Lawrence “Larry” Dolhof is a Lyons Falls hardware store owner who has chaired the Lewis County Board of Legislators since 2018. A Republican, he leads a 10-member board on which every seat is held by his party. He was re-elected without opposition in 2025 and is not on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
So who is Larry Dolhof, what has the board done under him, and what do his critics say? The record runs through a family hardware business bought in 1976, a board career that began in 2000, eight years as chairman, falling tax rates and a rising levy, and a 2026 fight over who should run ambulance service in the county.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican (also on the Conservative line)
- Hometown
- Lyons Falls, N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not listed in sources reviewed
- Current Position
- Chairman, Lewis County Board of Legislators; District 8 legislator
- Background
- Owner of Dolhof's Hardware in Lyons Falls
- In Office Since
- First elected 2000, elected again 2013; chairman since 2018
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
Dolhof calls Lyons Falls his hometown. In 1976 he and his parents bought the village branch of the old Doyle Hardware chain, which had opened in 1899, and renamed it Dolhof’s, according to the Lyons Falls History site. In the early 1980s, while in his thirties, he bought out his parents to become the sole owner.
The store has ten employees, according to the undated history site. Dolhof and his wife, Donna, live in Lyons Falls and own and operate the hardware business. PagPol could not confirm his date of birth, his parents’ names, his education, or whether he has children, and found no record of military service.
A village sign in Lyons Falls, where Dolhof has owned the hardware store since 1976. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
EARLY YEARS ON THE BOARD, 2000 TO 2017
Dolhof was first elected to the Board of Legislators in 2000 and “then again in 2013,” according to a 2023 campaign announcement. He represents District 8 in southern Lewis County. PagPol could not find vote totals for his early races or confirm whether he served continuously.
Legislators in Lewis County serve two-year terms, according to the county’s legislator page. The board elects its chairman at its January organizational meeting, as minutes from 2024 and 2026 show. PagPol could not find which committees Dolhof sat on during his years as a rank-and-file member before 2018.
THE CHAIRMANSHIP BEGINS, 2018 TO 2022
The board elected Dolhof chairman in 2018. A year later he was defending the budget after Sheriff Mike Carpinelli put a Brantingham Lake patrol on hold and cut ATV patrols. “We created 10 new positions to try to address the overtime that was in his previous year budget,” Dolhof said, according to WWNY.
“They were allocated $25,000 and to date they have spent $52,641 dollars in just overtime,” Dolhof said of the sheriff’s office. He noted the department received $5.6 million, $320,000 more than the year before. Carpinelli said the county gave him about $180,000 less than he requested for 2019.
Farmland in Lewis County, where more than 60 percent of the land is owned or controlled by the state, Dolhof wrote in 2021. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In April 2021 the board set aside $1 million of the county’s $5 million in federal stimulus money for broadband and approved its police reform plan, according to WWNY. That November Dolhof wrote to the state’s redistricting commission asking it to keep Lewis County whole in the new legislative maps.
“Dividing our county into multiple legislative districts would dilute what little influence we have to affect policy in Albany,” Dolhof wrote in the redistricting letter. He noted that more than 60 percent of the county is owned or controlled by the state through environmental and Adirondack Park agencies.
THE 2023 RACE, 2023 TO 2024
In February 2023 Dolhof announced he would seek another term, listing fiscal responsibility and better county infrastructure as his priorities. That April he filed valid Republican and Conservative petitions for District 8, according to the county’s petition list, setting up another run for the southern Lewis County seat.
That fall County Manager Ryan Piche proposed a 2024 budget that cut the levy 2.7 percent to $18.29 million, the first cut since 1999, according to NNY360. The proposed tax rate fell from $7.54 to $6.37 per $1,000 as taxable property values rose 15.2 percent.
On Nov. 7, 2023, Dolhof won re-election unopposed with 464 votes, while 137 ballots left the race blank, according to official results. On Jan. 2, 2024, Legislator Tom Osborne nominated him again for chairman, and the board had the clerk cast one unanimous ballot.
Tim Hunt became county manager in August 2024. In October two legislators objected to a new deputy manager post with a $15,000 stipend. “I think it’s a waste of money. I think Tim can do the job. I don’t think this is necessary,” Legislator Barry Lyndaker said, according to WWNY. Dolhof responded that interviews showed a deputy was needed.
THE 2025 RACE AND BUDGET
In May 2025 a state audit faulted the county’s industrial development agency, and the county later said it has no involvement in the agency’s financial decisions. In October the county released a tentative 2026 budget of about $83 million that cut the countywide property tax about 2 percent, according to WWNY.
On Nov. 4, 2025, Dolhof again ran unopposed, taking 324 votes on the Republican line and 66 on the Conservative line for 390 in all, according to the county’s official canvass. Another 100 voters left the race blank. Only two of the 10 legislative races drew a challenger.
The Black River Canal historic marker in Lyons Falls, in Dolhof’s District 8. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
On Nov. 18 the board adopted a 2026 budget with $71.0 million in general fund spending, up 9.3 percent. The property tax levy rose 4.2 percent to $20.77 million, while the rate fell to $6.17 per $1,000 of full value, according to the adopted budget. PagPol could not find the roll call.
THE NINTH YEAR AS CHAIRMAN, 2026
On Jan. 6, 2026, Osborne nominated Dolhof once more and Legislator Jessica Moser seconded. The board had the clerk cast one ballot, with Lyndaker the only legislator opposed, according to the January minutes. Dolhof thanked everyone for their continued support. The minutes record no reason for Lyndaker’s vote.
In July the developer WPD proposed about 50 more wind turbines in the towns of Leyden, West Turin and Lewis, according to WWNY. Hunt said state siting rules left “no local control over this project.” Leyden and West Turin officials said they had heard little from the state or the company.
In early August the county asked Lewis County Search and Rescue to hand over a majority of its board and remove its chief, Josh Levesque. Levesque said the group was given one week, and it voted to stay independent. “They’re trying to make us look incompetent,” he said, according to WWNY.
At the Aug. 4 board meeting volunteers protested the plan. “We need to have a plan going forward of how we’re going to provide EMS coverage county wide if you lose your medical director,” Dolhof said, according to WWNY. The same night the board unanimously adopted Resolution 179, backing home rule.
On Oct. 14 the state awarded Lewis County $5.5 million for sidewalks in Port Leyden, Turin and Beaver Falls. “For the past six years, Lewis County has worked to prioritize Complete Streets improvements alongside planned highway projects throughout the county,” Dolhof said in the governor’s announcement.
THE COUNTY AND THE PARTY MATH
Lewis County had 9,719 active enrolled Republicans and 3,327 Democrats out of 17,631 active voters in February 2026, according to state enrollment figures. Another 3,550 voters belong to no party. All 10 legislators are Republicans, according to the county’s 2026 directory.
Republican share of active enrolled voters, February 2026
Lewis CountyNearby North Country and Mohawk Valley counties
Source: PagPol Data Spine, from New York State Board of Elections enrollment figures.
Among the eight nearby counties PagPol compared, Lewis ranks second in Republican share, behind only Hamilton. It is also the smallest of the eight except Hamilton. For a neighboring board leader, see PagPol’s profile of David Forsythe of St. Lawrence County, another longtime chairman.
LEADERSHIP ROLES
As chairman, Dolhof presides over the board and announces its standing committee appointments in January. In 2026 Moser chairs Finance and Rules, Tom Kalamas chairs Human Services and Josh Leviker chairs General Services. Dolhof sits on the District 6 Fish and Wildlife Management Board.
Among the 10 legislators on the 2025 ballot, Dolhof’s 390 votes ranked third. Osborne and Moser were the only members who faced opponents. For the chairman of the neighboring board to the north, see PagPol’s profile of William Johnson of Jefferson County.
Votes for Lewis County legislators, Nov. 2025
Larry DolhofOther Lewis County legislators
Republican and Conservative lines combined. Source: Lewis County Board of Elections official canvass.
WHY HE RAN AND WHAT HE BELIEVES
In his 2023 announcement, Dolhof cited fiscal responsibility and county infrastructure as his priorities. The release credited his tenure with a renovated Human Services Building, a new highway garage, and a new home for motor vehicles and elections, and it described him as an advocate in Albany for tourism, highways and health care.
He has argued that rural counties need a stronger voice. His 2021 letter defended the county-owned Lewis County Health System and said splitting the county would force it to rely on representatives tied to other regions. On rail trails, he praised the planning firm the county hired. “Just their experience was really quite inspiring,” he told NNY360.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
PagPol could not retrieve state campaign finance records for Dolhof, and both of his recent races were uncontested. County races receive no public matching funds. The money story under his chairmanship is the county budget, in which the property tax levy covers less than a third of general fund spending.
The levy has grown from the $18.29 million proposed for 2024 to $19.93 million in 2025 and $20.77 million in 2026, according to county budget documents. Over the same period the rate fell from $6.37 to $6.17 per $1,000, because taxable property values rose faster than the levy.
Change in county property tax levy, 2021 to 2025
Lewis CountyNearby counties, increase
Source: PagPol Data Spine, from state comptroller county property tax levy data.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints, lawsuits or personal controversies involving Dolhof. Criticism of the board under him has centered on spending and services. “I knew that I’d be needing this money. I knew that and tried to explain that I had to have it,” Carpinelli said in 2019, according to WWNY.
The 2026 ambulance fight drew the sharpest pushback. “We already have a program that works,” Town of Lowville Supervisor Bob Mullin said, according to WWNY. Hunt defended the county’s position. “Our concern is the residents and how do we provide them with the services necessary to continue,” he said. Lowville’s village board later named Search and Rescue its primary provider.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
Dolhof’s 2023 announcement said the county tax rate was lower than a decade earlier. The rate has continued down, from $7.54 in 2023 to $6.17 in 2026. The levy, however, has risen about 13.5 percent from the proposed 2024 figure, including the 4.2 percent increase in the budget adopted in November 2025.
A country road in Lewis County. Dolhof has listed better county infrastructure, including highways, as a priority. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The same release claimed more than $3.5 million in broadband investment and a drop of more than 70 percent in unserved households. PagPol could not independently verify those figures. The board’s 2021 vote to put $1 million of federal stimulus money toward broadband is documented by WWNY.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE COUNTY
A May 2025 IDA audit by the comptroller, numbered 2025M-1, found the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency overpaid Naturally Lewis $316,597 for staff services in the last quarter of 2023 and in 2024. That was 172 percent more than the written agreements required.
The county government said it has no involvement in the agency’s financial decisions, according to Flack Broadcasting, which reported that two legislators sit on the agency’s board but not its audit committee. PagPol could not confirm which two legislators serve there or whether Dolhof is one of them.
Lewis County scored 3.3 on the comptroller’s 2025 fiscal stress scale, earning no stress designation, according to the state’s fiscal monitoring report. Its assigned and unassigned fund balance equaled 26.71 percent of gross spending, and it ran an operating deficit in one of the last three years.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dolhof is not on the ballot this November. With two-year terms, his District 8 seat would next be on the ballot in 2027. The board’s next decisions include its ambulance plan, the 2027 budget, and the proposed wind project. For more, visit PagPol’s Lewis County page or subscribe to the Lewis County newsletter.
