KINGSTON – Pat Ryan served a short term as Ulster County executive during the second half of 2019.
Ryan was then reelected to a full term in November. Friday, he was sworn into that term to serve as county executive.
“I am just excited to serve again,” he said. “The last seven months have been incredible both in terms of what we have been able to accomplish, but also just seeing this workforce that we have.”
Ryan is working toward the county’s reliance on renewal energy, and he’s created a program that will retrain workers for green jobs. He’s also created a department of economic development, and the cost of living in Ulster County is something he wants to address.
“We made a lot of progress, but we still have four in 10 of our county residents living paycheck to paycheck; seniors feeling the pressure to afford to live, and young people feeling that they need to leave,” he said. “We have to drive equitable economic growth. That’s at my core. ”
Ryan said he plans to address the county’s need for more economic equality in a few weeks during his State of the County address.
