On June 25, 2025, Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran willfully violated his oath of office and abused his authority when he refused to comply with a request by the City Police Department for a document required in a prosecution. The result of his impropriety was that the charges against a key ally of Moran were dismissed.
Among the responsibilities outlined in Article 7 of the city charter is that the Commissioner of Accounts serves as the keeper of public records. In this case, Moran was required to provide either a copy of a “demonstration declaration” requested by the police or, in this instance, a statement indicating that no such document had been received by the Accounts Department.
His failure to comply constitutes a violation of the city charter and his oath of office. It may potentially be considered a misdemeanor under the New York State Municipal Officers Law.
His refusal to provide the document may also constitute obstruction of justice since because of his abuse the case had to be dismissed.
The Violation
On April 26, 2025, the Saratoga Springs Police Department contends that a demonstration involving more than twenty-five persons was organized by Joe Seeman and took place on the steps of City Hall. It was alleged that Mr. Seeman failed to submit a “declaration” to the police before the event.
As thoroughly documented by this blog over several years, individuals organizing a demonstration involving more than twenty-five persons are required by the city to submit a document called a “declaration.” The document is simply meant to alert the Police and Fire Departments to the location and size of the proposed action. The purpose of this is to enable the city to marshal its resources to ensure public safety. The document also informs the organizer of their responsibility to clean up any debris associated with the event, along with an advisory that the participants are not to carry weapons, etc.
Mr. Seeman, among others, has tried to misinform the public that the purpose of this “declaration” is to be an impediment to their right to demonstrate. The problem with this campaign of disinformation is that it is easily exposed as false. Seeman’s demonstration proceeded without incident despite his failure to submit the declaration. In fact, the Police provided protection for the event. Notwithstanding Seeman’s and Moran’s shrill accusations, nothing was done to impede Seeman’s demonstration. Yet he, along with Moran and others, continue to try to gaslight the citizens of our city that all of this is a conspiracy to deny them their rights even after multiple demonstrations were allowed to proceed without complying with the declaration requirement.
There is a delicious irony that the only Commissioner who has ever rejected a “declaration” to have a demonstration is Dillon Moran, who refused to allow the city union to have a demonstration. Unfortunately, neither the article in the Daily Gazette nor the WAMC story revealed any of this.
So the requirement of a declaration is an administrative obligation and is entirely separate from the right to demonstrate. While Seeman was able to organize his protest without interference, he was charged with a violation for failing to provide the required paperwork and received a summons to appear in city court. A “violation” is similar to jaywalking, and if Seeman were asked if he ever committed a crime as a result of a violation, he could correctly say no. He merely subjected himself to a modest fine for failing to submit the required form.
Ironically Seeman had always filed declarations in the past when he lead demonstrations in the city. Seeman’s refusal to comply with submitting a “declaration” can best be described as pettiness rather than principle.
Moran Comes To The Aid Of His Ally
The “declaration” is required to be submitted to the city’s Accounts Department.
To prosecute Seeman, the City Attorney determined that a formal acknowledgement from the Accounts Department that they never received a “declaration” would be required to document the violation to the court.
Lieutenant Frederick Warfield contacted the Accounts Department requesting the document. Lieutenant Warfield received the following email from Commissioner Moran:
As this email may be difficult to read on some people’s devices, let me repeat what Commissioner Moran wrote, “I won’t be providing a sworn statement to anyone, nor will my staff.”
Because of this, City Attorney David Harper wrote to Judge Wait, who was overseeing the proceedings, stating that the city would be unable to pursue the case in court. In addition, Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll has been forced to discontinue the requirement for “declarations” because Moran has made the requirement unenforceable.
Moran and Seeman-Political Allies
In his recent unsuccessful race for a New York State Assembly seat, Joe Seeman received $200.00 from Moran. Seeman subsequently received another donation of $100.00 from a “Jack Mehoff.” The latter gross attempt at humor was made through the ActBlue website, and the donor’s address matched Moran’s home address. Moran claims his account must have been hacked. The obscene donation is under investigation by the New York State Campaign Board.
Seeman, along with BLM leader Lex Figuereo, are co-chairs of the Saratoga County Working Families Party which has endorsed Moran’s candidacy for Commissioner of Accounts in this year’s upcoming city election.
So there is, at a minimum, the appearance of cronyism.
Moran Is Not A Judge
In the July 10, 2025, edition of the Daily Gazette, Moran defends his actions by asserting that Mr. Seeman is innocent.
“I was told last Thursday that they were preparing to exercise a search warrant on my department. A search warrant for an item that doesn’t exist,” Moran said. “Joe Seeman did not organize that protest. He did not fill out a Demonstration Declaration for the protest. They cited him without evidence. And it doesn’t matter what I say, they have no evidence that he did that. That’s why the case was thrown out.”
Daily Gazette
The fact is that it was dismissed not because Seeman was determined to be innocent, but because the City Attorney was forced to request a dismissal, as Moran refused to certify what he had freely admitted to the press—that Seeman did not file the required document for holding a demonstration.
Dillon Moran is the Commissioner of Accounts and not the City Judge. It is not up to him to decide anyone’s guilt or innocence. He does not have the authority to interfere with the judicial process, no matter how strongly he believes his friend is innocent. That is for the court to decide.
A Failure By The News Media
The critical point here is that a Commissioner has violated his oath of office and the city charter, resulting in a court case being dismissed.
I believe that this is no minor bureaucratic brouhaha. This city cannot function properly if its officials are allowed to pick and choose which of their duties, as defined in the charter and in New York State Law, they wish to perform. I think it is reasonable to believe that if Moran would violate this responsibility, he is probably taking other liberties that the public is unaware of.
Wendy Liberatore has declined to do a story on this for the Times Union. The Daily Gazette and WAMC have both published stories. None of these stories effectively communicates this central issue. Instead, they provide Seeman and Moran a platform to make false statements meant to gaslight the public.
The Need For Council Action
Moran should not be allowed to flaunt his duties as Commissioner with impunity. The proper remedy is to remove him from office in the November election. Short of that, his colleagues at the Council table should challenge him to apologize for his failure, while assuring them that this incident was an error not to be repeated, so that the city can continue to enforce its ordinance regarding “declarations.” Should he refuse, he should be censured, and the Council should formally request that the Governor remove him from office.
Saratoga Springs Politics 
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Sam Brewer, thank you for speaking out against the attempt to coerce Dillon Moran to sign a ridiculous sworn statement.
It would have been equally ridiculous for Dillon to sign a sworn statement stating that John Kaufmann and Jane Weihe didn’t file a Declaration of Demonstration for this pro-Democracy vigil. Because they weren’t the organizers. And as the police officer present was well aware of, neither was I. The reason this was dropped was because if the prosecution continued, the transcript and video that the city attorney stated they had, would have had to have been released. Which would have clearly shown that Tim Coll knew I wasn’t the organizer, and that he is abusing his position for personal political gain, as corrupt Republican politicians are doing across America.
If Kaufmann actually saw a Declaration of Demonstration, we would know that it is not a permit.
But Tim Coll, just like Kaufman and Weihe, is only concerned about promoting GOP politics and the GOP narrative, bashing Working Families Democrats, and covering his own behind after being called out for selectively prosecuting a Black man & Palestinian man for a protest earlier this spring involving hundreds of white people and others.
This blog post by Kaufmann, just like all Republican propaganda, is pure unadulterated BS, that conveniently ignores the facts.
By the way, the US flag code calls for the flag to be held upside down as a sign of distress. If you can’t see that our Republic and the rule of law is under attack by Republican politicians and operatives, from Trump down to Coll and Kaufmann, and that America is sliding towards fascism, I can’t help you.
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Joe,
This is the problem when an excess of passion and self righteousness blinds. The issue is not whether you are guilty or innocent. That is for the court decide. The issue is not whether your cause is just. I share your anger and grief over the slaughter of the Palestinian people.
The issue that you apparently cannot see is that no commissioner can refuse to exercise their duties as laid out in the charter. Because you and Dillon believe that Tim Coll, a registered Democrat, is on a Republican conspiracy to undermine your rights, does not allow a commissioner to abrogate the requirements of his job. In fact, I have been told that Moran was forced to concede his misconduct and has signed a memorandum of understanding that he will not refuse to provide a certification in the future.
You don’t seem to grasp that such flawed statements as yours obscure the central issues you advocate by undermining your credibility.
My question to you is why do you think it is wrong for people planning to demonstrate to fill out a form that takes two minutes and for which there is no charge? When have you or anyone else been denied the right to demonstrate because you didn’t fill one out? The form is an administrative requirement meant to ensure the public safety department can deploy staff to protect the public and the demonstrators.
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John – your comment is yet again another Republican crock.
You illustrate your inability to rationally make your argument you resort to pigeonholing my comments as an “excess of passion and self righteousness.”
The issue is more than whether I am guilty or innocent – the issue is whether there was any basis whatsoever in fact and law in the charges against me, or if it was simply baseless weaponizing the justice system for Republican political gain.
Spare us your phony you “share your anger and grief over the slaughter of the Palestinian people.” You are a Republican political operative and propagandist, and an ally of Trump, Netanyahu, and the party that claims anyone who speaks out against the obscene violence of the Israeli government is antisemitic, while your party glorifies Nazi-saluting Bannon and Musk.
Is it Dillon Moran’s duty to sign any sworn statement Tim Coll tries to bully him into signing, regardless if it is baseless? Should Dillon have signed a sworn statement stating that John Kaufmann and Jane Weihe didn’t file Declarations of Demonstration? Obviously not because you were not the organizer of the vigil. And neither was I. Which the police officer present was well aware of, which Tim Coll was aware of, and which would have been available for all to see if Coll released the transcript & video, which is why he dropped the charges.
And funny you should talk about credibility. Back a few years ago when Jane and you were still pretending to be Working Families party progressives, in a Working Families party interview which you participated in, you deceived the interview team by hiding the fact that you were already working for one of the candidates we were interviewing for endorsement. Your dishonesty shows you have no ethics and zero credibility.
FYI, I don’t think it is wrong to fill out the Declaration of Demonstration. In fact, as the public record shows, I have filled it out for demonstrations for which I was the lead organizer. The point is that I was not the organizer for this vigil, or for the vigils that happen every Saturday in Saratoga Springs. The reason I was charged had nothing to do with the declaration or public safety. It was simply your Republican politician Tim Coll charging me so that he wouldn’t look so bad for selectively prosecuting a Black and Palestinian man out of hundreds of mostly white demonstrators earlier this spring, and so that Republican propagandist hatemongering facebook groups could see that Coll was going after someone they love to hate, and so that Coll and Republican propagandists like yourself could bash a real Working Families Democrat, Dillon Moran, for refusing to sign bogus absurd sworn statements.
Supporting weaponizing the justice system for personal political gain – do you get a free Maga hat for this?
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Moran’s FOIL trial is now on the Court Docket for late August.
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Mr. Seeman
One of the oddest among the many odd assertions you make in your two comments on this blog was your description of Dillon Moran as a “real Working Families Democrat”. I’m confused. Does a “real Working Families Democrat” create a toxic work environment, use ethnic slurs, make false sworn statements, refuse to carry out the duties of his office, and act abusively at City Council meetings? Or are you going to make the Trump-like argument that these are all stories made up by his supposed enemies?
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“Straight Shooter” – your baseless attack on Dillon Moran shows that you are another GOP operative. Why don’t you tell us your real name? Are you a sock puppet for Kaufmann or another GOP operative?
Dillon Moran is endorsed by the Working Families party as well as the Democrats. As opposed to GOP operatives like John Kaufmann & Jane Weihe who had pretended to be Working Families party supporters, when they actually deceived the Working Families interview committee and destroyed the integrity of our interview.
Standing up for Tim Coll’s abuse of his position, to prosecute his political enemies with absolutely no basis in fact or law, purely for his own political gain, shows that the Saratoga GOP is as utterly corrupt and opposed to Democracy and the Rule of Law as Trump and his fellow billionaire oligarchs.
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