervals; if a new commissioner didn’t want him as deputy, he could return to his civil service job.
Things Did Not Work Out
Following the allegations of abuse at public works and the police investigation, O’Neill attempted to resign as deputy and return to his civil service job. The city’s HR (human resources) advised him and confirmed by civil service that he was no longer eligible to return to his previous civil service position.
O’Neill gave up on the change and returned to deputy.
In the October 4,2024, edition of the Daily Gazette, Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford informed reporter Shenandoah Briere that the city’s Human Resources Department and the police were looking into accusations that Saratoga Springs former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub and Public Works Deputy Joe O’Neill III had used city employees for work on “personal property.”
“My understanding is this is a huge rumor based on a fired employee complaint to HR,” Safford said in a text Saturday night. “I don’t think it amounts to anything much.”
Unfortunately, there is an abundance of evidence to indicate that this is more than just a “huge rumor.”
The Allegation
A complaint made last summer to the New York State Comptroller resulted in a referral to the Saratoga Springs Police Department regarding the potential criminal activities of then Public Works Department Commissioner Jason Golub and Public Works Department Deputy Joe O’Neill III. [At the end of this blog is the relevant excerpt from the New York State Public Officers Law, which makes using public employees for private use a crime.]
It is alleged that two department employees were directed to work on Commissioner Golub’s home under Golub’s and O’Neill’s direction. These allegations have exposed additional potential crimes involving the misuse of city staff and city resources.
Yesterday (October 7), O’Neill resigned as Deputy. He was able to return to his original civil service position, and as far as I can tell, that’s what he did.
The Blocked Drain
Early in 2023, it is alleged that O’Neill directed employee A of the city’s Department of Public Works to go to Golub’s home to address a blocked drain. Employee A could not fix the drain, and the following day, O’Neill had Employee A and Employee B meet him at the city Rec facility at about 1:00 PM.
O’Neill told them to return to Golub’s home, where Golub would meet them. When they arrived, Golub was not there. Shortly afterward, he arrived, and together, they entered the house. Employee A had with him a bottle of Green Gobbler used to unclog drains. It is unclear whether the bottle came from the city’s chemical inventory or whether it was purchased especially for Golub’s job by the city. On Amazon.com, the liquid sells for $26.00 a bottle.
The liquid did its job, and after success, they all left.
O’Neill’s Further Alleged Abuse
Sometime around December 2023, O’Neill had employee A meet him in the city skating rink’s parking lot. He told employee A to throw his tools into the back of O’Neill’s truck, and the two went to the home where O’Neill’s child lived with his mother. I am unclear as to O’Neill’s relationship with the child’s mother.
Employee A repaired a leak under a bathroom sink.
Alleged Black Topping On Private Driveways
Earlier this year, the DPW re-blacktopped a section of Grand Avenue under a grant specifically for that purpose. During the same period, they blacktopped driveways at three private homes. One of the homes was owned by a DPW employee.
Employee A Was Terminated
The Department of Public Works terminated employee A. The contract with the union representing employee A establishes that a person is on probation and considered an at-will employee for the first year. As an at-will employee, they can be terminated at any time without explanation. I can find no information as to the reason Employee A was terminated.
The Statute
Article VIII, §1 of the State Constitution, interalia, prohibits municipalities from making gifts or loans of their money or property to or in aid of private entities. Further, it is a general rule that, because town equipment is acquired for town purposes (see Town Law, §64[2-a]) and town personnel is hired to provide services for the town (see, e.g., Highway Law, §140[4]), a town may not perform work on private property in furtherance of purely private purposes even if fair and adequate consideration is paid to the town under a contract (see, e.g., 1988 Opns St Comp No. 88-41, p 81; 1985 Opns St Comp No. 85-37, p 51; 1983 Opns St Comp No. 83-103, p 127; 29 Opns St Comp, 1973, p 122).
Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran never seizes to amaze.
In his proposed 2025 department budget, Moran has included over $6,000.00 in on-call pay for his Deputy, Stacey Connors. One would think that the ongoing criminal investigation into him and his Deputy on this issue would have made him cautious. Instead, he seems to have just doubled down.
Reliable sources tell me that he has generated another $12,000.00 in bills with his downstate attorney over the on-call scandal on top of the $60,000.00 plus approved by Jason Golub, Minita Sanghvi, and Moran (a clear conflict of interest). He has not submitted the new bills for payment yet. The city is currently enjoined from paying the original bill pending a decision by Judge Freestone. I assume he is waiting for her final decision before submitting this additional bill he has accrued to the Council.
In the October 4, 2024, edition of the Saratogian, Dillon Moran is quoted making the following false statement about Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll and particularly Mayor John Safford:
They (Mayor Safford and Commissioner Coll) don’t want to have the election,” Moran said following the meeting. “The mayor has told me, to my face, he does not want an election. Maybe he forgets, I don’t know, but literally I had conversations with him today that he completely either forgot or ignored or refuses to acknowledge.
This is false as anyone who followed what passed for a discussion at the Council table knows. In fact, earlier in the same article, the paper reports that Mayor Safford was for the election. It is grotesque but not out of character that he would try to slander the Mayor by inventing the alleged conversation.
It is hard to report on Dillon Moran without appearing shrill because his behavior is extraordinarily dishonest and manipulative, even by today’s dreadful standards of politics.
I used to speak to Moran, but over a year ago, I stopped. Routinely, he would promise to send me documents supporting his statements and then not do so. He frequently told me things that were clearly false. As anyone who has dealt with Moran on the phone knows, it is hard to politely end the conversation. I was forced to advise him that anything he wanted to say to me, he should put in writing. He has never sent me an email or responded to an emailed question since then.
Dr. Pushi Prasad contacted me about an upcoming lecture at Skidmore College. Dr. Prasad is the Zankel Chair Professor in Management for Liberal Arts Students at the college and is an interesting thinker. Any recommendation from her is well worth considering.
I know that many of the people who follow this blog are supporters of Donald Trump, but I also know that many are intellectually curious and willing to engage with people who may not share their views.
“Entrepreneurship versus Democracy: American Business Culture and the Road to Trump”
“American business culture prizes little else as highly as entrepreneurship, which seems like a synonym for prosperity, innovation, and even freedom itself. But our celebration of entrepreneurship has a dark side. As our speaker will argue, efforts to promote entrepreneurship have often encouraged deference to charismatic leadership and suspicion of collective action, laying the groundwork for our current crisis of democracy.”
There is a point at which meaningless repetition takes on a comic theatre of the absurd dimension. Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran reached that threshold at the October 1, 2024, City Council meeting.
At this meeting Moran once again tried to get his fellow Council members to hire what would essentially amount to a personal attorney for his department.
Council members have repeatedly told Moran that the city already has an attorney and he cannot have his own. Even former Mayor Ron Kim rejected a similar request Moran made under the previous administration.
Fearless and oblivious to the absurdity of his fruitless demands, at the October 1, 2024, City Council meeting, Moran yet again submitted a contract for approval of an attorney on his agenda. This time, he added language about the attorney helping to review contracts, apparently hoping that no one on the Council would notice that the contract still also contained the original broad authority for attorneys to assist with “general legal matters.”
In the video, Moran waves a handful of papers, reminiscent of Joe McCarthy’s lists of alleged communists. Moran’s fist full of papers were allegedly city contracts that he said hadn’t been reviewed by the city attorneys. He did this knowing that his fellow Council members had been advised in the following email that every request he made to the city attorneys regarding contract review had been responded to on a timely basis.
His colleagues on the Council were clearly done taking his demands seriously. Their body language says it all. Even his loyal ally Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi failed to second his motion and pretended to be unaware of the vote as she shuffled her papers with her head down and failed to respond to the Mayor’s request for yeas and nays. Moran’s motion failed once again with his vote the only one in favor.
At one point, Dillon noticed that David Harper, the City Attorney, sitting in the audience, was chuckling. Harper is the nameless target of Moran’s fury in this video.
Saratoga Springs Politics 