The City of Saratoga Springs has appointed an interim Commissioner of Public Works, following the death of Anthony “Skip” Scirocco last month.
A longtime presence in city government, Scirocco died after a battle with cancer on April 6th.
Last month, the Saratoga Springs city council established a committee to review candidates to serve as a replacement until a November special election.
The committee, chaired by former Democratic Commissioner of Accounts John Franck, also included former city Police Reform Task Force member Kristen Dart, former Saratoga County League of Women Voters president Barbara Thomas, Saratoga BLM organizer Alexus Brown, and former Republican mayoral candidate Tim Holmes. Interviews were held on Friday and livestreamed on the city’s website.
Following the committee’s recommendation, the city council on Tuesday unanimously chose to appoint Jason Golub to the DPW Commissioner role. Golub, the former co-chair of the city’s Police Reform Task Force, is also the first Black person to sit on the city council. He spoke at Tuesday’s council meeting.
“I am supremely confident that we can do great things in this city, and that we can really make a huge difference in the lives of the people who live here.”
Golub, a Columbia Law School graduate who serves as Head of Strategic Partnerships & Chief Diversity Officer at corporate leadership consultant agency KAHILLA, said Tuesday he intends to run in the special election to serve out the remainder of Scirocco’s two-year term this November.
Under Saratoga Springs’ system of government, the four commissioners and the mayor serve as department heads and make up the five-person city council.
The council members took time to thank all of the applicants who sought the interim commissioner role, including Golub.
Though Mayor Ron Kim did address one concern – time commitment. Though the commissioner positions are on paper part-time jobs, officials have often attested to their full-time commitment.
“The commission form of government, how it’s been set up, essentially requires an awful lot of your time. And so the challenge for Mr. Golub to take this office – and I think he’s up to – is that he’s going to have to figure out how to balance a hell of a lot,” said Kim.
Like his fellow councilmembers, Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino lauded the applicants who did not get the job. Montagnino praised Anthony Scirocco Jr., the son of the late DPW Commissioner, for his experience, saying he could run the department “with his eyes closed.” Scirocco’s candidacy drew support from the city Republican committee.
Montagnino also thanked candidate Bill McTygue, a familiar face in city politics who served for years as Director of Public Works. Montagnino, a fellow Democrat, said McTygue could no doubt take the reins of the department “tomorrow morning” if chosen.
But in his selection of Golub over McTygue, Montagnino kept an eye on the future, as McTygue was not planning to seek election after the interim role.
“And what that means, as a matter of simple deduction, is that win-lose-or-draw, in less than a year’s time, there would be three separate administrations running DPW if Bill McTygue were the interim [commissioner],” said Montagnino. “That to me was the most important factor in the decision with regard to his candidacy.”
Upset with the council’s use of a special committee instead of speaking with the candidates directly – as well as that committee’s endorsement of Golub – was McTygue’s brother, Thomas. A former DPW Commissioner, Thomas McTygue spoke to the council, alleging Golub could not “possibly” run for office while serving as Commissioner, raising a family, and maintaining full-time employment.
“What if all of a sudden Bill McTygue decides now to run for the office, because of the situation? What if he decides and he goes before the Democratic Committee? And the Democratic Committee said it likes him because of the knowledge he has for the department? Jason wouldn’t be on the ballot. Bill McTygue would be. And I am going to encourage him to run. And I will finance his campaign,” said Thomas McTygue.
Later in the meeting, Golub recognized the longtime service of the late Commissioner Scirocco.
“I have big shoes to fill. There’s no doubt. And I would also thank the McTygues for their commitment to this community. I understand where Tommy is coming from. I get it. They’ve dedicated their lives to DPW and that means a lot to them. And I applaud the sentiment, if not the words.”
Wednesday morning, Golub said he was excited to begin his first day on the job.
