Incumbent GOP Ulster lawmaker faces challenge

Veteran Legislator Ken Ronk faces a challenge to his re-election bid from political newcomer Andrew Domenech for the Ulster County Legislature’s District 13 seat.

District 13 comprises much of the town of Shawangunk.

Ronk, R-Wallkill, a Republican, is seeking a seventh two-year term. He has the GOP, Conservative and Independence party lines on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Domenech, a Democrat, holds the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

Both men live in the Shawangunk hamlet of Wallkill.

Both say protecting the environment is among their top priorities.

Domenech said meeting goals for carbon reduction, addressing the county’s solid waste issues and protecting water quality

are the chief challenges facing the county. He said he would support plans to address those issues and would work on developing long-term solutions for solid waste disposal and protecting the county’s natural resources.

Ronk said his efforts in the county Legislature have helped propel the county to a leadership position in protecting the environment. He said he authored the county’s “green fleet policy” that ensures the county purchases energy-efficient vehicles and supported efforts to purchase electricity for the county’s needs from renewable sources while holding the line on county spending. Those measures, he said, prove the county can be fiscally and environmentally responsible at the same time.

Ronk said those are just some of the issues that he has worked on across party lines and decried the partisan politics that seem to leave other levels of government in gridlock.

“This is the level of government

where we can shed our partisan blinders and work together to make Ulster County a better place to live for everyone,” he said.

He said he would “fight against any and all attempts to let politics win over good government in Ulster County” and said he would approach all county spending proposals with an eye toward the county taxpayer.

Domenech said the county needs to do more to attract economic development to the southern end of the county. He said he would foster actions to improve cooperation and coordination between the town of Shawangunk and the county and would promote plans countywide that would create jobs.

Domenech also said more needs to be done to provide services for senior citizens. A volunteer who does Medicare counseling, Domenech said he has met senior citizens who struggle with health care, housing, transportation and other issues confronting the elderly. He said he would work to support the Office of the Aging and look to partner with civic groups and private businesses to help address

the needs of senior citizens.

Domenech, 65, is retired from the Orange County Department of Social Services and Stewart’s Shops. Besides volunteering for the Ulster County Office for the Aging, he serves as coordinator for the Shawangunk Climate Smart Committee.

He is a 1972 graduate of Wallkill Senior High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY New Paltz.

Ronk, 34, is the regional director for state Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua. He is a 2003 graduate of Chapel Field High School and holds an associate’s degree in liberal arts from SUNY Ulster and a bachelor’s in political science from SUNY New Paltz. He has served on the county Legislature for 12 years, including stints as the Legislature’s majority leader, minority leader, and chairman of the Legislature.

The victor of the election will serve a two-year term beginning on Jan. 1 and will be limited to serving 12 years in the seat. Under the new county law, however, the time Ronk has already spent in office will not count toward the term limit.