Saratoga Springs accounts commissioner reflects on eight terms

The Saratoga Springs City Council will look much different next month as four out of the five positions will be held by new people. The senior member of the council, Accounts Commissioner John Franck, is among those moving on.

Serving eight terms makes Franck one of the longest tenured council members in the city’s history.

Franck grew up in a mobile home on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs. He says they were so poor that his mom slept on the couch so he and his two siblings could each have a bed.

The 1981 Saratoga Springs High grad went on to graduate from Siena College and became a CPA. He was elected city accounts commissioner as a Democrat in 2005, at a time when Republicans outnumbered Democrats.

He views himself as a moderate who is socially liberal, fiscally conservative. He says his mom taught him to work hard and to listen, and he says it served him well over his eight terms.

Learn about how his decision to initially run came on a whim while out for drinks with friends, by watching the video of Mark Mulholland’s story.