Elected Officials

Judge Marsha Weiss has been Ulster Town Justice since 2003 and was re-elected in 2019 for another four year term. Prior to that, Judge Weiss served as an Assistant District Attorney under Michael Kavanagh from 1982 to 1998. She was also an Assistant Public Defender from 2001 to 2003.

In addition to her criminal law experience, Judge Weiss has been in private practice, specializing in civil litigation for 18 years throughout the Hudson Valley.

Experience Counts - Judge Weiss is the only candidate for Town Justice with legal training!

• 29 years Practicing Attorney
• 16 years Town of Ulster Justice
• 16 years Ulster County Assistant District Attorney
• 3 years Ulster County Assistant Public Defender
• 15 years Lecturer at Marist College
• Albany Law School - Juris Doctor
• Admitted to Practice in NY State Courts
• Admitted to Practice in Federal District Court and Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Judge Weiss has resided in the Town of Ulster for 25 years and has two daughters, Melissa and Joanna. Judge Weiss is a past President of Congregation Ahavath Israel, and has been a member of the Zena, Miller, and Kingston High School PTAs.

A Letter from Judge Weiss

“Dear Friends,

On Tuesday, November 5th, you will have the opportunity to exercise your right to vote for your town officials. I have been your Town Justice for the past 4 years and am seeking re-election for another term. I believe in a citizen’s right to an independent judiciary and the fair and impartial administration of justice. I have presided over thousands of civil, criminal and traffic matters in the past 4 years. I have conducted these proceedings in a professional, courteous, and fair manner. I take my responsibility seriously and I assure you that I will continue to conduct myself and my Court proceedings in such a manner as long as I am your Town Justice. Thank you.”

The quality of the justice elected determines the quality of justice received.

Eric Kitchen has been one of your Town of Ulster Councilman for the past 12 years, re-elected in 2019 for another four year term. He is a lifelong resident of the Town of Ulster. Him and his wife have raised 4 children here and have recently welcomed a grand-daughter into the family. Eric has been a full-time Real Estate Broker for over 20 years.

The safety and security of all residents will always be Eric’s top priority. He has worked with Supervisor Quigley to maintain financial stability in the Town of Ulster for the past 10 years. He understands first hand how people struggle to make ends meet, and how important it is to keep taxes low.

Recent Accomplishments

• Assisted in obtaining SAM Grant from Assemblyman Cahill for Rider Park Pavilion Project (Planning Stage)
• Assisted in obtaining SAM Grant from Senator Amadore for Water District SCADA System Upgrade (Engineering Stage)
• NYS Small Cities Grant for Katrine Lane Sewer Project (In for approval at DEC)
• NYS Small Cities Grant for Spring Lake Sewer District Phase 1 (In engineering stage)
• Assisted in obtaining SAM Grant from Senator Amadore for new Salt Shed at Highway Complex (Bid Stage)
• New Roofs (2018-2019) Town Hall and Highway Complex
• Justice Court Office Renovation in Town Hall

I believe I have the experience and the proven record that the Town of Ulster needs as we face the hard challenges ahead.

John Morrow is a town councilman. He currently serves as Deputy Supervisor and his four year term ends December 31, 2021.

Frank Petramale is a motivated professional with 31 years of experience, the last 12 years as your Highway Superintendent, re-elected in 2019 for another four year term. He is highly experienced in highway construction and maintenance. Frank has vast experience and knowledge in developing and overseeing budgets and handling both public relations and personnel issues.

He is flexible, versatile and competent with demonstrated ability to easily deal with weather related disasters and all phases of Highway Dept. issues on a daily basis.

Frank is dedicated to being the Highway Superintendent. He cares about the Town of Ulster and all of his employees. He has been known to leave his home at all hours of the day or night to check the roads for snow, flooding, downed trees or any other road hazard. He also makes every effort to attend Town Board meetings.

With your support we can “PAVE” the way.

Suzanne Reavy is the current Town Clerk for the Town of Ulster, re-elected in 2019 for another four year term. The role of the Town Clerk is an integral one in Town government. My running joke is that the Town Clerk does more than just “issue dog licenses.” Besides collecting fees for each town department, the town clerk is responsible for preparing and filing paperwork from Town Board meetings with many different agencies. Many of these documents adhere to deadlines and pertain to bonds, capital projects, new development, and public hearings. I pride myself, my office staff, and our department heads in that effective communication between departments is crucial and we stand by that.

One of my responsibilities is as records officer. One of my goals over the next few years is to continue our records management system while tightening it up. Two unused conference rooms in the Town were cleaned out in 2019 and over 75 boxes of records were discovered, most of which need to be incorporated into our digital records system. I want to take this project and current folders in our records system, and simplify the ability to locate specific documents. The mindset should always be that any record should be easily attainable in 10 years or 50 years from today.

I am also the Tax Collector for the Town of Ulster, which is one of my chief roles. From January - June my office collects over $19 million in property taxes. We perform daily and monthly reports and in June of each year, a final report to the Ulster County Department of Finance. My objective each year is a successful final report with the County.

I am all about transparency. If anyone is interested about what we do in the Town Clerk’s office, what a tax collection report looks like, or any other inquiry, I suggest a visit to the Town Clerk’s Office - a very welcoming environment in the Town.

Clayton Van Kleeck, a lifelong resident of the Town of Ulster, was elected in 2019 for a four year term. He owns and operates Van Kleeck’s Tire Inc. with his wife, Karen. He also owns and operates TreadWare, a specialized software company that provides operating management software to the truck tire industry throughout North America. In addition to that, Clayton and his wife also own and operate Neighborhood Court LLC., a mobile home park and residential leasing company, with properties in the Town of Ulster.

Clayton is very active in his community. He’s been a member of Grace Community Church since he was a teenager, holding several leadership positions. He’s been a member and President of the Kingston Consolidated School District for 3 terms, the Town of Ulster representative to the Kingston-Ulster Development Board, a member of the Town of Ulster Economic Development Advisory Board, and a 10 year member of the Ulster County Board of Ethics.

Why Clayton Van Kleeck has Decided to Run for Town of Ulster Councilman

For a community to survive and thrive, there must be good leadership. This town has benefited from many excellent leaders and suffered when they were weak. I respect and support the job Jim Quigley has done as our supervisor, along with our town board members through many difficult decisions. I want to be part of the team that continues and refines the efforts and initiatives the town has made over the last 10 years. I want to help solve the known and unknown challenges ahead.

With Joel Brink’s decision to not run this year, I have decided it is time for me to step up. My businesses are at a point where we have a very strong management team, able to lead the daily operations and grow without me there on a daily basis. I know I have the ability to dedicate significant time to our community. Van Kleeck’s Tire Service is a vendor to the Town of Ulster and that if elected, I will forego the Town’s tire business, which is a sacrifice I am will to make for Public Service. The Town Board and citizens will benefit from my 38 years of management experience.

I have been an active voting member of the Republican party my entire adult life. I associate most comfortably with conservative values and principles. I am also an independent thinker. There are challenges ahead that are going to require innovative and responsible decisions and changes.

I have good, long-standing relationships with many people in other political parties. I want to see this town continue to encourage and facilitate the responsible growth of our current businesses while attracting and facilitating new business opportunities.

We must be socially, environmentally and financially responsible to navigate through the tough challenges ahead.

I am old enough to have grown and learned in the experiences of life, while young enough to be “irrationally exuberant” about our new opportunities.

Susan Kesick has been our Town Justice since January 1, 2006.