Jason West

West was reelected as mayor of New Paltz on May 3, 2011. His salary at the time was $22,500. West requested a $13,000 raise in 2012. The Village of New Paltz Board of Trustees approved the raise. West requested another $13,000 raise in 2013 but instead had his salary returned to the $22,500 level in a revised budget passed 4-0 by the board, with the mayor absent from voting. In response, West sued the board of trustees. The lawsuit was settled by a $12,000 settlement in February 2015.

A graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, West made headlines by solemnizing same-sex marriages in New York. After running as a protest candidate for the New York State Assembly in 2000 and 2002 on the Green Party ticket, West was elected mayor of New Paltz in 2003. He lost his reelection bid on May 1, 2007, to village trustee Terry Dungan.

West lost his bid for a second four-year term by on May 1, 2007, after a campaign highlighted by an endorsement by Ralph Nader with 514 votes for Dungan to West's 379.

As mayor, West took part in the creation of the United Nations Urban Environmental Accords in San Francisco in the Spring of 2005. He is one of 60 mayors from across the world who signed the original accords.

Dare to Hope: Saving American Democracy 2005, ISBN 1-4013-5238-3

On February 27, 2004, West drew national attention to New Paltz when he announced that he would be performing same-sex marriages. On the first day he performed 24 such ceremonies. On March 2, he was charged with 19 misdemeanor counts of "solemnizing marriages without a license" by Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams. According to Williams, West was not charged for all 25 ceremonies because police only witnessed 19 of them.

Elected mayor of New Paltz in 2003 with promises of environmental sustainability, West gained international attention, initially as part of the first Green Party majority elected in New York State and later for risking criminal prosecution to marry 25 same-sex couples.

West was named the Best New Mayor of 2003 by Hudson Valley magazine. He was honored by such organizations as the New York State Senate Democratic Conference, the California State Legislature and community organizations from around the country. He has been profiled in the New York Times Magazine, Plenty, Out, The Advocate, and Jane, among others.

Jason West (born March 26, 1977) is an American politician who served as mayor of the village of New Paltz, New York from January 1, 2003 to May 31, 2007, and again from June 1, 2011 to May 31, 2015.