Silver-tongued orators the candidates are not. Neither Greg McCollough nor Peter Loughran seem naturally outgoing or loquacious. Loughran ambles along in conversation; McCollough bears down as he speaks.

These two candidates from very different backgrounds and with very different sales pitches make up the race for District Six, one of the City of Kingston's four seats in the Ulster County Legislature.

Loughran is as Old Kingston as one can get, with family whose roots go back to colonial times; McCollough is a twenty-year resident, born and raised in Harlem. Loughran talks up his rolodex; he knows who to reach out to for what. McCollough talks up his street cred; he knows what the common people know.

McCollough is the incumbent but Loughran has the endorsement of the county's Democratic Party. More specifically the endorsement of the Ulster County Democratic Committee, the 275 activists who

do most of the party's work. The committee's endorsement doesn't guarantee a line on the ballot, however. That will be determined by the June 24 primary, in which any registered Ulster Democrat can vote.

The committee's endorsement carries a good deal of weight, historically, but McCollough has the support of For the Many, an activist group closely aligned with Assemblymember Sarahana Shresthra, whose 2022 insurgency drove veteran local legislator Kevin Cahill from office.

Loughran's resume — “real world experience,” in his words — encompasses 14 years in the Ulster County Legislature, primaried out in 2017. In January he retired from seven years on the staff of Westchester County Executive George Latimer, that following six years coordinating the closure of the Indian Point Nuclear Plant and years as Legislative Director for state legislators in the Assembly and State Senate.

After all that, why not just kick back and retire?

“I love politics,” Loughran said in an interview. “I said to my wife, ‘I want to get back involved.’ She's a little skeptical but you know what? This is where my family's at. This is where all the kids are. I don't want to go somewhere else.”

On the issues, Loughran emphasized mental health, the economy and property taxes.

“Everybody knows somebody or has a family member that can use mental health services,” he said. “Yet we don't provide the programs that they really should have… That needs to be a priority. We have to look at economic development — smart growth, economic development — so that we don't have a bunch of people out there protesting because of the environment… Property tax stabilization. How do we offset the cost of rising property taxes? Those are the immediate concerns.”

Asked if he had a specific set of county programs that fall short or for which he had alternatives, Loughran said, “I don't at the moment. But I tell you that I live in Kingston and I go out to the diner and I see these folks, I see people sleeping on the porches.”

“One of the reasons I'm running is because as a former legislative director I can go to the Capitol, I can talk to the committee clerk, I can find out what funding is available,” Loughran said. “I can find out what programs are coming down the pike. I can do things that other legislators won't be able to because of my experience. I'm not good at talking about myself. I'm good at getting things done.”

Greg McCollough, in his first term as a legislator, for 33 years has commuted back and forth to Manhattan three days a week to his job at the Children's Aid Society, working from home the other two. An accountant and SUNY New Paltz graduate, he also serves as executive director at Kingston non-profit Beyond the 4 Walls, providing material and educational assistance to low-income families.

McCollough has made local news lately for a long-running dispute with the City of Kingston over building code violations at his Midtown Kingston home. “That's pretty much taken care of,” he told Kingston Wire, though he stood by claims he had been unfairly targeted.

On the issues, McCollough emphasizes the same concerns as virtually every candidate. “My top three are housing, food security and health care, but for my top six, add mental health, transportation and child care. If we can get people those basics, they'll be in good position to survive in this world.”

“I'm out in the street talking with people,” McCollough said. “I spend a lot of time with the most vulnerable and the homeless. I buy dinner for them. I sit with them, talk with them, along with all the other constituents. So everything that they tell me, I want to be able to help them.”

McCollough agreed that he — like most legislators — typically remains silent at the body's regular monthly meetings but he argues that “the real work” is done in committee, “where I show up.” He claims a share of credit for the county's Housing Action Fund, the provision of Narcan on county buses and an upgrade of county drug testing to more accurate technology. If returned to office he plans to push for expanded Sunday bus service and limits on rental application fees.

McCollough attributes his loss of the Democratic Party endorsement to the convention's weighted voting system and to Loughran's personal connections. “People have friends and friends look out for friends, apparently,” he said. “I'm confident that the people have the final say and the people will get it right.”

The Democratic primary will be held June 24, with early voting running June 14-22.