Democratic committee chairs appointed by Donaldson include Lynn Archer of Ways and Means; Bartels of Laws and Rules; Jim Delaune of Legislative Programs, Education and Community Services; Manna Jo Greene of Energy and Environment; new legislator Eve Walter of Law Enforcement and Public Safety; and returning legislator Brian Cahill of Economic Development, Tourism, Housing, Planning and Transit.
District Attorney Dave Clegg was formally sworn into office last week in a packed ceremony at the Ulster County Courthouse. The 66 year-old former trial attorney is the first Democrat to hold the DA’s office since 1850. The swearing in comes after a weeks-long process to verify the results of November’s election where Clegg prevailed over Republican former Chief Assistant District Attorney Mike Kavanagh by just 78 votes.
Topics include: Budget discussions, bluestone sidewalk project, upcoming election.
Saugerties’ “new” town board — which only has one additional new member but a slew of fresh initiatives — cleaned up shop at their January 8 reorganizational meeting at the Frank Greco Senior Center, designating citizens for town committees, establishing pay raises and divvying up town board liaison positions.
Just two weeks after it went into effect, state lawmakers are weighing changes to New York’s historic bail reform law, which effectively ended bail in most cases. The main change cited was the need to give judges discretion to require bail when the defendant was deemed to be dangerous.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan has weighed in on the 2020 Democratic primary throwing his support behind fellow veteran and thirtysomething Pete Buttigieg.
Topics include: hiking trails at Bristol Beach, Bluestone Solar Project, a new playground, a new animal shelter, a dog park and cleaning up the Esopus Creek.
Costello thanked the standing-room-only crowd in the courtroom and set out a number of goals for his second term. “To make Saugerties have a smaller carbon footprint, to make Saugerties more transparent, to make government more responsive to residents it is charged to serve.”
“Law enforcement is on the front line of the opioid epidemic,” said Clegg. “So we are going to be part of the solution.”
Tracey Bartels said last week that she intends to run a second term as chair of the Ulster County Legislature. The Gardiner resident was the second woman and the first unaffiliated legislator to chair the body when she won the position last January.