Hobart Grad Seeking to Become Next Ulster County District Attorney

A 2011 Hobart College graduate has announced he is running for Ulster County District Attorney.

Jarrid Blades graduated with honors from Hobart where he was a double major in Political Science and American History. He also played football for four seasons while at Hobart. Blades received his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. While attending Syracuse, he volunteered with the Disability Rights Clinic and at the University’s Veterans Legal Clinics. He also served as the executive editor of the Journal of Science and Technology Law.

Upon graduation from Syracuse University College of Law, Blades served as an Assistant DA at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, in the local courts bureau, prosecuting cases, conducting legal research, drafting motions, negotiating case dispositions with defense attorneys, and preparing civilian and law enforcement witnesses for hearings and trials. In 2017, Blades came back home to serve in the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant DA, where he prosecuted misdemeanors and felonies throughout the county, including nearly every local justice court, Kingston City Court, Ulster County Court and Supreme Court. Blades prosecuted a wide array of cases involving narcotics, illegal and stolen firearms, arson, violent assaults, burglaries and domestic violence.

He was recruited in 2019 by Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa to serve as the Office of the Sheriff’s Chief Civil Administrator and the Commander of the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT). In 2022, with the New York State Attorney General’s Office Organized Crime Task Force, URGENT conducted the biggest drug and weapons seizure in the history of Ulster County.

Blades is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Ulster County District Attorney.