The site was moved to adjacent Sullivan County when local residents objected to holding the festival in the Town of Wallkill.
Prior to beginning his political career, Mills served as Director of Development at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, where he also was an adjunct instructor of geography.
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Mills was briefly called to active duty and later awarded the New York State Defense of Liberty Medal.
He served as the Deputy Minority Leader, sat on the Banking, Housing, Insurance and Ways and Means Committees, and was a member of the Armed Forces Legislative Caucus.
[5] In 2001, three years after Mills left his post as supervisor, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued the town in federal court, accusing the police department of petty corruption, civil liberties violations, and harassment.
[13] He was nominated by the State Republican Committee after its fallout with the conservative front-runner Michael Benjamin, who had a significant advantage to Mills in both fund raising and campaign volunteers.
[5][17] He served until 2007, when he reentered the private sector and became Chief Advisor, Insurance Industry Group, Deloitte & Touche USA.
[18] Mills was seriously considering entering New York's 19th congressional district election, 2008, against freshman incumbent John Hall.
[5] Although Hall was targeted by National Republican Congressional Committee, they struggled to find a top tier candidate, and Mills' backers believed that he was up to the task.