‘Longest-serving’ flack departs for less-fun pastures
William Skaggs joked that he held the record for longest-serving public information officer in Trenton.
That’s high honor considering he’s leaving just a couple of months shy of two years serving as Mayor Reed Gusciora’s spokesman.
The sixth time was a charm for Gusciora, who is bringing in an old standby, former mayoral aide Tim Carroll, to fill the opening for the next six months.
It’d be hard to entice a permanent candidate with the future unsettled as Gusciora
seeks a second term in the November election.
No one has declared they’re challenging him, but at least a couple people are expected to vie to become the next capital city CEO.
“It’s bittersweet,” Skaggs, who served PR tours of duty for New Jersey Treasury and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said of his complicated feelings about Trenton. “The craziness grows on you after a while.”
Skaggs’ wife got a professional opportunity elsewhere that she couldn’t pass up. As for Skaggs, he’s leaving behind the surety of instability that is day-today offerings of working in Trenton government for the unknown.
If that sounds like a doozy, Skaggs, who has a master’s from New York
University, admitted it is as he and his wife grew comfortable and embraced the capital city’s offerings after buying a house here.
He loved being close to picturesque paths that made it easy biking, jogging and walking so accessible.
“It’s basically all I ever wanted,” said Skaggs, whose last day is March 2. “There’s a certain charm working here.”
While many PIOS have come and gone under Gusciora, Skaggs fit into the mesh with a personable iciness required to last in a place where people take too much of what doesn’t matter to heart.
He didn’t try controlling the message so much as helping reporters corral facts, knowing the more information available to them the better crafted and accurate those messages.
That served him well with Gusciora, who has driven many PIOs mad with his his willingness to answer the phone.
They’ve joked that he should have his cell phone taken away, because of his propensity to turn political brushfires into raging infernos by speaking off-the-cuff and thinking about it later.
“You earned your entry and your access,” Skaggs told The Trentonian about his approach to dealing with reporters.
One of the memories the departing flack will cherish is the homecoming parade for Olympic gold medalist and Trenton native Athing Mu, an “unbelievable” ceremony that showcased what Trenton, so often thought of as a post-manufacturing relic, is still capable of making.
“I cannot believe we pulled that off that,” Skaggs said. “I got caught up in just being there on the stage. That was without a doubt one of the the coolest experiences. It was so inspiring and beautiful to see the city come together.”