Steve Neuhaus

Steven M. Neuhaus
County Executive of Orange County
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2014
Preceded by	Ed Diana
Town of Chester Supervisor
In office January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2013
Preceded by	William Tully
Succeeded by	Alex Jamieson
Personal details
Born	(1973-11-15) November 15, 1973 (age 48) Monroe, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Mount Saint Mary College (B.A.) Marist College (M.P.A.)

Steven M. Neuhaus (born November 15, 1973) is an American politician and the current County Executive^[1] of Orange County, New York. He previously served as the Town Supervisor of Chester, New York elected in 2007 until 2013.^[2]

Education[]

He was a Monroe-Woodbury graduate who took courses at SUNY Orange simultaneously during his high school years, Neuhaus received a BA from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York and a master's degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.^[3]

Early life[]

After receiving his M.P.A., and prior to his election as Chester Town Supervisor, Neuhaus gained valuable management experience in both the public and private sector in the City Manager’s Office in Newburgh in the Village Manager’s Officer for the Village of Walden, and received valuable business experience as the Vice President of Special Projects for Taylor Recycling in Montgomery. A licensed insurance agent and broker, Neuhaus also attended and successfully completed training at Lean Six Sigma, one of the leading corporate and government efficiency programs which teach real-world business experience from international experts in the field.

Military service[]

After 9/11, Steve signed up to serve in the military, and enlisted in the Army Guard and later joined the United States Navy Reserve. Currently, Neuhaus is an Officer in the Navy Reserve^[4] and assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Neuhaus has been deployed internationally three times, to Africa, South Korea, and Iraq. His South Korea and Iraq deployments occurred when he was Orange County Executive. During the lengthy Iraq deployment, Neuhaus gave the “State of the County” address by livestream and continued daily operational control of County government by teleconferencing with staff, reporters, and others.

During his Iraqi deployment, Neuhaus served with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in various locations throughout the country in Support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. Military Campaign against ISIS. In preparation for the assignment, Neuhaus was deployed to the Middle East in early-January after completing pre-mobilization training at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas in December. When he returned in late-June of 2019, Neuhaus stated that he planned on continuing his focus on economic development and tourism, as well as working to strengthen the County’s infrastructure. During the COVID-19 crisis, Neuhaus gave nightly reports to thousands of Orange County residents on COVID related issues. Unlike President Donald Trump and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who also gave updates, Neuhaus’ commentary was largely devoid of political issue and was a “just the facts” presentation to Orange County residents.

Neuhaus is a supporter of the Hudson Valley Honor Flight,^[5] where he was a guardian for the first flight to bring World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the new memorial created in their honor. Neuhaus is a founding board member and former chairman of the Families of War Veterans Committee which supports veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.^[6]

Chester government[]

In 2004, Neuhaus became a Chester, New York Councilman, a position that lasted until 2007. He then ran a successful bid^[7] for Chester Town Supervisor, an office he held from 2008 until his election to County Executive. During his tenure as Town Supervisor, Neuhaus pushed for economic development. Also during his time, he held the line on property taxes for Chester residents.

County Executive race[]

Neuhaus announced his candidacy for County Executive on November 17, 2012^[8] along with Warwick, New York Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton in a Republican Party primary. Sweeton later withdrew from the race^[9] allowing Neuhaus to secure the Republican Party line. Neuhaus also had the support of both the Conservative and Independence Party lines.

His opponent in the election was Orange County Legislator Roxanne Donnery who held the Democrat and the temporary Had Enough party lines. Neuhaus won the election with 55% of the vote,^[10] focusing his campaign on economic development, the county's long shut down government center, the county-owned nursing home, and fixing the county's burgeoning budget crisis.^[11]

Neuhaus was re-elected in 2017, easily defeating Democrat Pat Davis. Neuhaus won approximately 59.6 percent of the vote to Davis' 40.4 percent.

County Executive[]

When first elected in 2013, Neuhaus was the youngest County Executive in the county's history.^[12]

Family[]

The son of German immigrants,^[7] Neuhaus and his two sisters were raised on a working farm. His father is a dentist on New York State Route 17M in Chester, New York. Neuhaus and his wife Rachel live with their family in Chester.^[3]

References[]