Hayes content being underdog
Challenger, on ‘less than a shoestring budget,’ says candidacy offers choice
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The Republican candidate for Ulster County executive on Tuesday conceded his is a long-shot bid for the office but said even if he loses the upcoming election, he accomplished what he set out to do: Give the voters of Ulster County a choice.
Jack Hayes, chairman of the county Conservative Party chairman, is squaring off for the second time against Democrat Pat Ryan in an election for county executive. Ryan defeated Hayes by a roughly 3-to-1 margin in a special election
for the job in April, necessitated by Democrat Michael Hein stepping down to take a state post.
On Tuesday, Ryan and Hayes debated for about an hour at the Daily Freeman office in Kingston. The event was shown live on the newspaper’s website.
Hayes said he’s proud of the campaign he’s run — on what he said is a “shoestring, less than a shoestring” budget — in order to show voters there are different opinions for what is best for the county and that there’s “not just a single party,” the Democrats, in New York state.
And on subjects ranging from immigration to economic development, Hayes and Ryan offered divergent opinions and approaches.
On economic development, Hayes said that with three exits off the Thruway,
the county is uniquely positioned to attract new business. But, he said, the county is now “a confusing mess with regard to economic development” because differing planning and zoning regulations create obstacles for potential businesses to navigate.
“If Ulster County Planning, town planning and zoning were more in sync with each other, we could facilitate growth,” he said.
“I believe private enterprise should be who brings about growth in industry, but we can facilitate it by proper infrastructure for them,” Hayes added.
Ryan said that during the four months he’s been in office, he’s been “really ramping up” the county’s economic development efforts, including the recent creation of the county’s first Department of Economic Development, dedicated to attracting new business to the county. He also has proposed as part of his 2020 budget the Ulster
County Green Careers Academy, an eight-week training program being developed in partnership with SUNY Ulster to train people for employment in green technologies.
But Ryan said the county still lacks the infrastructure needed to attract new businesses and must work to bring broadband internet and water and sewer services to the more rural areas.
On the opioid crisis, Ryan said the county is investing heavily in health and mental health services for those struggling with addiction.
“We tried for a long time to try to arrest our way out of the multiple surges of drugs into our country,” Ryan said. “We need to get at the mental health and health aspects of this. We need medication-assisted treatment, which we’re ramping up. We need more recovery beds, we need peer counseling.”
Hayes blamed the opioid crisis in large part on the
flow of undocumented immigrants coming across the southern U.S. border and said Ulster County needs to work more closely with the federal government to stop illegal immigration.
Hayes said that, if elected, he immediately would repeal a Ryan executive order that prohibits county departments from forwarding to U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement information about the immigration status of those seeking help from the county.
“There needs to be full cooperation between local and federal agencies or we’re not going to be able to handle this (opioid) epidemic, if that’s what it is, or just gross criminal activity,” Hayes said.
Both men said the county needs to do more to encourage the development of affordable housing.
Hayes, a former county legislator who once led the Legislature’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety
Committee, said the county needs to invest more tax dollars and resources into mental health programs, especially with new criminal justice reforms that put significant emphasis on restorative justice and bail reform.
Ryan said his proposed 2020 budget does just that, and also provides additional funding for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
Hayes, 76, is a retired state trooper and U.S. Navy Veteran. He tossed his hat in the ring at the 11th hour before the April special election and received the GOP endorsement just prior to the nominating deadline.
He was town of Gardiner supervisor in 2002 and 2003 and a county legislator in 2010 and 2011. He lost his 2011 re-election bid for the Legislature and in 2016 he was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, DKingston.
Ryan, 37, is a West Point graduate and a former U.S. Army captain who served two tours in Iraq and is the founder of a technology company that employed 150 people.
Ryan, who never previously held elected office, was the first Democrat to announce he would seek the party’s nomination for county executive. In February, he defeated Kingston businesswoman and former state Senate candidate Pat Courtney Strong at a Democratic Party convention for the party line on the ballot.
In 2018, Ryan was one of seven Democrats vying for the party’s nomination in the race for the 19th Congressional District seat. Ryan placed second in the seven-candidate race, behind now-Rep. Antonio Delgado.
The winner of the upcoming election for county executive will serve a fouryear term starting Jan. 1, 2020, and will be limited to a total of 12 years in office.