Jim Hare, the former Mayor of Elmira, is resigning from his position as County Elections Commissioner

Elmira, New York – The Chemung County Board of Elections will have a new leader in the next year. A Republican and a Democrat lead the board. At the end of the year, Jim Hare, the Democratic Commissioner, will step down.

“I’ve been in politics for a long time, but I didn’t truly understand the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure a free and fair election until I was appointed commissioner,” Hare said.

Hare has worked for the government for about 50 years. He served the city of Elmira for almost thirty years, was a history teacher, and is a veteran of the army.

I was elected to parliament in 1979 after becoming involved with the Democratic Committee for the first time in 1975. I have therefore been here for a long time. For around 50 years, he served as a committee member, was engaged in the party, served as a councilman, served as mayor, and was involved in the community in other capacities, Hare stated.

“I served as mayor for six of my twenty-eight years on the council. The fact that the Republican legislature had to vote to approve my appointment was one of the true highlights of this position. Hare laughed and remarked, “That was true satisfaction.”

In 2021, Hare was elected as the Chemung County Board of Elections’ democratic commissioner. He declares that he is prepared to hand up his responsibilities to Mary Collins, the new leader.

After 34 years as a Deputy Commissioner, Collins will return to the County Board of Elections in 2025. Sperry Navone, a Republican commissioner, will continue to serve beside her.

“What’s the reason for it? Reporter Nick Dubina asked, “What motivates you?”

“I think I have a screw loose,” laughed Collins. “No, I’m doing it because, if the position were open and ready, I’ve always sort of planned to return and take over the commissioner’s duties. I am therefore prepared for it.

“Mary is a wonderful person who brings a genuine understanding of the election process and how the Board of Elections operates here,” Hare remarked. She knows a lot more about computers than I do. Mary will manage things expertly, but I’m not always comfortable with the growing amount of technology in today’s world.

Collins remarked, “I wish I had time to tell you everything that’s involved.” “People don’t know.
We have polling places, machinery that need to be put up, voter registrations that need to be handled, absentee ballots, and more than 400 election inspectors. It simply requires a great deal of labor.

“People should appreciate the hard work put in by the board of elections, as Mary indicated.” Hare added. “The staff is bipartisan, and they collaborate effectively to ensure that the elections are free and fair, which they are.”

“Yes,” Collins said, “and that’s the difficult part of this job.” “We do receive a lot of negative news or negative sentiment from the public for all the work we do, and it’s difficult.

We questioned Hare about his future plans and whether he had thought about remaining in his position.

Hare responded, “No, I always intended to be a short timer.” “I’m hoping that the next step will be to resume frequent visits to the gym and work on improving my physical condition.”