By Matt Youngfrau
SULLIVAN COUNTY — June 4, 2002 – Jeffersonville minister Bob McLeod is the newest person to enter the race for the vacant District 3 County Legislator seat.
On May 31, Sullivan County Legislature Chair and District 3 Legislator Raymond "Rusty" Pomeroy II resigned his seat.
Either this week or next week, someone will be appointed to the seat, which represents the towns of Fremont, Rockland and Neversink (with the exception of a tiny corner of southeastern Neversink). That person will run for the position in a special November election.
Several people have expressed interest. Sullivan County Republican Party Chair Greg Goldstein has applied for the job and publicly stated he will run for election in November.
On Saturday, leaders from the Democratic Party met to choose someone to run for the seat. Since the County Legislature has a majority of Democrats, this person would likely be appointed to the seat until December 31. Whomever is elected in November will begin their term the following day.
Sullivan County Democratic Party Chair Bob Krutman has confirmed to the Sullivan County Democrat that they will endorse Bob McLeod of Jeffersonville (which is not within District 3’s boundaries).
McLeod is the minister of the Presbyterian Church of Jeffersonville and the United Reform Church in Youngsville. He moved to the county in 1998 and is currently building a home in the Town of Rockland (which is within District 3).
"I was planning to retire in two years to be politically active," McLeod stated. "It was a challenge to say no. I decided to move the time table up. I feel good about this, and it is an exciting opportunity."
A press conference to officially announce McLeod’s candidacy is expected by the end of the week. McLeod stated that he expected the press conference to be held after the Democratic convention on Thursday.
In the meantime, Pomeroy’s replacement as chair of the Legislature has come down to either District 1 Legislator Chris Cunningham or District 7 Legislator Leni Binder. A decision on that is expected shortly. The Legislature has until June 20 to fill the vacancy.