 Scott T. Johnson was born October 15, 1955 in Teaneck, New Jersey. He was the fourth son of five children born to Peter and Jane Johnson. He moved to Saratoga Springs at the age of three and attended St. Peter's Academy from kindergarten through senior year, graduating in 1973. He married Julie Miranda, of Ballston Spa, on November 2, 1985. They have one son, Conor, who graduated from Saratoga Central Catholic High School in 2009 and is now in college.
Scott grew up on the Westside of Saratoga Springs in an apartment located at Elm and Ash Streets, in the heart of the neighborhood known as Dublin. His parents divorced in 1968 when he was twelve years old. That same year, due to financial constraints, his mother moved the family into federally subsidized housing, known as Jefferson Terrace, on the Eastside of town. During his high school years, Scott was active in many extracurricular activities while working during the school year as a sales clerk at Mr. Jack's, a men's clothing store on Broadway. Other jobs included a youth corps summer position cleaning the city jails, busing tables at Colamaria's Restaurant, bell hopping at The Holiday Inn, paper routes and summer maintenance at the city schools. College scholarships from New York State Regents and The Hawley Foundation for Children, combined with student loans, allowed him to continue his education at SUNY at Stony Brook and then Syracuse University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1977. In
1981, he earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Following law school graduation, Scott began his professional career with the Las Vegas District Attorney's Office, as an attorney in the appellate division defending capital convictions, mainly involving the death penalty. He returned to New York in 1983 to work with a Manhattan law firm in transportation law and commercial litigation. In 1987, he and his wife Julie returned to live in Saratoga and he began working for the Albany litigation firm of Maynard, O'Connor & Smith. In 1993, he joined the Albany law firm of Thuillez, Ford, Gold & Conolly. In 1996, he became a partner with the firm. In 1997, the firm became known as Thuillez, Ford, Gold & Johnson. The firm's practice was primarily in litigation, more particularly medical malpractice defense and health law. For example, Saratoga Hospital has been a client of the firm for many years.
Also in 1997, the law firm was retained by New York State to represent the State in the lawsuit filed against the major tobacco companies, otherwise known as part of the nationwide lawsuits against Big Tobacco. The firm was one of six firms hired by the State and the only New York firm outside Manhattan. Scott was one of two partners within the firm to personally handle the litigation. In 2000, a national global settlement was reached, based in large measure on New York securing an early trial date and raising the potential exposure to the tobacco companies. New York's monetary share in the settlement is a matter of public record, measured in the billions of dollars, with all counties, including Saratoga County, to receive quarterly payments over a minimum of twenty-five years. Attorneys fees do not come from the State or Counties payments but, rather, from a separate fund established under the terms of settlement paid directly by the tobacco companies. There were also many intangible benefits secured for the State and its citizens, particularly the elimination of advertising directed at teenagers, tobacco use cessation programs, and the elimination of the industry controlled Tobacco Research Institute.
On December 31, 2006, Scott resigned from the law firm and retired from the practice of law. He is presently involved in several business projects, enjoys spending more quality time with his family and remains active with The Hawley Foundation for Children, as President of the Board of Managers and Chairman of the Community Grants Program. Scott's volunteer work with The Hawley Foundation is particularly important and personal to him since the Foundation financially assisted him with scholarships during college at a time of need. The Foundation continues with its long tradition of annually awarding thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships to deserving community organizations and college students, in line with the Hawley's stated mission to promote the health, education and welfare of the neediest children within Saratoga County. Past grant recipients include The Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis program, The Prevention Council, YMCA, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Saratoga Center for the Family, Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council, Franklin Community Center, The Salvation Army, Girls, Inc. and Twin Rivers/Boy Scouts, among numerous other service organizations.
Politically, Scott became involved with the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee in the early 1990s. He resigned from the committee in 2000. Scott began his first term as Mayor in January 2008, and is currently seeking his third term re-election on November 8th. |
|
