Month: June 2025

Former Saratoga Springs Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub and his lawyer, Karl Sleight, have promoted the narrative that City Court Judge Jeffery Wait’s recent dismissal of the case against Golub for “Official Misconduct” exonerated Golub and that Golub was a victim who, for unknown reasons, was the subject of a great injustice. This is hardly the case.

Regrettably, the media has provided them an uncritical venue to spread this false narrative.

The Times Union quoted Sleight: “As I said from the beginning, these charges were completely baseless. Today’s decision confirms that fact.”

WNYT television featured Golub saying, “These trumped-up charges have been a heavy burden for me and my family to carry for the past 10 months. The weaponization of law enforcement against me for political or personal reasons should be gravely concerning to everyone.”

However, even the most cursory reading of Judge Wait’s decision exposes the futility of their attempt at spin.

A Faulty Criminal Charge That Can Easily Be Corrected Is No Exoneration

The charges against Golub stem from a December 2023 incident when city workers performed work on their boss’s, Jason Golub’s, private residence. Golub was charged with “Official Misconduct”, a misdemeanor.

City Court Judge Jeff Wait’s decision asserts that the document charging Golub was “deficient” because it didn’t address whether Golub knew that the city employees working on his sink were on city time.

In legal terms, Judge Wait’s dismissal was “without prejudice.” If it had been dismissed “with prejudice,” then Golub would be cleared because no further legal action could be taken against him. As it was “without prejudice,” it meant that Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen could simply resubmit the charge, amending it to explain why the prosecution believed Golub was aware of the impropriety of using the city plumbers.

So the basis of the dismissal was an easily corrected technical error.

While Heggen told the press that she believed her original complaint was legally correct, she declined to resubmit a corrected complaint for some unexplained reason. To say that her decision was deeply disappointing would be an understatement. Golub’s lawyer did not introduce any new evidence that would have provided some rationale for her decision not to pursue the case. If DA Heggen believed the charges were justified, it is difficult to understand why she did not continue to carry forward the prosecution.

Golub Never Paid The Plumber

Like the telltale question in the Sherlock Holmes story- why didn’t the dog bark in the night?-The prosecution might have asked Golub at trial, “Why didn’t you pay the plumbers?”

If Golub believed the city employees working on his sink were not on the clock, and thus not being paid by the city, why didn’t he offer to pay them? Did Golub think that the work being done on his house was free? Why did Golub think that Ken Dooley, whom he didn’t know, would fix his sink for free?

Ken Dooley, the city plumber, told the police he was ordered to appear at the Golub house not once but twice. We know that Golub was present both times.

In fact, on one of the visits there, Dooley was accompanied not only by Deputy Commissioner O’Neil but also by another DPW employee.

Are we to believe that Golub, who has a law degree from Columbia University, had three city employees come to his home to fix his sink, yet it never crossed his mind that they might be on city time? Why did he not bother to ask? If he just assumed they were not on the clock and being paid by the city, why didn’t he offer to pay them?

There are two possibilities. One possibility is that he felt so privileged that he never thought he was responsible for paying anyone. I guess that would make him innocent of the charge, but it would reflect poorly on him first as a lawyer who should have known better and second on being a thoughtless, ungenerous, and privileged human being.

The second possibility, of course, was that he knew they were there under O’Neil’s direction, were on city time, and were being paid anyway, so he did not need to reach into his own pocket. Of course, that would make him guilty of official misconduct.

Whatever the truth of his motivation for not paying for the work done at his private residence, the basic fact is that he should never have had Dooley and the others come to his house to perform a repair in the first place. A more ethical person in Golub’s shoes would have at least conceded that he used poor judgment in not inquiring about whether his employees were on the clock, and the entire matter should never have happened. Instead, he and his lawyer have dared to play the victim in all of this. They blame everyone but Golub for being charged.

Golub dismisses the idea that he bears any responsibility for this mess.

He and his lawyer continue to claim that Tim Coll somehow magically convinced state agencies to investigate false claims against Jason vindictively.

He blames his deputy, Joe O’Neill, for what happened. According to Golub’s logic, it was O’Neill’s fault for not warning him that Dooley was helping him on city time.

I guess Golub should also blame Dooley for irresponsibly coming to his home on city time and fixing his drain without warning Golub.

Golub’s arrogance in playing the victim reflects very poorly on him and again testifies to his sense of privilege and arrogance.

Jason Golub is, apparently, unfamiliar with the concept of responsibility.

Judge Wait’s Ruling

The blogger and his editor would like to thank all of you who have made this project successful.

This blog was first published on June 21, 2015, with a story about a SPAC Little Theater performance by the Lincoln Center Chamber Society.

Over the decade, this blog has had:

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Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran’s belligerent and toxic behavior has been documented repeatedly in this blog over the past three-plus years he has been in office. Still, his out of control behavior at the June 16, 2025, City Council pre-agenda meeting descended to new lows.

The trigger for Moran seemed to be an item Mayor John Safford had placed on his agenda removing the language that authorized on-call pay for the city’s deputies. The on-call pay debacle has been documented in earlier posts. It involved among other issues allegations that city documents had been altered, a State Police investigation, and Moran hiring a lawyer for $1,250 an hour that he expected the city to pay for. Safford’s proposal to take on call pay off the books was something Finance Commissioner, and Dillon ally, Minita Sanghvi had called for months ago making Moran’s fury even more bizarre.

Moran: “I am Beyond Rage”

In this excerpt from the meeting Moran makes snarky and opaque references to some kind of collusion and other alleged grievances he suffered related to the State Police On Call Pay investigation. Don’t worry if you can’t follow everything he is saying.

Dillon Ain’t Sayin’

Resolutions and actions to be considered at City Council meetings are supposed to be posted on the city website the Friday before the Tuesday meeting. This is supposed to give both the members of the Council and the public time to read and digest the proposed actions to prepare for the Tuesday meeting.

Council members convene on the Monday morning before the Council’s Tuesday night meetings for a “pre-agenda” meeting. At this meeting, they are supposed to be prepared to answer questions about and/or clarify items they have placed on their agendas to further help members prepare for the regular meeting’s deliberations.

Moran has been a serial violator of this policy, presenting resolutions at the Council table that the public and his colleagues are unaware of til the last minute.

At the June 16 meeting, Moran taunted his colleagues (and, in effect, the public) saying that he will not reveal his plans for the regular Council meeting ahead of time. In his fury, he seems oblivious to his responsibility to be transparent so that citizens are adequately informed, and he has no concept of how important courtesy is in properly carrying out the people’s business.

The Unedited Dillon Moran

Here are the full unedited sections of Dillon Moran’s rants at the meeting.

Post Script

There were no fireworks at the Tuesday night, June 17, Council meeting.

At Moran’s request, Mayor Safford pulled from Tuesday’s agenda the resolution to remove On-Call. Moran has indicated for a year and a half that he would craft a repeal of on-call pay. He will get the opportunity to do that at the next Council meeting. Stay tuned.

The thing that is most disturbing about the leadership of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee is how cavalier they are about the truth especially when it could damage their target’s personal or professional reputations.

A case in point is a release issued by city and state Democratic Committee member Gordon Boyd. The release announces that he has supposedly discovered, in reviewing election documents, that the signatures of Joe Suhrada, who chairs the county Republican Party, and Jennifer Weaver, secretary of the County Republican Committee, appear to him to be identical. The logic being that the signatures may have been forged. He also writes that Charles A. Foehser, the First Deputy Clerk of Saratoga County, notarized these signatures, meaning that Froehser may have falsely claimed to have observed the signing of the documents by the named officials.

Boyd’s release included letters to the New York State Attorney General’s and Secretary of State’s offices asking them to investigate. The purpose of those letters is to amplify his story and get press coverage.

In an article in the Daily Gazette, Boyd told Tom Dimopoulis:

“When I looked at them, the signatures jumped out to me as way too similar. Being a notary myself, I know you’re not allowed to have signatures on something you didn’t see signed. You have to see a human being sign it and then you can notarize it,” said Boyd. “To my eye, it appears that the same hand signed for both the chairman and secretary of the party. It also appears that the purported signature of the chairman does not look like his official signature on file with the Board of Elections.

The reality is that if Boyd could find a newspaper or television station to publish his unsubstantiated claims, these grave accusations would raise doubts with the public about the integrity of Suhrada, Weaver, and Foehser, and by extension, the candidates named in the documents they signed.

It is no coincidence that three of the documents referenced in his release refer to candidates endorsed by One Saratoga, whom Boyd opposes.

Here are four of the documents that Boyd submitted to the state agencies.

The first two contain what he claims may be forgeries, along with the notarization by Froehser.

I don’t claim to have expertise in handwriting. I would observe, though, that Weaver ends her initials with a long horizontal slash, which is simply my untutored observation.

Mike Brandi, chair of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee, has written to Boyd, demanding that he retract his letters and release and issue a formal apology.

Brandi included the following documents in his response to Boyd.

Does Boyd have suspicions that Weaver or Suhrada forged each other’s Driver’s licenses?

Does Boyd suspect that Weaver had Suhrada sign her passport?

Did Weaver sign Suhrada’s tax form?

An Inquiry To Gordon Boyd

I wrote to Gordon Boyd asking what research he did to substantiate his suspicions other than observing a handful of forms.

His disingenuous response:

I have made no such determination. I have merely asked the Secretary of State to investigate.  If you were a real journalist and not such a party activist, you probably would have read more carefully.

gmb

It’s Called Being Responsible

One key question that Boyd might have considered was what the motive would have been to forge these documents. The fact that there was no apparent explanation should have at least raised the need for further investigation before going to the press if Boyd’s concerns were sincere.

It is not totally unreasonable for him to seek help from state agencies if he was indeed truly concerned about these signatures. The logic, then, would have been, though, to wait for their opinion before going to the press

Of course, this would mean he was interested in the truth rather than an opportunity to smear these three people and make it into the news cycle. It also would have meant that he maintained a high ethical standard by not wishing to bring undue embarrassment to these people if they were innocent.

It should be noted that Michele Madigan immediately enthusiastically congratulated Boyd on his press release, praising him, saying, “Nothing gets by Gordon Boyd.”

This incident is just another example of why this city needs One Saratoga.

Another Example Of The Failure of Today’s Journalism

Tom Dimopoulos wrote a story for the Daily Gazette in which he quoted Boyd on his “suspicions.” He also quoted city Republican chair Mike Brandi, who asserted that Boyd’s allegations were false.

Journalists are not supposed to be uncritical stenographers. Good journalists investigate so they can assist their readers in determining the truth between conflicting claims.

In this case, all Boyd had was a suspicion. It is incredible that the Daily Gazette would print a story with virtually no serious proof to support it. This is not journalism. It is a quest for clicks.

According to the article, Dimopoulos’s only additional investigation was an unsuccessful attempt to reach Joe Suhrada. What about the other two people being accused? Didn’t they deserve to tell their side of this story? Couldn’t Dimopoulos have asked for other documents with signatures that might have shed light on this story?

It is instructive that no other major media newspaper or television station viewed Boyd’s allegations as deserving of coverage. Even Wendy Liberatore didn’t bother. Only the Gazette.

Brandi has provided the documents disproving Boyd’s claim to the Daily Gazette, which was once an excellent newspaper. It is discouraging that they will leave Boyd’s story standing without printing Brandi’s rebuttal and evidence.

On May 22, 2025, Courtney DeLeonardis, chair of One Saratoga, filed petitions with the Saratoga County Board of Elections to get a ballot line for its endorsed candidates to run in the upcoming November city elections. The following day, May 23, 2025, Otis Maxwell, chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee, filed a general objections form, challenging the validity of One Saratoga’s petitions. Maxwell had six days to register specific challenges to individual petitions. Dillon Moran began telephoning people who had and signed or witnessed One Saratoga petitions questioning them in an attempt to uncover fraud. He failed. On May 29, Ms. DeLeonardis was advised by the Saratoga County Board of Elections that no challenges to individual petitions had been filed. One Saratoga’s seven candidates would be on the ballot.

Gathering Petition Signatures Is Not Easy

Gathering signatures has become increasingly difficult every year. Ring doorbells and the general degrading of civil society has meant that citizens are increasingly reluctant to open their doors. [Full disclosure I participated in gathering signatures, and I can testify to how many doorbells one must ring to get a signature, so the success of One Saratoga is truly extraordinary.]

Here are the total number of signatures collected by the city’s two major political parties and those collected by One Saratoga.

Democrat 641

Republican 375

One Saratoga 1,156

So, One Saratoga’s fifty volunteers gathered more signatures than the two main parties combined. This is further proof of One Saratoga’s strength and commitment.

Press Release From One Saratoga

For Immediate Release

June 2, 2025

Courtney DeLeonardis

One Saratoga Secures an Independent Line on November Ballot

One Saratoga chair Courtney DeLeonardis announced that more than 50 volunteers from all political persuasions gathered nearly 1,200 signatures to successfully secure an independent line on the November 2025 ballot for the Saratoga Springs city elections. The number of signatures gathered far exceeds the 631 required to secure the line and was more than that obtained by the major political parties in the city combined.

Since its formation in 2019, One Saratoga has always endorsed the best qualified individuals to govern Saratoga Springs, regardless of their party affiliation.  With their non-partisan line on the ballot, they seek to provide an alternative for those who may be discouraged by the divisiveness and rancor of partisan politics.

One Saratoga has always held firm to the idea of “City before Party” and their endorsed candidates include Democrats, Republicans, and a candidate with no party affiliation.  

DeLeonardis said, “It is not because of their political affiliation that we chose them but, instead, because they are the best individuals to lead, and because they will always put service to our great City before any political party.”

One Saratoga’s endorsed candidates are:

John Safford for Mayor;

JoAnne Kiernan for Commissioner of Finance;

Jessica Troisi for Commissioner of Accounts;

Chuck Marshall for Commissioner of Public Works;

Tim Coll for Commissioner of Public Safety;

Sarah Burger for County Supervisor; and

George Ehinger for County Supervisor.

More information about One Saratoga’s endorsed candidates can be found at realonesaratoga.org.