In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne was the goddess of memory, without which the Greeks believed there could be no rational thought. Nina Postupack has been Ulster County’s Mnemosyne. County clerk since 2005 and a county employee for a quarter-century before that, Postupack announced her retirement on August 13. She had been appointed to the job by governor George Pataki before winning it in the next scheduled election.
The well-liked Postupack is retiring 14 months ahead of the expiration of her present term for health reasons.
Postupack’s tenure has been “distinguished by her dedication to public service, preservation of Ulster County’s rich history, and a deep commitment to community outreach,” according to a statement.
Learning of her retirement, county executive Jen Metzger said that Postupack had fostered a culture in the clerk’s office “in which every person is treated with dignity, respect, and kindness …, I have enjoyed every moment of working with Nina, and will miss her greatly.”
Metzger thanked Postupack for her decades of committed service to Ulster County.
As far as Democratic elections commissioner Ashley Torres is concerned, Postupack was never someone to take a political stance in the discharge of her duties. “I think, really, that’s the kind of clerk you want no matter what party you’re in,” said Torres. “They don’t make the rules, they just administer them.”
Postupack was the first woman to serve in the role of county clerk. The previous 46 clerks, dating back to when the county records were kept in Dutch in the 1670s, were men.
Never challenged
She had been recommended to the post by Albert Spada, who himself took the job in 1966. Though he often protested that he would help anyone, Spada kept a huge collection of toy elephants in his office — and not a single donkey. He was county Republican chair from 1969 to 1977, during which period Democratic enrollment continued to increase. It was an era when Republican politics — and county policy — was donated by three figures: Spada, county legislature chair Peter Savago, and ex-district attorney Jack St. John.
Beginning her career in the clerk’s office in 1979, Postupack quickly rose through the ranks. By 1982, she was appointed deputy county clerk, and in 1990 chief deputy county clerk. “Over the years, she has transformed the clerk’s office into a beacon of public service, marked by transparency, accessibility, and historical preservation,” a 2006 announcement said
Postupack, like Spada before her, was re-elected every four years without having to face challengers — with one exception. In 2009, Postupack who ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative party lines was challenged by Democrat Gilda Riccardi. She trounced Riccardi by almost 10,000 votes. In election years after, Postupack was endorsed by both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Serving the community
As head of the clerk’s office, Postupack oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Department of Motor Vehicles at the county office building, the cavernous Hall of Records on Foxhall Avenue, and the historic Matthewis Persen House on the corner of Crow and John streets. The county clerk issues driver’s licenses and driving tests, birth, death and marriage certificates, naturalization papers, and the recording of deeds, as well as assuring the maintenance of court records.
Postupack has been a hands-on county clerk
“I’ve worked with her on projects throughout the years,” recalled Torres. “Our Voting-for-Kids coloring book is something we also worked with her department on, and we had a lot of fun. We hand them out at the poll sites. She was involved in the meetings, her and her team. She wasn’t just ‘in name only,’ she was in there with us doing it. It’s the only kind of coloring book that talks about voting in the state that I’m aware of — at least that’s what the League of Women Voters of New York tell me.”
The office of county clerk has served as a useful stepping stone to higher office. Postupack was never interested.
Under her supervision, the DMV began operating a mobile unit. A bus travels through rural sections of the county. She implemented extended hours at the DMV and conducted presentations to educate seniors about the services available to them.
The archives staff provided local-history presentations to community groups, schools and heritage organizations, furthering public knowledge and appreciation of Ulster County’s cultural heritage
Postupack also identified the need for a domestic partnership registry, sharing her concerns with members of the legislature. That body duly passed a resolution empowering the clerk to provide certificates of domestic partnerships for those couples seeking legal recognition.
She was also the driving force behind the digitization of records now available for inspection by county residents.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Ulster County for the past 45 years,” Postupack said in her statement. “I am grateful for the support of my colleagues, the residents, and my family throughout my career. I know that the clerk’s office is in capable hands and will continue to serve the community with the same dedication and integrity.”
The line of succession
Taylor Bruck, 34-year-old Ulster deputy county clerk, is Postupack’s presumptive replacement.
All county clerk appointments are at the pleasure of the governor. “Governors will typically let it go by the line of succession,” said deputy county clerk Bruck. “But the governor could also decide to call a special election. In the interim, it will go by that line of succession.”
Bruck, also City of Kingston historian, started out eight years ago in the county clerk’s office as an archivist.
As the keeper of the records, Bruck says the county has been fortunate under the diligent attentions of clerk Postupack, who he said championed and helped grow the county’s records management archival program.
“I plan to continue doing the same,” said Bruck
Postupack’s passion for history led to the creation of an archival exhibit space in the county office building, showcasing the county’s past. The completion of the digitization of land record indexes will ensure these records are preserved and easily accessible to the public.
Mnemosyne never dies
The job of Mnemosyne is to connect the past to the present, and given Ulster County’s rich history that’s no small task. Nina Postupack has played that goddess’s role with distinction, passing forward to future generations the distinctive sense of place that the area’s Native Americans and first European settlers discovered here. Future discoveries will build on that legacy.
Under the auspices of the county clerk, the Matthewis Persen House has become a museum and location for historic displays. It also hosts a variety of community events in season.
Researchers carefully digging into the basement of the structure dug up pieces of old pottery, fish bones and old buttons. They discovered two separate minute levels of dark dirt they called burn lines. What were they?
The top line was easy. The British burned Kingston – then the state capital – in October 1777, an event re-created on the streets every year.
But what of the deeper burn line? The archeologists dug up an answer.
The Native Americans burned the southern end of the wooden stockade on June 7, 1667 during the second Esopus Indian war.
At that time, New York State was New Netherland, New York City was New Amsterdam, Albany was Fort Orange, Kingston was Wiltwyck, and Hurley (which the Native Americans had already burned down) was Nieuw Dorp.
Where did the burn line indicating the boundary of the stockade end? The archeologists didn’t dig more. They carefully filled in where they had dug, leaving to some enterprising future archeologist to go further.
Mnemosyne is like that. There’s always more to find out, more to understand. Mnemosyne is a goddess who never dies.
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