Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman looks back at Pat Ryan's time as Ulster County Executive as he leaves to represent the 19th Congressional District for a few weeks in Congress. Most of his time as executive came during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s kind of the ‘fire-sharpened-steel’ kind of thing, where we were forced to really just step up,” Ryan said. “We had this moment where people turned to us and I think we did step up and largely meet the need and meet the moment. I actually think it forced us to get better and rise to the occasion, and I’m super proud we did.” COVID-19, he said, did not change his original goals too much. “I think in a lot of ways, the pandemic just upped the urgency on all those goals because we started to see all those inequities come to the surface even more, and the needs come to the surface even more,” Ryan said. The county’s suicide and fatal overdose rates increased dramatically during the pandemic, for instance. Now, he will tackle the same issues in Washington. “I genuinely feel our democracy is at an existential moment and we need people in Washington who are really going to stand up and fight for democracy, for choice, for freedom,” Ryan said. “I love this country so much, I felt just felt like I had to be part of standing up for it.” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.