Ulster County Comptroller to seek re-election

Posted 1/20/21

Ulster County Comptroller, March Gallagher, has announced her bid for re-election. According to her financial filing this week, she has raised over $14,000 this filing period to fund her campaign and …

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Ulster County Comptroller to seek re-election

Posted

Ulster County Comptroller, March Gallagher, has announced her bid for re-election. According to her financial filing this week, she has raised over $14,000 this filing period to fund her campaign and begins her re-election with $14,445 cash on hand. Gallagher, who first won election in 2019 and was the first woman elected to serve as Ulster County Comptroller, has made transparency and accountability cornerstones of her office.

“I love my job and the opportunities I have every day to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency for the people of Ulster County, making Ulster the best place to live, work and care for a family,” Gallagher said. “Despite being short-staffed and working remotely during a global pandemic, we were able to implement important steps to ensure accountability and oversight in county government. I am running for another term to continue the work we have done championing economic and social justice, and to highlight and find solutions for quality of life issues such as racial inequities, the local cost of hosting the New York City watershed, and the impacts of limited mental health service access.”

Among her office’s accomplishments over the last year, Gallagher has made county finances available to the public by creating a Taxpayer Checkbook and lists of all county contracts approved. She released the first ever Ulster County Popular Annual Financial Report, and, under Gallagher’s leadership, the Comptroller’s Office released audits resulting in significant savings for the Ulster County jail and the collection of occupancy tax from short-term rental properties. She is running for re-election to continue this work and to help guide the county through a continuingly challenging fiscal situation.

Gallagher lives in Rosendale and has a long history of public service in Ulster County. She served as Deputy Director of Planning under Ulster County Executive Mike Hein. Prior to that she Chaired the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency, and served on numerous non-profit and economic development boards. As IDA Chair, she brought accountability and transparency to IDA operations including the recapture of tax benefits from underperforming projects.

After leaving the county, she served as the Chief Strategy Officer at Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress analyzing infrastructure and healthcare spending in the nine counties of the Hudson Valley. Before her election as Ulster County Comptroller, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley which administers assets of $75 million providing grants for affordable housing, the arts, education, and more.

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