Kim Leonard is the Macedon town supervisor and a town employee since 1984 who became the first woman to chair the Wayne County Board of Supervisors in January 2025. A Republican, she leads an all-Republican board that uses weighted voting. She was reelected chair in 2026 and is not on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
So who is Kim Leonard, what has she done, and what do her critics say? The record runs through four decades in Macedon town hall, an appointment after a supervisor-elect died, a narrow first win for chair, a contested search for a county administrator, and a state audit of her town’s ambulance service.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican
- Hometown
- Macedon, N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not listed in sources reviewed
- Current Position
- Chair, Wayne County Board of Supervisors; Macedon Town Supervisor
- Background
- Macedon town clerk to the supervisor, bookkeeper and councilwoman
- In Office Since
- January 2020 (supervisor); January 2025 (chair)
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
PagPol could not confirm Leonard’s date or place of birth, her parents’ names, her education, or whether she is married or has children. Official minutes refer to her as Kim V. Leonard and as Mrs. Leonard. PagPol found no record of military service, and no county biography for her was available online.
What the record does show is a career spent almost entirely inside one town government. Macedon shares the Palmyra-Macedon school district with its neighbor, Palmyra. Her predecessor as supervisor, Sandy Pagano, recalled the challenge of unifying the town after its village was dissolved, which shaped the job Leonard inherited.
The Charles Bullis House in Macedon, the town Leonard has worked for since 1984. (Photo: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
TOWN HALL CAREER, 1984 TO 2019
Leonard went to work for the Town of Macedon on Jan. 2, 1984, as clerk to the supervisor, according to a Wayne Times report. She later became town bookkeeper, then a town councilwoman. She told state auditors in 2026 that she reviewed ambulance billing reports as bookkeeper until 2016, when she left that role.
In November 2019 she won a Town Council seat as a Republican, leading the field with 868 votes in election night returns, according to FingerLakes1. Republican David Maul took the second seat with 789. Democrats James Byron and Deborah Napolitano finished with 524 and 515 votes.
SUPERVISOR OF MACEDON, 2020 TO 2024
Weeks later the man voters chose as supervisor, Paul Kenyon, died while battling lung cancer, before taking office. On Jan. 2, 2020, the town board unanimously appointed Leonard to the post, with Leonard abstaining, according to a Wayne Times report. The supervisor’s job also gave her a seat on the county board.
“I know Paul Kenyon will be watching over me,” she said at the meeting, as she thanked her fellow board members, according to FingerLakes1. Outgoing Supervisor Sandy Pagano praised the choice. “I can honestly say I am pleased with the fantastic selection of Kim Leonard as Macedon Town Supervisor,” Pagano said.
In November 2020 Leonard ran unopposed for the rest of the term and drew 2,915 votes in an early count, according to a Wayne Times report. In April 2022, as county Finance Committee chair, she delayed a vote on employee stipends until the full board could attend. PagPol could not find results for her 2023 race.
The Baker Cobblestone Farmstead in Macedon, whose supervisor casts 20 of the board’s 200 weighted votes. (Photo: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In July 2024 Leonard led a move to strike planned raises for 17 appointed county jobs, including the administrator and county attorney, according to FingerLakes1. Some officials declared conflicts of interest, and the board sought new legal counsel. On Dec. 3 supervisors unanimously adopted a $228.2 million budget for 2025.
THE FIRST CHAIRMANSHIP, 2025
On Dec. 31, 2024, Chair Tony Verno resigned as Williamson supervisor. On Jan. 2, 2025, Leonard defeated Walworth Supervisor Mike Donalty by 113 weighted votes to 83, according to the board’s January 2025 minutes. Sodus Supervisor Scott Johnson nominated her. The minutes record that the full board is Republican.
“The importance of female leadership is not to be overlooked,” Leonard said in a statement after the vote, according to the Times of Wayne County. “Here’s to 2025, a year of transparency, accountability, and availability by the Wayne County Board of Supervisors for Department Heads, County employees, and our constituents,” she added, as the county’s first woman chair.
Within weeks County Administrator Rick House announced he would retire at the end of March after 44 years with the county. Leonard and House backed streaming or posting board meetings, which were then recorded but not put online, according to FingerLakes1. PagPol could not find how that debate ended.
By March only one of seven applicants for administrator met the minimum qualifications, and some supervisors pressed for an interim plan. Leonard assured them a “qualified person” was available but not yet named, according to FingerLakes1. Later that month the board named Mark Humbert interim administrator at a $150,000 salary.
In December the board unanimously adopted a $256.81 million budget for 2026, up $28.6 million or 13 percent, according to the Finger Lakes Times. The levy rose 2.84 percent, $742,000 under the state tax cap, while the rate held at $5.09 per $1,000 of assessed value.
THE SECOND TERM, 2026
On Jan. 5, 2026, supervisors reelected Leonard chair with all 196 weighted votes cast, with only Butler’s supervisor absent, according to the January 2026 minutes. Lyons Supervisor James Brady nominated her and Arcadia’s Dawn Pisciotti seconded. Lynn Chatfield of Wolcott stayed on as vice chair.
Sodus Point Lighthouse on Lake Ontario. In 2026 the county pitched itself to the state as a host for new nuclear power. (Photo: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
That month the county pitched itself to the state Power Authority as a host for new advanced nuclear power. Leonard said the county offers viable sites and community support, according to FingerLakes1. The authority plans to review proposals and shape its next steps during 2026, the site reported.
In August the board unanimously made Humbert the permanent administrator at $163,508 through Dec. 31, according to FingerLakes1. Leonard said he distinguished himself through his experience and his work on lingering policy issues. In September the board weighed a Lake Ontario name resolution and changes to town sales tax shares.
THE COUNTY AND THE PARTY MATH
Wayne County had 24,841 active enrolled Republicans and 13,620 Democrats among 60,148 active voters in February 2026, according to state enrollment figures in PagPol’s Data Spine. More than 17,500 voters belong to no party. In 2020 the county gave Donald Trump 26,204 votes to Joe Biden’s 17,456, the Times of Wayne County reported.
Republican share of active enrolled voters, February 2026
Wayne CountyOther upstate counties
Source: PagPol Data Spine, from New York State Board of Elections enrollment figures.
All 15 supervisors are Republicans, so the board has no minority leader. Each town’s vote carries a set weight under board rules, out of 200 total, with 101 needed to pass a measure and 134 for a two-thirds vote. Arcadia carries 29 votes, Macedon and Walworth 20 each, and Butler, Huron and Savannah four each.
For another county board leader, see PagPol’s profile of Kevin Geraghty, who chairs the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Like Leonard, he leads a county board in upstate New York, and PagPol’s profile traces how he rose through local government before taking the top job there.
LEADERSHIP ROLES
As chair, Leonard presides over the board and names the vice chair. Before that she chaired the Finance Committee and served on Government Operations. In 2026 Scott Johnson of Sodus is majority leader and heads the Finance list, while Pisciotti heads Government Operations, the January minutes show.
Leonard remains the supervisor of Macedon, whose 20 weighted votes are tied for third largest on the board. She has worked for the town for more than four decades. PagPol has also profiled Patrick Linger, who chairs the Greene County Legislature, another upstate county board.
WHY SHE RAN AND WHAT SHE BELIEVES
Leonard framed her chairmanship around access and openness. “My passion has always been to help people, employees, businesses, constituents, anyone who was not sure where to get answers,” she said in January 2025, according to the Times of Wayne County. Minutes say she also stressed “the importance of transparency moving forward.”
She has also cast her rise as an example. “It allows our young female leaders in our future to pursue their dreams, no matter how big or small they may be,” she said in the same statement. She described starting her 41st year with the town and called being chosen “the greatest honor for me.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
PagPol found no campaign committee for Leonard in state Board of Elections filer data, and her 2020 race was unopposed. Town races receive no public matching funds. The largest figures tied to her chairmanship are in the county budget, which has grown each year while the tax rate fell and then held flat.
Wayne County adopted budgets
First budget adopted under LeonardEarlier budgets
The 2025 and 2026 tax rate held at $5.09 per $1,000 of assessed value. Source: Finger Lakes Times; Wayne County.
The 2026 plan counts on about $53 million in sales tax, according to the Finger Lakes Times. Health insurance rises $2.4 million to $16.7 million, and public safety, including the countywide ambulance service, climbs 8.3 percent to $45.2 million.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints or lawsuits naming Leonard. Her first chair win was narrow, 113 to 83 over a fellow Republican. The sharpest public friction came during the 2025 administrator search, when tensions flared as some supervisors pressed for an interim plan, the Finger Lakes Times reported, as summarized by FingerLakes1.
House also faulted the pace, saying more should have been done when he announced his retirement in January, according to that account. Leonard maintained there was no need to panic and stressed efforts to secure an interim leader soon. Humbert was named interim later that month, days before House’s departure.
The other criticism concerns her town. “The Board and officials did not adequately oversee and manage the Town’s ambulance service’s financial operations,” the comptroller wrote in a September 2026 audit. Leonard said the town did not dispute the findings and acknowledged that December claims should not have been paid before board approval, according to FingerLakes1.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
Leonard pledged “transparency, accountability, and availability.” She backed putting board meetings online, but PagPol could not confirm the outcome. In 2026 auditors found Macedon’s ambulance service lacked up-to-date financial reports for the town board, and Wayne County was classified as “not filed” in the comptroller’s 2025 fiscal stress data.
The Four-Church Corner in neighboring Palmyra, which shares a school district with Macedon. (Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
On accountability, she accepted the Macedon audit and said the town brought its books current through August and filed annual reports for 2016 through 2025. On taxes, the 2026 budget held the rate flat and stayed under the cap, though total spending rose 13 percent, or $28.6 million, in the first budget adopted under her chairmanship.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE COUNTY
The comptroller’s Macedon audit, No. 2026M-65, issued Sept. 25, covered January 2024 to April 2026. It found $17,320 in unapproved write-offs, 14 purchases totaling $59,674 without required quotes, and 17 claims totaling $13,552 not properly audited by the board. It made 15 recommendations.
An October 2026 Palmyra-Macedon audit, No. 2026M-83, found the Palmyra-Macedon Central School District lacked complete records for its technology assets and could not locate one printer worth about $400. The district disputed parts of the audit but said it would develop an action plan.
Also in October, audit No. 2026M-85 found the Wayne County Industrial Development Agency generally kept a transparent website, with minor issues. Wayne County scored zero on the fiscal stress scale in the two prior years but was classified as “not filed” and had no 2025 score, according to FingerLakes1.
LOOKING AHEAD
Leonard is not on the ballot this November. Humbert’s term as administrator runs through Dec. 31, the 2027 budget is due, and Macedon owes the comptroller a corrective action plan. The board will choose its 2027 chair in January. For more, visit PagPol’s Wayne County page or subscribe to the Wayne County newsletter.
