Allegany County Legislative District 1 residents Kevin “Fred” Demick, Jennifer Ricketts-Swales, and Philip Stockin have formally announced they will seek election during this year’s Allegany County Legislature election process. Demick and Ricketts-Swales are seeking to fill the open seats created by the retirement of 2 distinguished District 1 Legislators while Stockin is running for a second term. Legislative District 1 includes the Towns of Angelica, Belfast, Caneadea, Centerville, Hume, Granger, and Rushford as well as the Village of Angelica.
Kevin “Fred” Demick – Kevin “Fred” Demick, a lifetime resident and longtime Angelica Town & Village Highway Superintendent, brings a wealth of Municipal experience with over 30 years of service to both the Town and Village of Angelica.
During his tenure as Superintendent of Highways, he has served all of Allegany County in several capacities. These include, but are not limited to, the following: a 20-year board member and chairman of the Allegany County Traffic Safety Board, a long standing member of the Allegany County Hazard Mitigation Plan Committee, the President of the Allegany County Highway Superintendent’s Association for 16 years, as well as an Executive Committee board member for 22 years, a board member of the Southern Tier West (STW) Transportation Committee, STW Tri-County Shared Services Committee, and STW Watershed Coalition. Demick received the “Local Government Award” from STW for “Service and Support in the Attainment of Regional Goals,” – the only Highway Superintendent to ever receive this award. He has also been a long-standing member of the Alfred State Collage Advisory Committee for Building Trades/Heavy Equipment. Recognized by the Commissioner of the Dept. of State for his achievements in multi-jurisdictional Shared Services plans and agreements, Demick worked to provide major cost savings for municipalities countywide, including Allegany County itself.
Being a longtime proponent of Shared Services and the major benefits to Allegany County residents at both the local and county level, Demick believes this is a necessary tool for municipalities to survive and thrive in Allegany County. He has also been heavily involved working with New York State and local officials, strongly advocating to establish new and maintain current local and statewide funding for local roads and bridges by meeting directly with our State Representatives at the Capital offices in Albany on an annual basis. This advocacy has included NYSDOT CHIPs, PAVE-NY and BRIDGE-NY funding. He has also been involved extensively with the FEMA Disaster and Hazard Mitigation programs and funding for both local municipalities and Allegany County as well.
Demick has worked and assisted numerous municipalities over his long career. He looks forward to having the opportunity to continue working hard for the betterment of all taxpayers as a District 1 County Legislator.
Jennifer Ricketts-Swales, residing in the Town of Hume, has been serving families throughout the county as a teacher, school counselor and college advisor for over 30 years. Assisting young people and their parents in preparing for college and careers has been her primary focus. While living in the Village of Alfred, she served on the Zoning Board of Appeals and was President of the Allegany County Counselors Association several times. Ricketts-Swales has served as chair for numerous administrative searches and school improvement teams. She was also very active on several school merger exploration committees within Allegany County. While working at Alfred State College, she served on the committee that made the determination to allow University Police to become armed as well as several other committees. Until her retirement in June 2020, Ricketts-Swales served on the Alfred State Admissions Advisement Board. She completed “train the trainer” program through the Anti-Defamation League and has been responsible for assisting with the writing of the Perkins Grant for Alfred State College and CABOCES.
Ricketts-Swales lives in Fillmore with her husband Jeff. Having both grown up in Fillmore, they returned back home to be closer to family. Since retirement in June, she has been involved assisting several small business start-ups in the Northern Allegany County Area and is working with a group of volunteers to develop marketing systems and better communication tools for local business.
While serving people through government is relatively new for Ricketts-Swales, service is not. Her past experience–including growing up in a family business, gives her a unique perspective. Having both a business and counseling degree, she is able to understand both the economic and human aspects of county government. “Seeing many of my former students stay in the area and become successful, provides hope for our future. This is a future that I would like to continue to help shape, just in a new way,” said Ricketts-Swales.
Philip Stockin, who lives in the Town of Caneadea, after being appointed to fill a vacancy in April, 2017, is now completing his first four-year term as a Legislator. Stockin has served on the Human Services, Personnel, Budget, and Ways & Means (Chair) Committees. He has also served as the Legislature’s Representative to the Allegany County Planning Board and the Solid Waste Review Board. Stockin’s 37 years of service with the Town of Caneadea Board provided extensive practical experience which has served him well as a Legislator. This year of COVID-19 has greatly increased the challenges of county government. Stockin is proud of the efforts by county Administrators, Department Heads, Employees, and the Legislators to rise up and meet these challenges. Services have been maintained within budget constraints and the financial position of the county continues to be strong. “It has been a privilege to serve as a legislator in the county where I have lived all my life. I look forward to being re-elected and continuing to play a role in the future of Allegany County,” Stockin said.
Kevin “Fred” Demick, Jennifer Ricketts-Swales, and Philip Stockin, are asking for your support, and look forward to meeting with individuals and groups in the district to discuss the future plans they have for Allegany County.
