Pat Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman the Ulster County Republicans finally have a candidate for county executive. Ulster County Conservative Party Chairman Jack Hayes has been chosen to run on the Republican line in the April special election. Hayes was nominated by members of the county GOP Executive Committee in a hastily called meeting Mar. 11. “We’ve decided we’re going to give people a choice,” county Republican Chairman Roger Rascoe said after the vote. Republicans previously failed to field a candidate at their party convention Feb. 23, and then canceled a second convention Mar. 8. Hayes, who also will be on the Conservative Party line, will run against Democrat Pat Ryan, in the Apr. 30 special election. Hayes was the town of Gardiner supervisor in 2002 and 2003 and a county legislator in 2010 and 2011. He lost his 2011 re-election bid to Tracey Bartels, a non-enrolled voter who ran on the Democratic line and now is chairwoman of the county Legislature. Hayes tried unsuccessfully to unseat Democrat Assemblymember Kevin Cahill in 2016. The winner of the April election will serve until the end of the year. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.