Putnam County Government:

Press release from the Putnam County Government:

January 7, 2022

Immediate Release

Putnam County Executive

MaryEllen Odell

845-808-1001

January 7, 2022

At its annual organizational meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 4, Neal L. Sullivan, was elected Chair of

the Putnam County Legislature and Paul E. Jonke was chosen Deputy Chair.

Sullivan, who represents District 9, the Town of Carmel and Hamlet of Mahopac, served as

Deputy Chair of the nine-member Legislature in 2020 and 2021.

“I want to thank my colleagues on the Legislature for choosing me for this honor,” Sullivan said.

“I look forward to helping guide Putnam County into the future. I also want to acknowledge and

thank Legislator Toni Addonizio, who has been chair for the past two years through the

challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, for all of her hard work over the past two years.”

Sullivan was nominated to the Chairmanship position by Addonizio and seconded by Legislator

Carl Albano.

“Legislator Sullivan has extensive experience in business and well as in Putnam County

government,” Albano said. “His experience has been very helpful to all of us on the Legislature

and I know Neal will make 2022 a very successful year.”

Addonizio agreed.

“One of his top priorities is to protect the taxpayers of Putnam County,” she said. “He has strong

county ties and his knowledge and experience will benefit all residents of Putnam County.”

First elected to the Legislature in 2016, Sullivan is chair of the Rules, Enactments and

Intergovernmental Relations Committee and has served on the Audit, Economic Development,

Personnel and Protective Services Committees, as well as the Putnam County Traffic Board.

In 2021, Sullivan was chosen by the Legislature to chair the Putnam County Charter Review

Commission, a process which is only conducted every 10 years. He also served as a member of

the Police Policy Review Board.

A financial services executive and CEO of the Sullivan Financial Services Group in Mahopac,

Sullivan is very active in the community. He has been the CEO of the Putnam County Industrial

Development Agency and the President of the Lake Mahopac Rotary Club as well as Secretary

of the Carmel Town Republican Committee. A Carmel High School graduate, Sullivan is a

Certified Public Accountant and earned his MBA in Accounting from Pace University Lubin

Graduate School of Business.

Deputy Chair Paul Jonke, who represents District 6, the Town of Southeast, just completed his

fifth year on the Putnam County Legislature. He has chaired the Protective Services Committee

for three years and the Personnel Committee for one year.

Jonke has been involved in government since 1988 when he was appointed Real Property

Appraiser by the Town of Carmel. He has been an assessor since 1993 and currently serves as

an assessor in Dutchess County.

This press release was produced by the Putnam County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.