The candidates are set for November’s Ulster County Executive race.
With an accelerated schedule this fall, party primaries were supplanted by an old-fashioned candidate selection process.
It all started when first-term Democratic County Executive Pat Ryan launched a bid for Congress, to serve the rest of the term in New York’s 19th House district.
Ryan won August’s special election to replace now-Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado and is already running in November’s general election for the new 18th district in the next Congress.
With Ryan now in Washington, he backed former New York state Senator Jen Metzger to replace him as she vied against Deputy Ulster County Executive Marc Rider and Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher. The term runs through 2023.
Democratic committee members gathered Saturday in Kingston to back a candidate and Metzger took 64 percent of the vote.
Kelleigh McKenzie, head of the Ulster County Democratic Committee, explained how the tally was counted.
“New York State election law requires that county committee votes go by weighted vote, so each member may have a heavier vote or a lighter vote depending on how many votes were cast on the Democratic line in the last gubernatorial election. And we do weighted votes, secret ballots and ranked choice voting when we have more than two candidates competing for the same seat,” McKenzie said.
Metzger is a former Rosendale town councilor who served in the state Senate from the 42nd district for one term starting in 2019.
“I am honored by the support of [the] Ulster County Democratic Committee and nominating me to be the Democratic candidate on the November ballot for this important office and really hope to have the opportunity to build on Pat Ryan's work here in Ulster County,” she said.
Metzger said Democrats will now come together ahead of the November election.
“I just want to express my appreciation for fellow candidates, March Gallagher and Marc Rider, and really welcome the opportunity to work with them if I'm elected in November,” Metzger added.
With the Democratic slate decided, Town of Ulster Supervisor Jim Quigley announced his candidacy Sunday afternoon. Quigley will run on the Republican and Conservative lines.
In a statement, Quigley said “For too long the office of County Executive has been viewed as a birthright and used as a stepping stone for higher office. With the support of Ulster County voters, those days will end under my watch.”
He added, “I am the only candidate in the race who can fulfill that promise and I believe the voters will come to the same conclusion.”
For her part, McKenzie is hoping this special election candidate selection process will be the last of its kind.
“In the coming year, there’s going to be the charter revision commission," she said. "Every 10 years or so according to our county charter, a commission is to be formed to take a look at it and consider what things need to be amended, how to improve on it. And I highly encourage all voters, no matter what your party is, to pay attention to that process, because I’m sure there will be a public comment aspect of it. And we need to make very clear to that commission that they need to change the county executive vacancy section of the charter so that we don’t end up in this situation again where it’s just the county committee members who get to choose the nominee and not the Democratic Party voters.”
The position itself is a relatively new one in Ulster County government. Metzger is running to become just the third full-time executive since the position was established in 2009.
Election Day is Nov. 8.
