Legislator Parete not running again

Incumbent Ulster County Legislator John Parete said Tuesday he isn’t running for reelection, after all, joining five other incumbent legislators opting to make their current term their last.

“I just decided it was time to go,” said Parete, who will turn 80 one day before his last day in office.

Designating petitions for the Republican line were filed with the Ulster County Board of Elections on his behalf, but Parete, a registered Democrat, opted to decline the designation.

Ulster County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Ashley Dittus said Republicans have filed petitions to replace Parete with Peter Friedel on the ballot.

Democrat Kathleen Nolan, who served on the Legislature from 2017-2019, filed petitions for the Democratic and Working Families lines.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I figure at the end of this year, my last day on the payroll, I’ll be 80 years old,” said Parete of his decision.

“Reflecting on that, reflecting on the fact that we never closed down for the pandemic, we never had to lay anybody off, the community’s been good to us, I’m working every single day (Parete is the owner of the Boiceville Inn). I just don’t know if I’m up to traveling all of the hills and hollows of the district,” he said.

Parete represents the Legislature’s District 22, which comprises the towns of Olive, Shandaken, Denning and Hardenburgh and encompasses between 500 and 600 square miles.

A Democrat who was once chairman of the Ulster County Democratic Committee as well as the county’s Democratic elections commissioner, Parete was first elected to the county Legislature in 2012 as a Democrat. But in 2014, after orchestrating a deal with the Republican minority to ensure his election as Legislature chairman, he fell out of the party’s good graces. In 2017, Parete was defeated by Kathleen Nolan in a three-way race with Parete running on the Conservative and Independence party lines after being defeated by Nolan in a Democratic primary and being passed over by the GOP in favor of Cliff Faintych.

After a bruising 2019 Democrat primary loss to Nolan, Parete ran on the

GOP, Conservative and Independence lines, successfully defeating Nolan for the seat.

Dittus said Esopus resident Guy C. Brought declined the Republican party line for the District 8 seat. Republicans have instead tapped Jared Keplinger to run against incumbent Democrat Laura Petit for that seat.

An updated list of candidates for the Ulster County Legislature is:

• District 1 (Saugerties): Aaron J. Levine, Democrat, Working Families; Gregory J. Roque, Republican, Conservative

• District 2 (Saugerties): John T. Schoonmaker, Democrat, Working Families; Joseph K. Maloney, Democrat; Chris Allen, Democrat; Albert Bruno (incumbent), Republican, Conservative; Brandon O. Deweever, Working Families; Jared VanVlierden, Working Families

• District 3 (Saugerties/ Ulster): Arick C. Manocha, Democrat, Working Families; Dean Fabiano (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 4 (Ulster/ town of Kingston): Brian B.Cahill (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families; Vincent Nelson, Republican, Conservative

• District 5 (city of Kingston): Abraham R. Uchitelle (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families

• District 6 (city of Kingston): David B. Donaldson (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families; David Erner, Democrat; Suzanne M. Timbrouck, Republican, Conservative

• District 7 (city of Kingston): Peter J. Criswell (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families; Brian J. Woltman, Republican, Conservative

• District 8 (Esopus): Laura Petit (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families; Jared Keplinger Republican, Conservative

• District 9 (Lloyd, Plattekill): Herbert W. Litts III (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 10 (Lloyd, Marlborough): Gary A. Pregno, Democrat; Gina E. Hansut, Republican, Conservative

• District 11 (Marlborough): Thomas Corcoran (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 12 (Plattekill): Marisa J. McClinton, Democrat, Working Families; Kevin A. Roberts (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 13 (Shawangunk): Andrew Domenech, Democrat; Kenneth J. Ronk, Jr. (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 14 (Shawangunk, Wawarsing): Kelli A. Palinkas Greer, Democrat, Working Families; Craig V. Lopez (incumbent), Republican, Conservative

• District 15 (Wawarsing): John B. Gavaris (incumbent), Democrat

• District 16 (Gardiner/ Shawangunk): Tracey Bartels (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families; Kimberly Calderone, Republican, Conservative

• District 17 (Esopus/ New Paltz): Theresa A. Paras, Democrat, Working Families

• District 18 (Hurley/ Marbletown): Eric L. Stewart, Democrat, Working Families; Carl Belfiglio, Republican, Conservative

• District 19 (Marbletown, Rosendale): Manna Jo Greene (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families

• District 20 (New Paltz): Eve Michele Walter (incumbent), Democrat, Working Families

• District 21 (Rochester/Wawarsing): Christopher R. Hewitt, Democrat, Working Families; Ronald G. Lapp Jr., Republican, Conservative

• District 22 (Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive, Shandaken): Kathleen A. Nolan, Democrat, Working Families; Peter Friedel, Republican (replacing Parete)

• District 23 (Woodstock): Jonathan Heppner (incumbent), Democrat; William McKnight, Working Families; Joan F. Paccione, Republican

According to the county Board of Elections website, candidates can file petitions to appear on independent party lines between May 18 and May 25.