Lawsuit Filed Against Campaign

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 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 contributor. This means the most a single person or entity can contribute to a campaign for this office is $3,639.

According to the complaint, per Byrne’s filing, there were 10 contributors who donated amounts in violation of election law. (The current election cycle began in November 2022.)

The Taxpayer Action Network contributed a total of $4,150, Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux contributed $6,000, Paul Guillaro contributed $5,638, New York State Laborers Political Action contributed $7,132, Minuta Architecture PLLC contributed $4,500, Laborers Local 60 Pac Fund contributed $5,100, Ken Kearney contributed $6,500, Teamster Local Union No. 456 contributed $5,000, George Whipple contributed $7,805, and Elq Industries contributed $4.041.

Democratic candidate Brett Yarris first raised these concerns publicly and filed a formal complaint with the NYS Board of Elections earlier this year. The Sept. 17 filing brings the same question before a court.

However, Byrne’s Campaign Manager Alex Mathis said the petitioners don’t understand the law.

“It seems their recent decision to sue the New York State Board of Elections is itself an acknowledgment that their own interpretation of state campaign finance law is disputed,” he said. “To date, the Byrne for County Executive campaign has received no finding or notice of violation from the New York State Board of Elections alleging that the campaign accepted an excessive contribution.”

The complaint further alleges that as of Sept. 15, nearly two months after the primary election, the Byrne campaign’s online donation page continued to solicit contributions of up to $5,631 – nearly $2,000 above the lawful maximum. This sum includes limits that would be granted to a Republican primary candidate (Byrne had no primary) and a candidate with the Conservative Party endorsement (Tatiana Brahimi has that line).

“Months ago, I raised concerns about contributions reported by Kevin Byrne’s campaign and filed a formal complaint with the New York State Board of Elections,” said Yarris. “Today, this is no longer just an issue being raised by my campaign. Five Putnam County voters have come together across political lines and brought it to court. This was never about the donors. It is about whether campaign finance rules were followed. The rules must apply equally to everyone.”

The Byrne campaign said it is not getting caught up in accusations.

“Voters want to know what candidates are going to do for them if elected,” said Mathis. “Instead, Brett Yarris and his allies (including some bitter activists) continue to focus on political attacks, lawsuits, and complaints while repeatedly misrepresenting basic facts.”

He further said it was just last year that Yarris praised Byrne’s record.

“Byrne has the record, experience, and vision for Putnam’s future,” said Mathis. “Rather than offer a substantive alternative, Yarris and his political associates seem increasingly focused on filing complaints and lawsuits attacking the man whose accomplishments he praised just last year.”

The petitioners listed in the complaint are registered across the Libertarian, Conservative, Republican, and Democratic parties. They include Kathleen Valletta McMorrow, a Democrat who ran against Assemblyman Matt Slater in 2022; John Couzens Jr.; William O’Donnell, listed as vice chairman of the Westchester-Putnam Libertarian Party; Robert Cullen, a Republican who served on the Southeast Town Board from 2010 to 2018 and ran for town supervisor in 2023; and Stephanie Ellner, wife of former Republican Putnam County Legislator Greg Ellner, who served from 2022 to 2025.

The respondents listed in the complaint are Byrne, and Azalea Dominguez, his campaign treasurer.

The petition asks the court to declare that the contribution limits were violated, to bar the committee from accepting or soliciting further contributions above $3,639, and to order the donation page corrected. It does not ask for refunds or penalties.