Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman two Democratic Ulster County legislators are calling for County Executive Pat Ryan to resign, alleging that he is doing county residents a disservice by dividing his time between county business and his campaign for Congress. In a June 9, press release, legislators James Maloney and Laura Petit questioned Ryan’s ability to effectively run the county while actively campaigning in two separate congressional races. Petit said in the release, “The current situation for Ulster County government does not look good. It seems that the 6th floor of the county office building has gone dark, no one is doing anything for county government at the moment.” Maloney, who was re-elected to the Legislature in 2019, said, “There are too many things on the line right now to have an executive that is only half in it. There are things going on right now that we demand answers to, real solid answers.” The two said that while they have no objection to any elected official running for higher office, they think allegiances are split when an elected official tries to do both. “I just think it is impossible to do your current job effectively while running for another office,” said Petit. Maloney said Ryan’s decision-making could be clouded by the larger political climate. He also questioned whether anyone in the administration was working on Ryan’s campaign on the taxpayer’s dime. In a statement sent to the Freeman late Thursday, Ryan said, “In the last month alone, we have returned desperately needed mental health beds to our county, closed a transformational deal to revitalize the former IBM site, broken ground on our Veterans Cemetery expansion, and much more. From my very first day in office, I’ve worked nonstop for the people of Ulster County, and nothing will change that.” Ryan, a Democrat from Gardiner, is running in an August 23 special election against Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro to fill the 19th Congressional District vacancy created when Antonio Delgado was appointed to serve as lieutenant governor, Ryan is also running in the November 8 general election for the seat in the newly created 18th Congressional District. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.