With majority control of the City Council hanging in the balance, elected officials once again failed to come up with a plan to fill the commissioner of public works position that has been open since Aug. 17, when Jason Golub resigned. Tuesday night, Republican Mayor John Safford questioned if a special election would be fair to One Saratoga — the nonpartisan group that in the last election acted as a spoiler for Democrats. And Republican-backed Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll continued to question whether a special election would be legal, even though the state Board of Elections has indicated there is no prohibition in state law to this municipal election. The blocking of a special election, which Commissioner of Account Dillon Moran wanted to set for Dec. 10, continues to frustrate the Democrats, Moran and Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15. More in the Times-Union (paywall-free link).