SULLIVAN COUNTY – County Democrats and Republicans have elected their new leaders on Monday night and Tuesday night respectively. 

Convening at the Duggan Community Center in Bethel on Monday night, a sizable crowd unanimously elected by weighted vote Steve Vegliante as Chairman of the Sullivan County Democratic Committee. Each town is given votes weighted on the amount of registered Democrats in each district.

Vegliante, a lawyer and former Supervisor for the Town of Fallsburg, previously served as Chair of the committee, filling a vacant position left by Donna Schick before announcing he would not run again and endorsing Anne Hart, who has served two terms.

Vegliante announced on Monday that he wants to see the party work together, and that he also hopes someone fresh will step into the role after his two-year term is up.

“We want to move forward in a positive way,” he said. “I plan on spending the next two years trying to find somebody else to be sitting in this chair and putting us on the right path forward,” adding that they have a great team and that he will be making appointments to the executive committee. 

Vegliante also thanked previous Chair Hart: “I’m grateful for her service; she raised a lot of money and there were a lot of successful elections,” he said. “If there was a failure of this committee–and I want to be clear I’m not blaming any one person–it was one of communication over the last couple years. And that’s something if we don’t fix it I won’t be successful, and this committee won’t be successful.”

In a statement to the Democrat Hart said, “It was an honor and a privilege to serve two terms as Chair of the Sullivan County Democratic Committee. Together, we accomplished much, strengthening our ability to support Democratic candidates and building internal infrastructure. While there are no term limits on these positions, I firmly hold the belief that regular changes in leadership can only serve to make organizations stronger.”

In recent years Democrats have done well in elections, claiming a 5-4 majority in the Sullivan County Legislature in 2024, and Paula Kay winning a tough-fought Assembly race against Lou Ingrassia Jr. 

But nationally and statewide Republicans clinched the vote, with big leads for Donald Trump (58.14% of county votes) and a majority of votes for Marc Molinaro (although his opponent Josh Riley won the district). 

Some county representatives attended the Committee’s meeting on Monday night, including legislators Nadia Rasjz, Matt McPhillips and Brian McPhillips, as well as Assemblymember Kay and District Attorney Brian Conaty, who both announced they are seeking re-election.

While there was a small crowd there it was notable that it was nowhere near the amount of registered Democrats in the county, as there was another meeting concerning the proposed county waste-to-energy trash incinerator happening at the same time.   

Doherty named new Republican Chairman 

The Sullivan County Republican Committee met on Tuesday night at the Elks Club in Liberty, where a packed house was deciding between current Chairman Greg Goldstein and Rob Doherty, ultimately choosing Doherty.

Based on weighted voting, Doherty received 6,819 votes and Goldstein garnered 5,085 votes. Goldstein previously served as Chair for 17 years, and was currently in his second term. 

“I’ve enjoyed it very much,” Goldstein said of his tenure. “I like most of the people I worked with.”

He added that he wishes the new regime “the best of luck” and hopes “they do the right thing.” 

Doherty said he wanted to run for Chair because “I thought there was too much infighting and I wanted to bridge the divide inside the party,” adding that “I know I was part of the fighting and I want to fix it.” 

Asked what he wants to see for the future of the committee, Doherty said, “I would like to bring in the Young Republicans and try to develop new candidates with new ideas.” 

Doherty, a Bethel resident and business owner, served as a Sullivan County Legislator for one term (four years) and was selected as Chairman twice (two years each), during a tumultuous time in county government as they handled the Covid-19 epidemic, a new operator for the Care Center, a potential new visitors center for the county and more, with legislators often arguing and disagreeing with each other. 

In 2023, a resolution was brought forth to remove Doherty as chairman, which ultimately failed by a vote of two to three, and was not the first time some legislators asked for him to step down as chairman. 

At Tuesday night’s committee meeting Doherty touted his accomplishments on the legislature, saying during that time they held the line on taxes, took care of roads and infrastructure, expanded the Move Sullivan public bus routes, negotiated union contracts and reduced county debt. He highlighted that he would like to see Republican values moving forward.