Noble rules out bid for county exec
Mayor won’t commit to seeking second term, but says he wants to see through projects that are in the works
Mayor Steve Noble said Friday that he will not run for Ulster County executive, despite some people urging him to do so, but he also did not commit to seeking a second term as the city’s chief executive this fall.
County Executive Michael Hein, a fellow Democrat, announced last week that he’s leaving after 10 years in office to become a state commissioner. A special election for the job is to be held within 90 days of Hein’s departure, and the position will be on the ballot again in November because 2019 is a county executive election year.
“With everything that is happening with the county executive, I got lots of calls and lots of mes-
sages from folks asking if I would be interested in throwing my hat in the ring,” Noble said during an interview at the Freeman office that was streamed live on the newspaper’s website. “What I told them is that there is a lot more work to be done in Kingston in 2019 and that I am happy to do that work and I am not throwing my hat in the ring for county executive.”
Noble declined to say whether he will seek a second four-year term as mayor this fall, but he appeared to be leaning in that direction with the comment that he “would like to” see several projects
through to fruition, including ones that will not be complete before the end of this year.
“Stay tuned,” Noble said about whether he’ll announce a re-election bid.
The county executive vacancy has attracted the interest of at least two Democrats and one Republican. Former Democratic congressional candidate Pat Ryan of Gardiner has said he’s running; and Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach, a Democrat from Ellenville, said last week that he’s considering getting into the race. Former county Legislature Chairman Ken Ronk, a Republican from Wallkill, also has floated the idea of running.
Kerhonkson resident Gareth Rhodes, another Democratic former hopeful
for Congress, initially said he might run but announced Friday that he would not be a candidate.
Noble first was elected Kingston mayor in November 2015, defeating Republican Ronald Polacco after beating Mayor Shayne Gallo in a Democratic primary.
Noble oversees a city government made up almost entirely of Democrats. The nine-member Common Council has eight Democrats and one alderman who’s not enrolled in a political party. And the council president, elected at large by city voters, is Democrat James Noble, the mayor’s uncle.
The full 46-minute video of Noble’s interview at the Freeman can be viewed online at bit. ly/2FptBQC.