EXHIBIT 31.1

     Rule 13a-14(a) / 15d-14(a) Certification of the Chief Executive Officer

                    Certification of Chief Executive Officer
            Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002


     I, Thomas W. Schneider, certify that:
1.   I have  reviewed  the  March  31,  2006  quarterly  report  on Form 10-Q of
     Pathfinder  Bancorp,  Inc.;

2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of
     a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
     statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
     were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
     report;

3.   Based on  my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other financial
     information  included  in  this  report,  fairly  present  in  all material
     respects  the  financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
     the  registrant  as  of,  and  for,  the  periods presented in this report;

4.   The registrant's  other  certifying  officer  and  I  are  responsible  for
     establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
     in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

     a)   Designed  such  disclosure  controls  and  procedures,  or caused such
          disclosure  controls  and  procedures  to  be  designed  under  our
          supervision,  to  ensure  that  material  information  relating to the
          registrant,  including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
          us  by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
          which  this  report  is  being  prepared;
     (b)  Evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  the  registrant's  disclosure
          controls  and  procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
          about  the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
          of  the  end  of  the  period  covered  by  this  report based on such
          evaluation;  and
     (c)  Disclosed  in  this  report  any  change  in the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
          most  recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in
          the  case  of  an  annual  report) that has materially affected, or is
          reasonably  likely  to  materially  affect,  the registrant's internal
          control  over  financial  reporting;  and

5.   The registrant's  other  certifying  officer and I have disclosed, based on
     our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
     the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board
     of  directors  (or  persons  performing  the  equivalent  functions):

     (a)  All significant  deficiencies  and  material  weaknesses  in  the
          design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
          are  reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record,  process,  summarize  and  report  financial  information; and
     (b)  Any fraud,  whether  or  not  material,  that  involves  management or
          other  employees  who  have  a  significant  role  in the registrant's
          internal  control  over  financial  reporting.


May 22, 2006         /s/ Thomas W. Schneider
                     -----------------------
Date                 Thomas W. Schneider
                     President and Chief Executive Officer