Why does the leadership of the local Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee fear One Saratoga?
Democrats enjoy a wide registration lead over Republicans in Saratoga Springs. As of March, there were approximately 8600 (40.5%) registered Democrats and 6800 Republicans (28.5%) in the city. Democratic candidates should be pretty much guaranteed victory with those kinds of registration numbers. Yet the Democrats lost all the contested City races in 2023, primarily because a group called One Saratoga had candidates in those races.
This year, One Saratoga gathered over 1,000 signatures to put a full slate of candidates on the November ballot for city offices. The city’s Democratic leadership appears to be worried.
The strategy the local Democrats seem to be following is not to criticize the credentials or records of the One Saratoga candidates or to engage in a discussion of local issues. Rather, their strategy is to try to nationalize the city’s elections. By playing on local Democrats’ fears about Donald Trump’s presidency, they hope to encourage local Democrats to vote for the Democratic Committee’s endorsed candidates regardless of the quality of those candidates.
To carry out their campaign strategy, the SSDC chair, Otis Maxwell, enlisted Gordon Boyd and Hank Kuczynski to craft a targeted mailing to all Democratic and “No Party” registered voters who had signed the One Saratoga petition that secured a spot on the November ballot. Maxwell’s hope was to convince petition signers falsely that One Saratoga had been “co-opted by Elise Stefanik and local MAGA influencers” (whoever they are). This, despite the fact that two Democratic-endorsed candidates appear also on the One Saratoga line and another One Saratoga candidate is a registered Democrat.
There is a good reason Elise Stefanik and local MAGA Republicans are co-opting One Saratoga. Many voters are outraged by the actions of the current administration in Washington and local Republicans echo their MAGA tactics through lawsuits, bullying and personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with them. One Saratoga is simply a way to vote for Republican candidates without actually voting for them on the Republican line. Don’t be fooled. Please vote Democratic Row A when you go to the polls this November, or when you vote early or by absentee.
One Saratoga’s Response
One Saratoga Chair, Courtney DeLeonardis issued the following reply:
“Saratoga Springs Democratic Chair Otis Maxwell recently sent a letter to all the Democrats and No Party registrants who signed the One Saratoga petition last spring to get their endorsed candidates on the ballot for the November city election. The letter was crafted by Gordon Boyd and Hank Kuczynski. The letter used the one piece of accurate information, that Elise Stefanik had sent a contribution to one of the endorsed candidates, to assert that One Saratoga had been taken over by some Maga faction of the local Republican Party.
Both Boyd and Kuczynski know that One Saratoga Chair Courtney DeLeonardis is a lifelong Democrat who chaired the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee. They also know that almost all the members of One Saratoga are Democrats and were Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee members. This includes former Democratic Executive Committee member Jay Partridge and former Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen, as well as former Democratic Deputy Mayor Joe Ogden. Jane Weihe, another member, chaired the Democratic city committee for over a decade, chaired the Saratoga County Democratic Committee, was a member of the New York State Democratic Committee, a delegate to a Democratic Presidential Nominating Convention, and twice a Democratic candidate for city office. To claim that these individuals are now pawns of the Republican Party is absurd.
The extreme example of disinformation represented by Maxwell’s letter is emblematic as to why One Saratoga was established. The members of One Saratoga seek to offer the citizens of Saratoga a balanced ticket and an alternative to the toxic environment that has infected both national and local politics. One Saratoga focuses entirely on city politics. We believe that whatever people’s differences are on the national issues that so bitterly divide our country, people of good will from all political persuasions can come together around how to better govern our city. One Saratoga believes deeply that the way a party campaigns will define the way it will govern. Saratoga Springs is a gem. It is our hope that the voters will share our vision and will provide our candidates the privilege of serving in the next elected Council.”
On Saturday, September 20, 2025, Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford was returning to City Hall from the dedication of a park in honor of the late Tommy McTygue when he was stopped by Joe Seeman, a local activist. Seeman was in front of the Post Office protesting the Trump presidency.
Seeman asked Safford if he thought that Trump lost the election in 2020 or whether he (meaning Trump) was cheated. When Safford attempts to answer, Seeman interrupts him, insisting it is a yes or no question. Safford offers that “a lot of people see just one side. A lot of people see another side. What we need to do is find a way to talk in the middle. Right now we are so divided. That’s what we are trying to do here in the city with One Saratoga.” As Safford tries to explain what he means, Seeman talks over him, making a discussion impossible. Safford then realizes that this is not a serious attempt at dialogue and excuses himself. The entire dialogue, which lasts one minute and forty-nine seconds, is included at the bottom of this post.
I would have preferred that Mayor Safford had simply answered “no,” but I know John Safford, and I know this was his attempt to soften the bitter divide that is tearing the country apart. I also knew that his failure to be direct in his answer would be exploited, despite Safford’s actual position.
Going For The Throat
Several hours later, Mayoral candidate Michele Madigan put up the video of Safford’s exchange with Seeman, along with the following text:
Realizing that he was being misrepresented, Safford responded to Madigan’s comment with an unequivocal statement contradicting Madigan’s narrative:
Rather than graciously accepting Safford’s statement and moving on, Madigan offered the following, and “boosted” the video so it would appear all over the internet:
Further exposing the ugly nature of this incident, Joe Seeman posted his comment following Madigan’s. Here are several crude and angry statements from Seeman regarding the incident. He responded to Mayor Safford with:
When I defended Safford, Seeman wrote:
In effect, Seeman doubles down, questioning the integrity of Mayor Safford’s stated position.
Is This Just Politics?
Many readers of this blog may dismiss all this as just politics. Madigan and Seeman are simply taking advantage of Safford’s error in not responding to Seeman’s question with a simple “no.” The fact that Safford’s failure to answer “no” does not represent his actual position is being buried by Madigan’s and Seeman’s continued promotion of this incident.
Expect to see the misrepresentation of Safford’s position in Madigan’s ads and mailings as we approach the coming election.
Historically, the spirit of honoring events like 9/11, the passing of Presidents, and the passing of other public figures by the lowering of the American flag has been to unite our people in the face of grief and sacrifice.
The Spirit of the Flag
This from a website:
According to the GSA, American flags are traditionally flown at half-staff in times of national mourning, following major tragedies, or in observance of remembrance days. They are also lowered in the event of the death of government and military officials.
WCNC September 15, 2025
The U.S. Flag Code, which outlines flag display rules, includes specific guidelines for honoring top political officials. However, it also grants the U.S. President the authority to order flags to be flown at half-staff for the death of other current or former officials, as well as individuals the President deems significant.
Emblematic was the honor afforded to John McCain upon his death. This was a man who risked his life on behalf of our country and endured years of deprivation as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. While I disagreed with Senator McCain on many issues, he had my deep respect. In an age when ambition is increasingly obscured by the pretense of alleged principle, Senator McCain set his own course.
The lowering of the flag was an affirmation of his life, one that all citizens could understand.
Condemnation Of Political Violence
The murder of Charlie Kirk, following the murders of Melissa Hortman and her husband (she was the Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives), is deeply disturbing. The trend of this kind of political violence is a threat to our democracy. Seeking change through violence rather than through debate is about power and not justice.
It speaks to the quality of our local community that the leaders of the major political organizations in Saratoga Springs issued the following statement:
The Troubling History Of Charlie Kirk
While I vehemently disagree with many of Mr. Kirk’s statements, I strongly support his right to free speech, which affords him the right to hold and share these views.
In fact, to his credit, Mr. Kirk thrived on spirited but civil exchanges. He was a frequent visitor to colleges and universities where he regularly engaged students with whom he sharply disagreed.
Here are some statements he has made that I find particularly troubling, though:
“We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”
From a talk in December 2023, at a session during America Fest sponsored by Turning Point. Mr. Kirk attributed the recent conflict over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to the passage of this legislation.
Regardless of one’s stance on the value of DEI, I believe a compelling argument can be made that DEI is an extension of America’s struggle with racism, of which the Civil Rights Act was a significant component. What is disturbing to me is that Mr. Kirk appears oblivious to the important role that the Act had in overcoming the impediments that black people had to endure to secure the right to vote.
Kirk, during the same event, characterized Martin Luther King as “a bad guy.” To the best of my knowledge, this characterization was based on the fact that King played a pivotal role in the movement that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. As I, among many Americans, believe in the positive role the Civil Rights Act played in extending the right to vote to all Americans, I naturally disagree with Kirk.
“Jewish donors have a lot of explaining to do. A lot of decoupling to do,” he said. “Because Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical, open border neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits. This is a beast created by secular Jews. And now it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What on Earth happened?’ And it’s not just the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it.”
While it is true that some Jews have played a role in funding progressive causes, it is unclear to me why he felt the need to single out Jews (this blogger is Jewish). It is extraordinary, verging on the bizarre, that he credits a stew of all things to his left, as created by secular Jews. This narrative smacks of a similar line taken by the Nazis that Jews were the force behind the corrupting of Germany.
According to the website FactCheck.Org:
Kirk rejected complaints that he was antisemitic, saying that in earlier episodes he had said he was “glad that Jewish Americans are reconsidering their financing of cultural Marxism, and people misunderstood it intentionally and slandered us as being antisemites.”
I do not find this a credible defense, but readers of this blog may see this issue differently.
Mr. Kirk famously observed that the 2nd amendment is worth the cost of “some gun deaths.”
This was a provocative statement, especially since he offered it only days after three children and three adults were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.
Unfortunately, mass shootings of innocent people have become increasingly common. It is difficult to assess his statement, as I am unsure how broadly he interprets the Second Amendment. What troubles me is the cavalier timing and nature of his remarks in light of the suffering of the family members and friends of those slain in the shootings that had just taken place.
The Great Decline
As noted earlier, the tradition of lowering our colors has emphasized the importance of uniting the country. Accompanying President Trump’s issuing the directive to lower the flag to half-mast at Federal buildings for Charlie Kirk, Trump issued a cringeworthy statement blaming the amorphous “radical left” for creating the atmosphere that led to Kirk’s murder.
Putting aside that President Trump expressed no similar feelings regarding the murders and assaults of Democrats during his two terms, he has degraded the spirit that should accompany the lowering of our colors. Whether you agree with Mr. Kirk or not, he is a very divisive figure. The same tradition of lowering the flag that honors the many Americans who have died in defense of this country, and those who were murdered on 9/11, should not be used to divide and sow bitterness. We are better than that.
[I received this piece from former Mayor Meg Kelly. It addressed claims made by Michele Madigan in a recent letter that appeared in the Saratogian.]
In her August 16th Reader’s View, Michele Madigan proffers her plan to “fix” the Planning, Zoning, and Building Department. However, in doing so, she reveals her lack of knowledge and understanding of the very department she seeks to oversee.
She claims that, if elected, she will “launch a digital permitting and inspection system” to address delays. This idea, or plan, is not new and is already being implemented by Mayor John Safford. Indeed, the City Council approved a multi-year contract with Granicus several months ago for a cloud-based management system to support permitting, inspections, and other services. The system is expected to be fully operational in the coming months. It will provide the Building Department with the digital tools necessary to enhance operational efficiency, transparency, and community engagement.
She also indicates that she will “introduce Temporary Certificates of Occupancy (TCOs) for safe, unfinished properties so residents and builders aren’t left in limbo.” However, she fails to either understand or appreciate that the ability to provide for TCOs already exists and, thus, there is nothing for her to “introduce”. Chapter 118 of our City Code explicitly covers this, and our Building Department regularly issues temporary or conditional COs to allow for occupancy prior to the completion of all necessary work when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
She incorrectly refers to our Design Review Board as a “Commission” and then baselessly claims that they are not adhering to the standards relating to the historic district, which she will somehow address, if elected, and “ensure” their adherence. The Design Review Board is an independent body with authority to review all development activities within the historic and architectural overlay districts, and it is not controlled by the mayor. It is comprised of community members who volunteer their time to protect the integrity of those districts and to ensure that all activities adhere to the strict criteria outlined in the UDO. They provide an invaluable service to our community, and their efforts should be commended, not criticized in such a baseless manner.
During my term as Mayor, we successfully decreased permitting times and increased efficiency, even when the Comprehensive Budget put forward by Michele Madigan did not include the funds requested and deemed necessary to allow the department to handle the enormous volume of work it is responsible for.
John Safford is continuing these efforts. He has hired additional staff, continued to digitize all records, and is implementing management software to expedite permitting and inspections, thereby better serving the community. He is already doing what Michele Madigan purports to be her plan, and he already understands what she does not.
Respectfully, Meg Kelly Former Saratoga Springs Mayor
The New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), which Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran violated, is at the heart of a healthy democracy. It was enacted to ensure that citizens could be confident that their inquiries about government documents would be fairly and honestly addressed. This principle is at the heart of the trial and conviction of Dillon Moran.
On Friday, August 29, 2025, Saratoga Springs City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait found Dillon Moran guilty of three counts of unlawful obstruction of public records. Wait found that Moran had willfully and knowingly signed three false certifications in which he swore he did not have documents being sought under the Freedom of Information Law, which he, in fact, possessed.
Judge Wait Issues Decision
Judge Wait’s decision was clear, concise, and brief.
Selected Highlights From Testimony
These are a few of the most damaging testimonies during the trial.
According to testimony and documents, Moran informed the city’s FOIL officer that the texts on his personal cell phones were not subject to FOIL. This, despite being advised by both the FOIL officer and City Attorney Izzo that any of his private devices were subject to FOIL. His arrogance and intransigence in the face of this advice could not be defended.
According to testimony, Moran told the FOIL officer that it would take a judge’s order to make him release anything from his private cell phones. This was not the case.
According to testimony, he told another witness that he could communicate with him if he sent an “innocuous” text to Moran’s city cell phone as a trigger to have Moran call him, thus avoiding any written records of their conversation that he thought would be FOILable.
Moran threatened one of the witnesses, warning him he would “unleash his army” on him.
According to testimony, Moran kept private cell phones and a private email address to circumvent FOIL.
This Blogger’s Experience
When this blogger FOILed for any records related to how Moran determined the charges for restaurants and bars to use city sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor dining, the response was that no such records existed. It begs credibility that there were no text messages or other communications for such a significant initiative. I had other similar experiences FOILing for documents on other issues involving Moran. It was apparent that Moran was routinely violating my FOIL requests, but I didn’t seem to have any recourse.
The Delusional Local Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee
Each day of the trial, a group of local Democrats attended the trial to support Moran. Among those were:
Otis Maxwell, the current Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee
Hank Kuczynski, who was the unsuccessful Democratic write-in candidate for Commissioner of Public Works last January
Pat Tuz, who previously chaired the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee and is a current member of the Committee
Martha Devaney, chair of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee
Gordon Boyd , a member of the SS Democratic committee and the NY State Democratic Committee
Michele Madigan, this year’s Democratic candidate for Mayor and a SS Democratic Committee member
Matthew Taylor, who is working on Madigan’s campaign
Gayle LaSalle, who is working on Madigan’s campaign
Alice Smith, SS Democratic Committee member
Jack Carter, SS Democratic Committee member
Stacy Connors, Moran’s deputy
B.K. Keramati, the endorsed Democratic candidate for Commissioner of Public Works and a SS Democratic Committee member
It was interesting to observe them. At the end of the second day’s testimony, it was clear that they were excited about the proceedings and believed Moran would prevail.
Ben Hill, Moran’s attorney, did his best but didn’t have much to work with. He spent a considerable amount of time crafting a narrative that portrayed Mike Brandi, the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee Chair as the mastermind behind pursuing what he characterized as political charges, against Moran. His cross-examination of Brandi showed that Brandi was directly in touch with the Sheriff’s office. He cited Brandi’s correspondence with the Sheriff’s Department, suggesting possible charges. Brandi also provided the Sheriff’s Department with the telephone numbers and information of the other three witnesses who testified. While Hill portrayed these moves by Brandi as inappropriate, prosecution attorney Joseph Frandino pointed out that if someone suspects a law has been broken these are steps that need to be taken.
Brandi seemed to thoroughly enjoy testifying. Brandi is an attorney who has worked for municipalities and is steeped in FOIL law. At times, he challenged Hill’s understanding of FOIL law. Moran’s supporters viewed Brandi as self-assured to the point of arrogance. It was clear that they felt Brandi’s attitude and actions undermined the prosecution’s case.
What they failed to understand was that whatever Brandi’s role may have been in orchestrating the case was irrelevant. As Judge Wait’s decision made clear, the central legal issue was whether Moran had deliberately withheld documents that he knew were not exempt from FOIL disclosure. The evidence was overwhelming that Moran had illegally withheld the documents.
Moran’s supporters should not have been shocked and surprised by Wait’s decision, but their passion to support Dillon had overcome their judgment.
Disgrace
I have written before that the leadership and members of the local Democratic Committee to me resemble a cult. As with most cults, they put loyalty before anything else. How else can one explain their full-throated support for a government official who blatantly violated the most fundamental element of government transparency, FOIL? Rather than distance themselves from Moran for his irresponsible and illegal behavior, they chose to be his champions. These events only tarnish their organization’s reputation. One has to ask, how will they attract thoughtful people to join the local committee and run for office when they support and excuse rather than admonish behavior such as that of Dillon Moran?
City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait found Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran guilty of all of three counts of unlawful obstruction of public access to records. He was fined $660.00.
Saratoga Springs Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and former Deputy Mayor Angela Rella submitted claims to the city for money to which they were not entitled as part of the On-call Pay scandal. They were instructed by the Saratoga County DA to return the funds, which they both did. For reasons still unknown, the city returned the two women’s checks uncashed. Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi has refused to answer questions about how the money came to be returned, and she has failed to recover the money owed the city. In addition, Commissioner Sanghvi has never acknowledged that it was her office that inappropriately gave final approval to these payments.
A Narrative Of Incompetence And Cronyism
As readers will recall on February 21, 2023, the previous Saratoga Springs City Council under Mayor Ron Kim awarded a new benefit to compensate eligible Deputy Commissioners and the Deputy Mayor for being on-call. The poorly crafted resolution, for various reasons, led to an investigation by the New York State Police. The investigation revealed, among other things, that Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and then Deputy Mayor Angela Rella had improperly submitted requests for payment for periods not covered by the resolution.
The On-Call benefit was to begin on February 21, 2023 (see resolution at the end of this post). Both Rella and Connors requested pay for time allegedly spent on-call beginning in January of 2023 (see their time sheets at the end of this post). Setting aside the issue of whether these two Deputies or any of the others who collected this pay were actually ever performing on-call duties, the Rella and Coonors’ requests for pay before the benefit even began were a clear violation.
Then Mayor Ron Kim and Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran signed off on these requests from their Deputies and the city’s Finance Department authorized the payments. I estimate that the total amount involved is $1,604.48.
This was a breakdown in the administration and oversight of payroll within the Finance Department. Under the city’s charter, the Finance Department is responsible for scrutinizing all invoices and requests for payment as a check on the other city departments. There was a failure to adequately scrutinize Rella’s and Connors’ timesheets to confirm that they were eligible for payment.
Restitution
According to an article in the May 13, 2025, Times Union, the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office advised Stacy Connors that if she did not give back to the city the money she was paid before the On-call benefit even began, she was liable to be charged with petty larceny. It is reasonable to assume Angela Rella received a similar notice.
Checks for $752.10 each were sent to the city by each of the attorneys representing the two to make restitution.
For reasons unknown, the Finance Department did not deposit these checks.
Despite repeated email requests, Minita Sanghvi, the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance, has refused to disclose why her office refused to deposit the checks.
As it appears that Commissioner Sanghvi’s department has refused to accept the checks and has not implemented an alternative method of securing restitution, these two women will have received city money not rightfully theirs, and the city will have lost funds it is entitled to.
The Bizarre and Elusive Checks
In the Times Union article referenced above, Finance Commissioner Sanghvi’s deputy, Heather Crocker, received at least one of the checks.
She is quoted in the Times Union as follows:
“I’m accountable to the New York state comptroller,” Crocker wrote in an email to the city attorney on March24. “If we have an issue with improper payroll, the Finance Department must correct that, and include documentation in our records to explain to the auditors what happened and how it was resolved — e.g. a memo explaining the check, explaining why there is only one person’s check, a council approved resolution to correct the language that created the problem, etc. I am unable to show that with the information received thus far.”
This is particularly strange because the check she refers to was from Stacy Connors. Connors and Crocker work in city offices directly across the hall from each other. The distance between their respective chairs is less than fifty feet, and Connor’s name is on the check.
Crocker’s claim of ignorance does not seem credible. Her alleged failure to inform herself of the check’s purpose by, at a minimum, engaging her colleague, Connors, seems very odd.
Commissioner Sanghvi Refuses Request To Explain Mysterious Checks
On June 18, 2025, I emailed Commissioner Sanghvi:
“Can you explain why the checks sent by Stacey Connors and Angella Rella as a result of the on-call have not been cashed?”
On June 22, 2025, Commissioner Sanghvi responded:
“Kindly speak to our City Attorney regarding this matter.”
On June 26, 2025, I emailed Sanghvi:
“I assume you are familiar with the section of the city charter describing the duties of the Commissioner of Finance, but I thought it would be helpful here to refer you to it.
4FKeeper of City financial records. The Commissioner of Finance shall maintain complete and accurate financial records in accordance with standards established by the Comptroller of the State of New York and Section 4.3 of this charter.
As you were (are?) custodian of the checks from Stacy Connors and Angela Rella for, I believe roughly, $700.00 each, you are the person responsible for the handling of these checks.
If you are unsure about the purpose of these checks, you can walk across the hall to the Accounts Department and ask Ms. Connors why she wrote the check. Similarly, you can call Congressman Paul Tonko’s office, where Ms. Rella works, and ask her.
I must ask, why does the City Attorney know about why these checks have apparently not been deposited and you do not? This makes no sense on its face so I am looking forward to hearing from you. I ask again, why have both these checks not been deposited?”
The response to this email from Commissioner Sanghvi was an automatic reply informing me that her position is part-time and it may be some time before she can respond.
When I received no reply from Commissioner Sanghvi, I emailed her again on July 18, 2025, as follows:
I am disappointed you did not reply to my last email regarding the improper payments and restitution of money the city paid Stacy Connors and Angela Rella.
As you know in our form of government, as the Commissioner of Finance, you have the fiduciary responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the city’s finances.
The final version of the resolution authorizing on-call pay adopted on February 21, 2023, states clearly, “The terms of this resolution shall take place on becoming effective on February 21, 2023.”
Ms. Rella claimed the entire year which included January 2, 2023 to February 21, 2023.
That calculates as follows:
7 weeks X $125.35 = $877.45
2 days X $25.07 = $50.14
Therefore, Ms. Rella owes the city $927.59.
Ms. Connors claimed the period from January 9, 2023, to February 10, 2023 and February 20 to February 21.
That calculates as follows:
5 weeks X125.35 = $626.75
2 days X $25.07 = $50.14
Therefore Ms. Connors owes $676.89.
So the Finance Department improperly paid these two people $1,604.48.
As Finance Commissioner it is your fiduciary responsibility to recover this money for the city.
This issue is months old and the city has so far failed to recover the money. Do you plan to pursue the return of this money?
This time I did not even get the automatic response reminding me that Commissioner Sanghvi’s position is only part-time and it may be some time before she replies. I got silence.
Futile FOIL Request
Pursuing another track , I FOILed the city, requesting copies of the checks from Conners and Rella, along with any other related documents, emails, or texts regarding the handling of the checks. The response included a series of emails with all the text redacted. The FOIL response only provided the faces of the checks. There was one brief letter from the law firm representing Rella. The letter and check images are below. The full response to my FOIL is attached as a PDF.
The following are the only unredacted documents from the FOIL that I received. It is worth noting that by now, the checks are over ninety days old, making them invalid.
Final Summary
Basically, the fact that the Finance Department:
improperly paid employees benefits for which they were not eligible
received checks that apparently were meant as restitution which they have chosen not to deposit
has failed to recover the money improperly paid to the employees
has been systematically hidden from the public. FOIL requests for documents produced little of value. Repeated requests of Commissioner Sanghvi for an explanation are not answered.
Without the assistance of a state agency to clarify what happened to the restitution checks and to advise the city how best to address the issues, the employees will be able to keep the city money to which they were not entitled and the city is deprived of money that should have been returned.
If Commissioner Sanghvi does not know how to fulfill her fiduciary responsibilities to the city she needs to reach out to the Comptroller for guidance.
Supporting Documents
The Resolution
The First Page of the Resolution
The image below is from the adopted resolution. I have highlighted the key date in red. It establishes that the deputies were only eligible for on-call after February 21, 2024.
The Time Sheets
This is the sheet for Deputy Mayor Angela Rella for the first quarter of 2023. It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.
This is the sheet for Accounts Deputy Stacy Connors for the first quarter of 2023. It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.
For whatever reason, Saratoga Springs Democratic Mayoral candidate Michele Madigan has embraced a campaign of accusing this blogger of conspiring with Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll to victimize former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub. She dismisses any suggestion that Golub is culpable of abusing his office by engaging the services of city employees, city equipment, and city materials to fix his clogged sink. This blogger has thoroughly reviewed this topic in the past. Unfortunately for Madigan, Coll, who had requested that the city’s Human Resources Department review the Golub matter, has released the result of that investigation. The report is clear. It confirms how Golub violated the city’s ethical norms (See below).
Golub Sues City
Attorney Brian C. Mahoney filed a “notice of claim” on August 15, 2025, on Golub’s behalf against the city of Saratoga Springs. This allows Golub to sue if he so chooses during the next six months.
The “notice” claims:
“…Jason Golub, was intentionally and maliciously investigated by the Saratoga Springs Police Department at the behest of Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Time Coll.”
In fact, this blogger initiated the investigation by contacting the New York State Comptroller after being approached by two whistleblowers who had performed work on Golub’s home. The Comptroller’s office then referred the matter to law enforcement.
Golub’s lawyer’s claim contains several errors. The most damaging of which is the false statement: “Moreover, a previous inquiry in early 2024 into the matter by the City’s Human Resources department found no wrongdoing on the part of the claimant [Golub].”
In fact, the city’s Human Resources report on the findings of their investigation says the opposite. I have included the full report and encourage readers of this blog to read it.
It is rather astonishing that Golub’s attorney would assert that the Human Resources Department found no wrongdoing, given the actual report.
This is from their report:
[Redacted] allegation that he performed work at Mr. Golub’s private residence during work hours at the expense of the city is substantiated…..Based on the factual findings set forth above, it appears that Jason Golub and [redacted name] violated the Code of Ethics of the City.
Investigation Summary Report August 30, 2024
The entire report documents Golub’s use of city employees, city vehicles, city equipment, and city materials.
Blogger Drawn Into Potential Suit
In an email to me from Times Union reporter Wendy Liberatore, she informed me that she heard I was going to be deposed in this case.
On August 18, I was served with a “Litigation Hold Notice.” It instructed me to protect any emails, texts, and other relevant communications related to Golub’s potential suit. A friend who is an attorney was quite amused. He told me they could have just sent me the notice by registered mail instead of incurring the expense of paying someone to serve it to me physically, telling me that he thought they were trying to intimidate me.
Michele Madigan Calls Out The Blogger
The following is from the Michele Madigan for Mayor Facebook page. She continues to inaccurately describe what occurred at Jason Golub’s house and the judge’s ruling in the case (see the HR document below and previous blogs). In this posting she ventures into the dark world of imagined conspiracies . I am at a loss as to what she means by the blogger (me) being motivated by “political retribution.” Perhaps she will elaborate in future posts. I wonder if she will continue to pursue her energetic defense of Jason Golub after she reads the Human Resources report on Golub. Here are Madigan’s comments.
Here Is The Human Resources Report
For privacy reasons, the names have been redacted.
Most people are aware of the proverb that “a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” I might add my own proverb: “A man who lacks a law degree and experience at the bar who attempts to file legal papers with the court has more ego than judgment.”
Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran believes that he filed papers to begin an appeal of Judge James E. Walsh’s recent decision, which barred the city from reimbursing him for his legal bills. In fact, the papers he filed appealed former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub’s decision. Moran is so confident that he successfully appealed his own case, even though he is not a lawyer, that he posted this on Facebook:
Not So Fast
On August 7, 2025, Dillon Moran visited the County Clerk in Ballston Spa and submitted a “notice of appeal”, ostensibly to appeal the decision by Judge James E. Walsh barring the city of Saratoga Springs from covering his legal expenses. He did so pro se, which is the legal term for a person who is not an attorney and is representing themselves.
He was required to submit the notice for his appeal by August 15, 2025. This would reserve his right to appeal the lawsuit for six months.
The source of Moran’s confusion, as he is not an attorney, is that there were actually two cases decided on by Walsh. One was to prevent the city from paying the legal bills for Moran and his Deputy, Stacy Connors, and the other was to prevent the city from paying the legal bills of Jason Golub and his Executive Assistant, Brooke Van Buskirk.
Both cases were combined in the original decision by Judge Walsh, as the issues regarding whether to pay both bills were similar. The document below is from Walsh’s decision. The reader will note that it is made clear that there are two cases (I have highlighted each with a box), and each has its own unique court index number. The case in the box on top is Moran’s. The case in the second box is Golub’s
This is a detail from the top of the form.
The index number on the case he was trying to appeal is not the one assigned to his case, but Golub’s case. So, Moran was unknowingly appealing the Golub case, not his own. The result of his error was that he failed to register the notice of appeal for his own case by the August 15 deadline, so it would appear he has lost his only avenue for recovering the costs of his legal bills.
The Courts
The problem is that if this goes forward, the only potential beneficiaries would be Jason Golub and Brooke VanBuskirk. The train left the station regarding Moran and Connors on August 15. So strictly speaking, Moran did appeal on time, but not for himself, and clearly by mistake.
The victory lap he allowed himself was more than a little premature.
Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran told area news media that he had initiated an appeal of Supreme Court Judge James Walsh’s recent decision, which ruled that the legal bills he incurred in the criminal investigation of the city’s on-call pay affair were not eligible for reimbursement by the city.
In yet another replay of the Kuczynski mess, where he and the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee failed to submit the proper paperwork on time to get Hank Kuczynski on the ballot for the DPW special election, Moran has missed the deadline to file the required papers for the appeal. Moran had thirty days from July 15, 2025, to file his notice to appeal.
According to Saratoga Springs Republican Chair Mike Brandi, “Moran has now permanently lost his right to appeal Walsh’s decision.”
I have observed Dillon committing these kinds of errors during his two terms in office. It sends a chill that if he can miss deadlines like these, imagine what problems within the Accounts Department may eventually come to light.
Saratoga Springs Politics 