Earlier this year the Ulster County Legislature voted to hold a special election on April 30 to fill the position of County Executive after Mike Hein stepped down to take a job with the Cuomo administration. Two individuals are squaring off for County Executive- Democrat Pay Ryan and Conservative Jack Hayes.

Pat Ryan
Ryan, 37, grew up in Kingston and is a fifth generation Ulster County resident and currently lives in Gardiner with his wife Rebecca, who is expecting their first child, and their two rescue cats.

Ryan, a West Point graduate, has served two tours of duty in Iraq as an Army Intelligence Officer. After returning home, Ryan founded Praescient Analytics, a small technology company that eventually grew to more than 150 employees with a $25 million budget.

Ryan learned at an early age the importance of serving, especially from his mother who was a school teacher, whose example led him into public service.

“I wanted to be a part of trying to fix that and restore faith that government can actually do right by the people it represents,” he said.
Ryan promised to not take any corporate money, LLC money or corporate PAC money. If elected he plans to establish an Ulster County version of a Green New Deal program as a way to protect the environment and create 21st century jobs.

Ryan is against the proposed new gas fired power plant in the Town of Newburgh beside the Hudson River, saying natural gas is not a clean form of renewable energy. Instead he supports the creation of new energy initiatives such as the use of storage batteries, similar to the plant that recently changed its direction and won approval in the Town of Ulster.
Ryan favors helping those who have committed non-violent crimes or are suffering from drug addiction back to a productive life through rehabilitation.

“Rather than putting them in jail, we could get them on a path to recovery,” said Ryan.

Ryan is against cash bail, “because it unfairly keeps people who are poor in jail and allows those with money to be out; so we have a huge percentage of people who are in our jails who haven’t even been convicted of anything.”

As a way to counter rising taxes, Ryan favors a state idea of allowing people. “to set up a non-profit fund to pay in and above a $10,000 cap, which has been challenged by the Trump administration, but I think we need to find some kind of creative solution so people are not being double taxed, which is absolutely unfair and really hurts people.”

Ryan promises to issue an executive order on “day one” that no county agency will coordinate with ICE or other federal agents to take people out of Ulster County.

Ryan said it is clear that the Trump administration wants to “obliterate” the Environmental Protection Agency. Recently the agency let General Electric, “off the hook for all the cleanup and damage they did to the Hudson River.” He said his Green Plan will protect the environment in Ulster County when Washington fails to act.

Ryan said the job of the Ulster County Executive is about leadership and experience.

“It’s about somebody who has a vision for the county going forward and I have laid that out clearly and then somebody who has the experience and the energy to go implement this,” he said. “It’s going to take time and I’m in it for the long haul. We want to build a place where our children are going to be able to thrive and be able to stay.”

Jack Hayes
Hayes, 76, was born in Brooklyn, NY and his family moved to Ulster County when he was 12 years old. He graduated from Fallsburg Central School, attended SUNY Delhi, earning an Associate’s Degree in Construction Business.

After graduation Hayes joined the Navy and was assigned to the Sixth Fleet, serving in the Atlantic and North Atlantic Oceans., the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas.

While on shore leave, Hayes tested with the NYS Police where he later spent 33 years, rising to the position of Sergeant, Station Commander, Zone Sergeant and Emergency Management Non-Commissioned Officer.
After retiring, Hayes successfully served as Town Supervisor of Gardiner and later was elected to the Ulster County Legislature, serving as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee and the Re-entry Task Force. In both positions Hayes served a single term.

Hayes recently ended a 3-year term serving on the board of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency [UCRRA] and pointed out that the garbage disposal location at Seneca Meadows, near Syracuse, is set to close in 2025. This will force the Mid Hudson region to collectively figure how they will deal with their garbage.

Hayes is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in New Paltz, the Elks, the 105th Air Wing Alumni and the Wawarsing Rod and Gun Club.
Hayes decided to enter the race, “when I saw nobody coming along with credentials or any experience. I felt it was important to offer the voters a choice of someone who actually knows the situation and the job. I felt compelled to give the county an opportunity to have somebody who is qualified and experienced. I have a good grasp of the issues that are important to the county.”

Hayes has worked to protect the environment by protesting the proposed anchorages in the Hudson River, fighting for the preservation of Tilson Lake, and continues to work toward a solution of solid waste in the county; “I’ve been in the trenches.”

Hayes said working to better communications between the towns and the county is a priority.

“I would reach out to the town Supervisors and make sure it’s inclusive. I would want feedback and would like to know what they need and see how best we can utilize to county agencies to fulfill that,” he said.

Hayes said, “Development is coming to areas that don’t want development and that’s a recipe for disaster. I think you have to identify the buyers and the sellers, so to speak, the people who want some kind of commercial entity in their jurisdiction and those that don’t. Then you concentrate on people who are seeking locations and line them up with the people who would like a commercial entity.”

Hayes currently serves as the Chairman of Conservative Party in Ulster County. He says his party, “has been truer to the beliefs of small government and would rather not have the cradle to grave situation; I guess more individual responsibility, that people can take care of themselves, for the most part, and that they don’t need to be steered into one thing or another by government. Less government we consider better government.”

Hayes summed up his approach to life.

“I’ve tried to live a decent life. I go to church, I believe in God and I believe in the constitution,” he said. “I am not a terribly complicated guy and I believe government has the responsibility to maintain the public trust. There is what is called a social contract that government does what the people can’t do and they don’t have to do a whole lot more than that. I guess that might be the message.”