SARATOGA — Thomas Wood III, the 10-term supervisor of the town of Saratoga, resigned Friday morning.
Town Clerk Linda McCabe said that Wood is dealing with a health issue and that Deputy Supervisor Ian Murray will take over as leader of the town board and the corresponding seat at the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. She said Murray will likely be sworn in at the board’s next meeting, July 10.
Murray, who could not be reached for comment, is not an elected official and is currently chair of the town’s planning board. He has overseen unpopular projects like the Cedar Bluff subdivision overlooking Saratoga Lake and the wedding venue at S & S Saratoga Farm on State Route 29. While some have been critical of Murray’s actions, Wood selected him and always defended him.
“Ian is above board,” Wood told the Times Union in 2019. “Ian is a professional in every regard.”
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The soft-spoken Wood was a fatherly figure in town hall. Born into a Saratoga farm family, he was an elementary school and agriculture teacher. He eventually became a school superintendent.
Prior to being supervisor, Wood served on the town’s zoning board of appeals for 21 years. He also was the town historian for 19 years. In his early years as supervisor, he served in both capacities.
At the board of supervisors, he offered up the invocation before meetings, which became an issue in 2020 when he implored supervisors to end “bickering and being vindictive and hurtful to each other and to other county employees.” His remark came amid a power struggle between small-town…
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