GLOVERSVILLE - City and local officials have a variety of opinions on Mayor Tim Hughes' four years in office, ranging from praise to condemnation, but Hughes himself said he would go back and do it all again if he could.
Hughes was sworn in January 2006 as a relative newcomer to the political scene. His re-election bid was derailed when fellow Democrat Judy Marcoux won the democratic primary in October, 278 votes to Hughes' 99.
Over the past few years, City Hall has been fraught with controversy after controversy, from the firing of long-time city clerk Gary Margiotta, to the removal of former police chief John Harzinski, to allegations of improper personal and business dealings by Hughes. Through it all, though, Hughes said his record of bringing down the city's deficit and paying off $1 million in debt is his most important contribution.
"We had a huge deficit when I took office," he said. "[In my term] we have paid off the deficit, paid $1 million to the school district and the county, paid off a couple of $100,000 grants and put $1.5 million in the bank."
Regarding the city's current budget gap - a $1.4 million gap between revenues and expenditures in the proposed 2010 budget - Hughes said it's common across the county.
"It's a sign of the times. Everyone is dealing with [deficits]," he said.
Hughes said he kept a close eye on the city's finances throughout his term and in doing so was able to bring down spending in a number of city departments.
"We really tightened up everyone's spending, especially in the [Department of Public Works]," he said. "We updated the fleet, not with new equipment but it was newer than what we had. It goes back to that saying, that you can't drink champagne on a beer budget."
Finance Commissioner Bruce Van Genderen agreed with Hughes' self-assessment as having kept a close eye on finances.
"He was a no-nonsense type of CEO," he said. "He was a big proponent of the revenue sharing agreement with the town of Johnstown. The more I worked with him, the more I realized he had a lot of business savvy."
Despite this, though, Van Genderen said the city possibly should have made some different financial decisions.
"In retrospect, and hindsight is always 20/20, we may have looked at a small tax increase as opposed to a small drop [in past years]," he said.
Van Genderen said he thinks certain issues and the way Hughes handled them may have hurt him.
"I feel as though [Hughes] did a good job, but there were certain things he could have been more open with the council on," Van Genderen said. "The issue with Red Carpet ... was perhaps poor judgment on his part."
Controversy surrounded the selection of Johnstown building Red Carpet Housing as the sole building for the city's first-time homebuyers grant program earlier this year. City officials and residents said Hughes favored Red Carpet because the builder built his own home, and failed to disclose additional bids from other potential builders for the project.
Others have many positive things to say about Hughes' term. Transit Manager Al Schutz praised Hughes' support of the transit department.
"We've made more strides in transit during his administration than during the other years I've been here. We've won two state awards and we're a highly recognizable system," Schutz said. "[Hughes] has always been a protector of transit. He's been behind me all the way."
Second Ward Councilman John Castiglione also credited Hughes with moving the revenue sharing agreement forward.
"He worked hard on the agreement," Castiglione said of Hughes. "It's certainly something that will benefit the city tremendously."
Castiglione said the controversy surrounding the city may have been avoided if the city had been a bigger proponent of open government.
"There were things that could have been handled better," he said.
Fulton County Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Wally Hart said he believes Hughes lost a number of opportunities to move the city forward.
"He had an opportunity to come in as an outsider, someone not part of the political machine," he said. "I think that while in most cases his intentions were for the best, a lot of the potential was squandered, especially because of the multitude of controversies. I had hope Tim Hughes would be different."
Hughes said the controversy the city dealt with during his term are not unique Gloversville.
"If you look back, this has happened to every mayor. There is a honeymoon period, but when it's over, it's over," he said. "People can say it's a black eye, but they weren't really there, they weren't involved, so I don't pay much attention to that."
Hughes added he was surprised and disappointed by the invasion of privacy he experienced.
"I met a lot of nuts. We all know who they are. They stalk you," he said. "Everyone has rights, I have rights. The bad part of politics is anyone with an opinion can say whatever they want and some of the roads people go down, you think, what the hell are they thinking?"
Former city councilwoman Cynthia Morey, who served part of her term under Hughes, said she has ultimately been disappointed by Hughes' term.
"In the beginning, I had high hopes, but toward the end of his first year it became increasingly clear that I was going to be disappointed," she said.
Cynthia said while there is a level of privacy that should be afforded to public officials, they must be aware that their private life reflects on the city.
"Although he had some good ideas, he was too impatient ... which appeared to cause a lot of the dissatisfaction, the hard feelings and ultimately the lawsuits," she said.
Former city clerk Gary Margiotta, who was removed from his post, which he held for 16 years, in December 2006, with no explanation from the city. Margiotta was recently awarded $125,000 after filing a wrongful termination suit against the city.
Police Chief John Harzinski was placed on paid administrative leave by Hughes on Dec. 6, 2007. He took the city to state Supreme Court in an attempt to be reinstated.
Harzinski said he was suspended for an alleged act of insubordination, while Hughes said it was done so attorney David Grandeau could conduct an investigation into the police department. According to court documents, part of Grandeau's investigation involved looking into allegations made against Harzinski.
The case was settled by the two sides in 2008. The reason for Harzinski's firing was not made public.
Regarding the future of the city, Hughes said he has high hopes for incoming mayor-elect Dayton King. He also said he has some advice for the incoming mayor: develop a very thick skin.
"I think [his election] is good news for the city. He has some fresh ideas," he said.
King said he believes City Hall was too inaccessible during Hughes' term. He cited the inability of local media to reach Hughes as something he wants to change when he is sworn in. King said being inaccessible or unavailable is not a quality a mayor should have. He added the blame for the difficult financial situation the city is in now cannot be placed squarely on Hughes' shoulders.
"Once [anger regarding a public official's inaccessibility] starts to happen, it snowballs," he said. "The city didn't get to this [financial] situation in just Hughes' term, in the last 2 or 4 years. This is something that has been coming."
As he looks back on his term in office, Hughes said right now he cannot see anything he would change about his term.
"The steps we took were for the best interest of the city," he said. "There were a lot of sacrifices made. The city is never actually out of the woods. [The city] has to grow."
He said he is unsure if he would ever run for office again because of the aggravation and stress the position brings with it. He said he plans to return to the private sector and is exploring a number of opportunities.
"I have met a lot of nice people," Hughes said. "But I think four years is enough for anybody."
Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com