Patricia Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman that Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg announced January 23, he will not seek a second term as the county’s top prosecutor. The one-term Democrat said in a press release. “I have decided to pass the torch.... This has been a very difficult decision.... Those who know me, know that I am extremely competitive and never back down from a fight. Nevertheless, I must balance what is in the best interests of my family, including making them my number one priority while we deal with a serious health issue affecting a family member." Clegg won a closely contested election in 2019 against Republican Michael J. Kanavagh to become the first Democrat to hold the office in more than a century. Almost immediately, the office was hit with a wave of resignations and missteps that resulted in dozens of felony charges against individuals dismissed for the DA office’s failure to prosecute within the time frames required by law. Clegg conceded the missteps, but still, he said, the office has had many successes, such as obtaining the first criminally negligent homicide conviction as well as the first manslaughter conviction for the sale of fentanyl and heroin, the expansion of the Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Program, the diversification of the office to better reflect the community, and the creation of a grand jury bureau to ensure immediate oversight of cases going before the grand jury. Clegg said he plans to focus his attention on his family and vocation as an ordained minister with the United Methodist Church. Kavanagh recently announced he will make a second bid for the office. Democrat Jarrid Blades, a former Ulster County ADA who now works in the county Sheriff’s Office, announced last week he will seek the Democratic line for the office. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.