New congressman was in Cornwall last week
Congressman Pat Ryan had his mind on a lot of things when he sat down for an interview at Cornwall’s Town Hall last week … his new job, the press conference he had a few minutes later, his Sunday inauguration, his young family … and, the New York Giants. He’s an unapologetic “forever” fan, he said, and was looking forward to seeing the Giants soundly defeat the Eagles in an NFL divisional playoff game on Saturday.
Well, that didn’t happen; the Eagles sent the Giants packing. But, plenty of other things are going right for the latest 18th Congressional district’s representative right now.
Ryan is a native of Kingston. He was the Ulster County executive for about three-and-a-half years before running for the Congressional seat vacated by Antonio Delgado when he became New York’s lieutenant governor. He won — handily — and served in that position for just a few months before Congressional seats were redistricted, and he had to campaign for the seat which covers Orange County.
He won it, defeating Colin Schmitt. However, Ryan did not, he will tell you, win Orange County in the election, and that’s a goal he has for the couple years ahead.
“You can expect to see a lot of me, and my staff,” he said Friday.
Ryan and his staff — “we ‘ll have about 15-18 people, split between Washington DC and here,” he said — are in the midst of preparing to open his office in Orange County. He’s also looking to invest in a mobile constituent van, to be able to get out to the people who need his help — think assisted living facilities or senior centers — and he already has his staff thinking about how to set up ‘Town Hall meetings’ in many of his district’s 84 municipalities.
“My number one goal is to be accessible and responsive to my constituents,” he said.
But, he’s also ready to work for America.
The 2004 West Point graduate — fun fact, he’s serving in Congress with two of his USMA classmates, John James of Michigan (“he lived across the hall from me”) and Wes Hunt of Texas — has always had an interest in national security and foreign policy issues. He’s a combat veteran, having served in the Army for five years active duty and three years in the reserves. When he left the Army he moved to Washington DC, attended grad school at Georgetown University (studying foreign policy and security) and then joined a tech firm another West Point grad had started; he and his wife Rebecca eventually moved to Gardiner, where he started his own tech company with several other fellow veterans.
In Congress, he’s expecting to be assigned to the Armed Services Committee and Transportation Infrastructure Committee. He hopes to be named to the West Point Board of Visitors as well.
Ryan recalls going to Army football games as a child and competing in track meets at Gillis Field house, and said he was always obsessed with joining the military.
“I grew up reading Tom Clancy novels,” he says.
It didn’t hurt that his grandfather was a decorated (Purple Heart honored) Navy veteran — who interestingly went on to serve on the Kingston Common Council. “He was a staunch Conservative,” Ryan, a Democrat, remembers with a smile.
Ryan recalls that while he was gung-ho on military service, his mom was not so keen on his chosen career path.
“On my class’s R-Day it rained,” Ryan recalls, “and someone told my mom that legend says that means we’d be going to war,” he said. “It proved to come true — I was a sophomore on 9/11.”
On Sunday, Ryan was ceremonially sworn it at West Point’s Eisenhower Hall; a “full circle moment”, he called it. The man swearing him in, Senator Chuck Schumer, was one of two who initially nominated him to West Point; Congressman Maurice Hinchey was the other.
Thinking back to those days, Ryan said Friday that one of the “coolest” things he’s done so far is to call high schoolers in this region to let them know he will be nominating them to his alma mater.
After Friday’s press conference in Cornwall Ryan had other work to do before heading home to his wife and two sons, Theo and Cameron. Because he is a father and husband, he says the struggles of young families are not unfamiliar to him — healthcare, housing and childcare are all on his radar as both New York and American issues that need work.
He’s ready to do that work.
“If you had asked me 10 years ago what I’d be doing now, starting a new term in Congress would not be my answer,” he said.
While Congressional terms are for two years, all representatives have to start thinking about running for reelection almost immediately. He acknowledges that, but says he is a believer of term limits and won’t be a ‘lifer’.
“I’ll be in New York as much as I possibly can”, he says, and notes that while he is in the nation’s capital he’ll be working as hard as he can for the residents of this area.
“I see it as my responsibility to earn your trust,” he said. “And I hope that anyone who needs my help will reach out.”
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To learn more about Congressman Ryan visit www.patryan.house.gov. The phone number for his Washington DC office is 202-225-5614; and the phone number for his district office is 845-443-2930.