By Holly Crocco Putnam County Supreme Court Judge Victor Grossman last week found that County Executive Kevin Byrne’s campaign violated New York campaign finance law, and ordered it to refund $21,526.11 in contributions that were accepted in excess of the legal limit. State law prohibits campaigns for the office of county executive from receiving contributions that exceed 5 cents multiplied by the total number of active, registered voters in the county, from any one contribut

From left are Democrat Brett Yarris, Conservative Tatiana Brahimi, and Republican incumbent Kevin Byrne, who are all running for the county executive’s office in the November election. By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Press/Times hosted a debate Sept. 30 featuring the three candidates running for Putnam County executive. Below are wrap-ups of each candidate’s viewpoints. To watch the debate, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/putnampress and click through the five p

By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Press/Times will host a debate featuring the three candidates running for Putnam County executive Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m., at a local library. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/putnampress and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/putnampresstimes. You do not need a social media account to watch. Simply open any web browser and go directly to either profile (we recommend the Facebook link for the smoothest exper

Disclosure: The Putnam County Press/Times is published under The Putnam County Press & Times LLC, which is a subsidiary of the Whipple Foundation for the Preservation of Putnam County, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. By Holly Crocco Five Putnam County voters have filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court alleging that County Executive Kevin Byrne has accepted $19,468 above the maximum permitted by New York State Election Law, in his bid for reelection. Election law pro

Michael Strauss Practicing physician Dr. Michael Strauss has announced his candidacy for Putnam County coroner in the Nov. 3 election. In the last two elections for this office, incumbents ran unopposed. Strauss completed his medical education in Belgium in 1980, then practiced internal medicine at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai where he served as director of the Department of Medicine and as chief medical officer. Later, Strauss began a practice of intern

Tatiana Brahimi By Holly Crocco The race for county executive just got a little more heated, with the Putnam County Conservative Party Executive Committee announcing Friday afternoon that it has changed its endorsement and is now unanimously backing Tatiana Brahimi for the county’s top seat. “This decision was neither hurried nor made lightly,” wrote Secretary Theresa Votano in a statement on behalf of the committee. “After careful deliberation, the committee concluded that T

The top two candidates running for Putnam County executive in November recently announced the amounts their campaigns raised in the most recent filing period – which is often used as a barometer to gauge support for a candidate who has received contributions from political parties, businesses big and small, residents, and various organizations. The campaign to elect Brett Yarris as Putnam County executive announced July 17 that it raised more than $92,700, claiming that numbe

Were political messages scrawled on the replica Declaration of Independence hanging at the Historical Courthouse in Carmel an act of vandalism, or an exercise of one’s First Amendment right? Photo provided by the Putnam County Executive’s Office. By Holly Crocco As part of continuing countywide celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne is notifying residents that another larger-than-life

Winner of the Democratic primary for Congressional District 17 Cait Conley on election night. Provided photo. By Holly Crocco Cait Conley won the Democratic primary for Congress in the 17th district, with CBS News reporting that she took 50 percent of the vote. Challenger Beth Davidson earned 32 percent and Effie Phillips-Staley received 15 percent. Conley will take on Mike Lawler in November. In Putnam County, Conley received 57 percent of the vote (2,825 votes), while Davi

Early voting by mail and absentee ballots may be obtained from the Putnam County Board of Elections, 25 Old Route 6, Carmel, during normal business hours, as well as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, June 13 and 20; and until 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16 and Thursday, June 18. Putnam County will also be participating in in-person early voting for the primary election, with two voting sites: The BOE offices; and American Legion Post 275, 10 Cedar St, Cold Spring. Registered voters who ar

Beth Davidson and Cait Conley both recently visited Cold Spring to make their case to voters as to why they believe they are the best candidate to defeat Republican Mike Lawler in the November election for U.S. Congress in New York’s 17th District. Davidson, a Rockland County legislator and former Nyack school board member, drew the larger crowd and was questioned most closely on policy issues. She called attention to her ability to get elected and to work across the aisle, a

By Rob Sample The Putnam County Legislature again wrestled with the fractious issue of hiring independent legal counsel for the governing body during its April 8 meeting, ultimately failing to achieve the six votes needed to make it law. Legislative counsel is employed through a contract the Legislature has for legal services under the County Attorney’s Office. While the Legislature has typically had its own outside counsel, that contract was not renewed in 2024. At that time

The Putnam County Conservative Party recently held its annual meeting and candidate interviews, and afterward announced its slate of endorsed candidates for the November elections. Endorsed for re-election are Putnam County Clerk Michael Bartolotti, County Coroners Dr. Michael Nesheiwat and John Bourges, Congressman Mike Lawler in the 17 th District, State Sen. Rob Rolison in the 39 th District, and Assemblyman Matt Slater in the 94 th District. New candidates endorsed inc

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne delivers his State of the County address March 2 at the Joe Palumbo Soccer Academy in Putnam Valley. Photo by Chloe Wareham-Gordon. By Holly Crocco A more affordable, accountable, and accessible county government that serves every resident was lauded by Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne during his State of the County address March 2 at the Joe Palumbo Soccer Academy in Putnam Valley. “From day one of this administration, we committed ours

Democrat Brett Yarris kicks off his campaign for Putnam County executive on March 1 at The Garrison. By Holly Crocco From the podium at the front of a 200-plus crowd March 1 at The Garrison on Route 9, the Democratic-endorsed candidate for Putnam’s top seat rallied the troops, saying: “My name is Brett Yarris, and today I am officially announcing by candidacy for Putnam County executive.” Yarris has earned the endorsement of not only every town Democratic committee, but every

Kathy Kahng Kathy Kahng recently announced her campaign for Putnam County legislator in District Three, which represents the Town of Kent and part of the Town of Patterson. The longtime community advocate has received strong backing from local Democrats, being unanimously endorsed by the Kent Democratic Committee and receiving the endorsement of the Patterson Democratic Committee. “I am honored by the support of the Kent and Patterson Democratic committees,” said Kahng. “Dist

Bill Gouldman Putnam County Legislator Bill Gouldman last week announced his candidacy for Putnam Valley town supervisor, pledging to bring his record of fiscal responsibility, community service, and environmental stewardship to Town Hall. Gouldman, a longtime Putnam Valley resident, small business owner, and current chairman of the Putnam Valley Republican Committee, said his campaign will focus on protecting the character of the town while addressing the infrastructure and

Alex Sewell and his family. Alex Sewell is again running for Kent town supervisor, following a tight race for the position in 2025. Although an election for the seat was held in November, another will be held this year due to changes to state election law, as the state wants towns and villages to have two- or four-year election cycles, instead of three years, with no more local elections on odd years. Endorsed by both the Kent Democratic Committee and the Westchester-Putnam W

Local activists packed the Philipstown Town Hall for the Town Board’s Feb. 5 meeting to discuss proposed updates to the town’s “equal protection resolution.” The town originally adopted a version of the resolution in April 2017, but with the recent civil unrest throughout the country and Immigrations & Customs Enforcement officers making arrests, a local citizens group called Joining Forces has submitted a stronger 2026 version of the resolution to the Town Board for adoption

Southeast Town Supervisor Nick Durante By Holly Crocco During an emotional testimony at the Jan. 22 Southeast Town Board meeting, Supervisor Nick Durante informed the public that he will be resigning from his post. “After many long and thoughtful conversations, along with a great deal of personal reflection, I’ve decided to step down and resign from my position as town supervisor,” he announced. “I’ll remain on for as long as needed to help my replacement move forward.” While