Leslie Church is the Town of Milo supervisor and the first woman to chair the Yates County Legislature, a post she won in January 2022. A Republican, she leads a 14-member body that is weighing a new county jail and a rising tax levy. She is not on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
So who is Leslie Church, what has the Legislature done under her, and what do her critics say? The record runs through a town planning board seat in 2000, a narrow 2022 vote that unseated a sitting chair, three budgets, and a 2026 jail debate that has packed the Legislature’s public comment periods.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican
- Hometown
- Town of Milo (Penn Yan mailing address), N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not listed in official biographies reviewed
- Current Position
- Chairwoman, Yates County Legislature; Milo Town Supervisor
- Background
- Milo Planning Board and Town Board member; Master Gardener volunteer
- In Office Since
- Elected 2011 (supervisor and legislator); January 2022 (chairwoman)
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
Church and her husband, Gene, have two sons, Andrew and Greg, according to a May 2025 Senate release from state Sen. Tom O’Mara. She is an active Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension and works as a peer advocate for people living with multiple sclerosis through Teva Neuroscience.
In 2011 the National Multiple Sclerosis Society named her an Inspirational Woman on the Move, the release said. PagPol could not confirm her date or place of birth, her parents’ names, her education, or her career before public office, and found no record of military service. She lives on Bath Road in the Town of Milo.
State Route 14A in the Town of Milo, where Church has served as town supervisor since 2011. (Photo: Mitchazenia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
MILO AND THE LEGISLATURE, 2000 TO 2021
Church was appointed to the Milo Planning Board in 2000 and later won a seat on the Milo Town Board. In 2011 she became the first woman elected Milo supervisor and was elected to the county Legislature the same year, according to the Senate release. PagPol could not find the 2011 vote totals.
In 2019 she topped the four-seat District 3 field with 694 votes, ahead of Republicans Carlie Chilson, Daniel Banach, and P. Earle Gleason, according to county results. She was also reelected Milo supervisor without opposition, with 769 votes. In 2020 her colleagues made her the Legislature’s first woman vice chair.
In 2021 she again led District 3 with 652 votes as all four Republicans won, according to official results. Democrats Teresa Hoban, Valerie Brechko, Kelley Reynolds, and Mildred Phillips-Espana trailed, with Hoban the highest at 405 votes. Church was then the Legislature’s vice chair, the Finger Lakes Times later reported.
THE FIRST CHAIRMANSHIP, 2022 TO 2023
On Jan. 3, 2022, the Legislature elected Church chairwoman 8 to 6 by paper ballot over Doug Paddock, who had led the body for four years, according to the meeting minutes. “Thank you, all very much for this opportunity to serve in this capacity, I appreciate your trust,” she told colleagues. Paddock congratulated her and noted she was the first woman to chair the body.
The old Yates County Courthouse in Penn Yan, the county seat. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
That July she appointed an ad hoc committee to study declaring Yates a “Constitutional County.” At an August hearing residents pushed back hard. “This is a horrible idea. It should have been shot down from the start,” one resident said, according to the Finger Lakes Times. Church was not a member of the panel.
In September 2022 the committee disbanded after about 75 percent of the comments it received opposed the idea, Legislator Mark Morris said. In October 2023 the administrator proposed a 2024 budget with a flat $15.9 million levy. That would have cut the rate to $4.39 per $1,000, from $4.95.
In November 2023 Church won reelection in District 3 with 547 votes, second behind Winona Flynn, according to county results. Democrat Leigh MacKerchar took a seat with 540 votes, 7 behind Church, while Republican Morris lost with 421. She was unopposed for supervisor. On Nov. 16 the Legislature unanimously adopted the 2024 budget with a $16.2 million levy and a $4.48 rate.
THE SECOND TERM AS CHAIR, 2024 TO 2025
In March 2024 Church formed an ad hoc committee to review the aging Public Safety Building, which houses the sheriff and jail. “We are all aware of the building’s age and shortcomings, and know we have to address them in the near future,” she said, according to the Finger Lakes Times.
That November the Legislature adopted a $58.2 million budget for 2025 with a $16.2 million levy, slightly below 2024’s, and a rate of $4.01 per $1,000, according to the Finger Lakes Times. PagPol could not find the minutes of the January 2024 vote that kept her in the chair.
On May 13, 2025, O’Mara honored Church in Albany as a Senate Woman of Distinction. “Leslie Church defines what it means to be a leader and an advocate for strong and successful local communities,” O’Mara said in his release. The release cited her work on county human services and on Keuka Lake watershed groups.
On Nov. 20, 2025, the Legislature adopted a $61.4 million budget for 2026, 13 to 1, with Terry Button opposed, according to the meeting minutes. The levy rose to $17.8 million and the rate to $4.02, the Finger Lakes Times reported. Church was among eight members who defeated, 8 to 6, an amendment to fund a deputy IT director post for only six months.
THE JAIL DEBATE, 2026
On Jan. 5, 2026, the Legislature unanimously reappointed Church chair through 2027, according to the Finger Lakes Times. By summer residents were filling meetings to question a proposed jail of roughly 70,000 square feet and 64 to 72 beds, as FingerLakes1 described it. Some asked why the county houses federal detainees.
At a July 22 special session Church defended the advisory committee studying the jail. “None of them want to be there looking at whether to renovate or build a new jail,” she said, according to the session minutes. “There’s not one of them that is excited about looking into that, but it’s something that must get done.”
The Yates County Building in Penn Yan. The county’s aging Public Safety Building, which houses the sheriff and jail, is also in the village. (Photo: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
On Aug. 10 critics again called for an independent needs assessment. “When can we get answers to our questions?” resident Denise Hopkins asked. “We’re doing our due diligence and reviewing all of the information as we have it,” Church said, adding that “we were elected to do so,” according to the Finger Lakes Times.
Public Works Committee minutes in early September put spending on the facility at $422,522, FingerLakes1 reported. On Sept. 14 bylaws tasking the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council with studying jail needs drew 9 yes votes and 4 no, with Church voting yes, but the minutes record the motion as failed, according to FingerLakes1.
The minutes do not explain why that tally fell short. On Oct. 13 the Legislature voted 13 to 1 to set aside $898,000 to cover the state’s recovery of unspent mental health aid that built up over about a decade, according to FingerLakes1. Jerusalem resident Richard Barney said the county loses money housing federal detainees.
THE COUNTY AND THE PARTY MATH
Yates County had 6,574 active enrolled Republicans and 3,225 Democrats among 14,211 active voters in February 2026, according to state enrollment figures in PagPol’s Data Spine. About 3,500 voters belong to no party. Its 14 legislators come from four districts, with Church one of four in District 3, according to the county legislator roster.
Republican share of active enrolled voters, February 2026
Yates CountyNearby Southern Tier and Finger Lakes counties
Republicans as a share of all active enrolled voters in each county in February 2026. Source: New York State Board of Elections enrollment figures, compiled in PagPol’s Data Spine.
Every member won on the Republican line in the most recent elections except Democrat MacKerchar and George Lawson, who won on an independent line in 2023. Among the seven Southern Tier and Finger Lakes counties PagPol compared, Yates ranked third in Republican enrollment share. For another county leader, see PagPol’s profile of Mike Hill.
LEADERSHIP ROLES
As chairwoman, Church presides over the 14-member Legislature, makes committee appointments, and names ad hoc panels, as she did on the jail in 2024. She chairs the Human Services Committee and has served on the Public Safety Committee, the Youth Board, and the S2AY Rural Health Network, according to the 2025 Senate release.
Outside the Legislature she chairs the Keuka Watershed Intermunicipal Cooperative and is vice chair of the Keuka Outlet Compact, both focused on the lake and its outlet. Ed Bronson of District 1 was elected vice chair in 2022 and again in 2026. She also remains Milo supervisor, a post she has held since her 2011 election.
Keuka Lake from the air. Church chairs the Keuka Watershed Intermunicipal Cooperative. (Photo: J. Passepartout, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHY SHE RAN AND WHAT SHE BELIEVES
PagPol found no campaign platform from Church. After winning the chair in 2022 she said, “I will work hard to develop a consensus amongst all of the legislators,” according to the Finger Lakes Times. Her public statements since then have focused on process, saying elected officials owe residents careful review before major decisions like the jail.
On the budget she has stressed the Legislature’s priorities. “The budget being considered for 2026 allows expenditures based on policy and that meet the goals set by the legislature,” she said at the November 2025 hearing. Outside the Legislature she has worked on Keuka Lake watershed groups and on multiple sclerosis advocacy, according to the Senate release.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
PagPol could not find a campaign committee for Church in state Board of Elections data, and she was unopposed for supervisor in 2019 and 2023. County races receive no public matching funds. The county’s money story is its budget, whose adopted levy rose about 10 percent from 2024 to 2026 while the tax rate stayed near $4 per $1,000.
The adopted levy was $16.2 million in the 2024 and 2025 budgets and $17.8 million in 2026, while total spending grew from $58.2 million in 2025 to $61.4 million in 2026. The Legislature’s 2027 to 2031 capital plan, adopted in August with Button the only no vote, totals about $40.4 million.
That plan leans on about $14.1 million in levy support. The tax cap figure for 2027 is about $18.4 million, according to FingerLakes1, with health insurance projected to rise 7.5 percent as the Legislature heads into its 2027 budget workshops.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints, lawsuits, or personal controversies involving Church. The sharpest criticism concerns the jail. “My calculations show that we lose money on these federal individuals,” Barney said in October. “We should not be subsidizing the federal penal system.”
Sheriff Frank Ryan has said no one in his office told the press the county wanted more staff to house more inmates, according to FingerLakes1. Church has said the advisory committee studying the jail is still reviewing the facts. “They have not formed a decision yet,” she said in July.
Button, the lone no vote on the 2026 budget and capital plan, faulted the county’s handling of the state mental health money. “In the past, our auditors should have caught this, and we should have been discussing that,” he said. The repayment set aside in October covers about a decade of unspent aid.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
Church says the Legislature is doing its due diligence on the jail. The record shows about $422,522 spent on the project while residents were still asking for an independent needs assessment. In September bylaws giving the coordinating council a study role failed despite her yes vote. PagPol found no final construction decision.
Main Street in the Penn Yan Historic District. Penn Yan is the Yates County seat. (Photo: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
She has said the 2026 budget meets “the goals set by the legislature.” Under her chairmanship the tax rate fell from $4.95 per $1,000 in 2023 to $4.02 in 2026, but the levy rose from $15.9 million to $17.8 million. She pledged consensus in 2022 after an 8 to 6 win and was reappointed unanimously in 2026.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE COUNTY
A March 2025 comptroller Penn Yan audit found the Village of Penn Yan did not ensure its chief water operator bought goods and services under village policy. Competition was not sought for 89 of 195 water plant purchases, about $95,000, and three purchases left $32,000 in unusable parts.
2025 state comptroller fiscal stress scores, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier counties
Yates CountyNearby counties
Fiscal stress scores out of 100, where lower is better. Yates scored 6.7 with no stress designation, and the Town of Benton improved from 35 to 6.7. Source: Office of the State Comptroller, via FingerLakes1.
Comptroller auditors have chosen procurement as an objective in a county audit covering Jan. 1, 2025, onward, with a limited look back to 2021 for the Multi-use Facilities Project, FingerLakes1 reported. Yates County scored 6.7 on the comptroller’s fiscal stress scale for 2025, with no designation, according to FingerLakes1.
LOOKING AHEAD
Church is not on the ballot this November. The Legislature holds 2027 budget workshops in late October and plans to adopt a budget Nov. 19, while the jail design, the comptroller’s procurement audit, and the Greenidge data center debate remain open. For more, visit PagPol’s Yates County page or subscribe to the Yates County newsletter.
