In a shock to many, a local politician resigned from his elected position early Wednesday morning.

Dutchess County Legislator, Joel Tyner, announced on Facebook that he would be stepping down from his position. The Democrat has been the County Legislator for District 11, representing the people of Rhinebeck and Clinton, for the past 15 years

In an early morning Facebook post, Tyner apparently cut and pasted an email sent to Dutchess Chairman, Gregg Pulver and the rest of the legislature. It reads:

Chairman Pulver/colleagues-- I hereby resign my position as county legislator for Clinton and Rhinebeck-- it's been my pleasure to work with you all over these last 15 years...
...but it's time for me to step aside, let someone else have this position-- and time for me to work on myself.

The short message was emailed at 1:22am and posted online shortly after. It's unclear what Tyner is referring to when he says that he's going to take some time to "work on" himself. There was no further explanation given for his reason for retiring.

Just after 6:30am, Tyner replied to the post, saying:

I’ve made far too many stupid mistakes and fifteen years is long enough— time for me to step aside and let someone else serve.

It's unclear what "stupid mistakes" he's referring to. We have reached out to Mr. Tyner for clarification and have yet to hear back.

The Dutchess County website lists Tyner as a member of the Environment Committee, the Government Services and Administration committee, the Environmental Management Council, the Merit Award Board, and the Tick Task Force among others.

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