Joe Pond always ready to serve

By Dan Hust
GRAHAMSVILLE — Joe Pond’s campaign motto is apropos of both the man and the rulers upon which it’s emblazoned:
“Measure Twice. Cut Once.”
That commitment to thoroughness is what Pond promises he’ll bring to the Neversink Supervisor’s seat.
It’s based on his years not just as an attorney but as an all-around handyman, from his Grahamsville home to his bright red 1946 Farmall tractor, which he affectionately calls “Ruth” after the original owner, Ruth Baxter.
The 75-year-old Pond is a household name all over the Town of Neversink actually, thanks to a myriad of community activities.
Currently a commissioner with the Grahamsville Fire District, he’s served the fire department for 42 years.
He’s also a proud member of the Neversink-Rondout Antique Machinery Association (where “Ruth” gets special attention).
As an attorney with an office in the heart of Grahamsville for the past four decades, Pond earned his reputation as an honest lawyer, but he also supplemented that income at various times as a real estate broker, title insurance agent and income tax preparer for individuals and small businesses.
“So I know what the small businessman is up against,” he remarked.
He also understands town government, having served as both a town board member and town justice in Neversink.
In fact, he was both from 1975 to 1980. But when the state mandated the positions be held by separate individuals, Pond opted to stick with being justice, and he continued in that capacity until 1989.
“But there comes a point when you’re limited as a justice,” he related. “You can’t engage in political activities.”
Now, more than 20 years on, he’s finally engaging in those political activities, running on the Republican and Independence lines.
Yet his biggest campaign promise is “to stay the course.”
No rocking the boat here.
“The town board is in charge,” he explained. “Basically I’m a member of the town board. You can come into my office, sit and talk and tell me what’s on your mind, and we’ll discuss it with them.”
Besides, he’s basically happy with the town’s direction under retiring Supervisor Greg Goldstein.
Pond’s biggest concerns are tax-exempt properties, though he acknowledged Neversink’s unique situation in Sullivan County.
“For each tax dollar, New York City pays 70 cents,” he affirmed of the town’s benefit from hosting two major reservoirs in the city’s water supply system.
Still, he’s keenly aware of the local tax burden and promised to utilize his business and financial experience to keep taxes from rising unnecessarily.
He praised the town’s staff – especially its bookkeeper and highway department – and is eager to continue the youth football program and find a spot for the flooded-out Little League.
Yet being supervisor was far from Pond’s mind when he moved here in 1968.
Having grown up on farms in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, he was familiar with open, rural spaces, but he decided to follow his brother into the Navy after first joining the Marine Reserves at 18.
“I decided I’d make a better sailor than a Marine,” he laughed.
Four years later, he began pursuing higher education, ultimately gaining his law degree and being admitted to the bar in 1967.
By that time he was working in Legal Aid in Manhattan and had five children with his wife, Larissa. Both of them wanted a better quality of life for their family.
So responding to an ad, Pond joined well-known attorneys Lou Scheinman and Ivan Kalter in Sullivan County, spending his first days – ironically – writing appeals regarding the city’s taking of land for the reservoirs.
In 1971, he went into business on his own, setting up shop in Grahamsville.
Later, he and Larissa bought 100 acres and built a house nearby, raising their five children – who’ve now given them 12 grandchildren.
“We thought it was a great place,” Pond said of his home town, including the Tri-Valley School, the laid-back atmosphere, and of course the neighbors and friends.
But after retiring two years ago, why does he want to jump back into a busy life?
“I’ve caught up on all my chores around the house,” he matter-of-factly stated. “I’ve got plenty of energy and time, and this would be a change of pace for me.”
He was asked by the Republican Party to mount a run, but frankly, Pond doesn’t mind if his Democratic rival, Mark McCarthy, grabs voters’ favor.
“He’s been a friend. He went to school with my son,” Pond recalled. “We get along fine, and if he’s elected, it’ll pretty much go the same [in Neversink].”
But he’s ready to serve if the voters want him.
“I think I can do a good job for the town,” he affirmed, “applying my time, energy and talent.”