Election Season is Heating Up
The signs are unmistakable. The local Republican Party, whose candidates lost their supervisor and town board positions last November by 23 and 31 votes respectively, are pulling out all the stops to move Putnam Valley back into the R column this November.
With Congressman Mike Lawler battling headwinds stemming from his support of President Donald Trump and Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne facing a well organized opponent without the benefit of Conservative or Libertarian endorsements, voter turnout in Putnam Valley this November is considered key to determining whether Republican control of the region is maintained or overturned. For Putnam Valley Republicans, that means trying to build support for William Gouldman, the Republican candidate for Town Supervisor, and for Christian Russo, the Republican running for a county legislative seat.
The intense GOP effort to reclaim Putnam Valley became obvious in late June in the battle over which candidate for town supervisor would secure the local Conservative Party's endorsement. (Candidates with more than one line on the ballot have a strong advantage.) In an unusual intervention in a local race not involving the GOP, Congressman Lawler texted this message to Conservative members:
Lawler's text continued: "Your Republican County Legislator Bill Gouldman is running for Town Supervisor, and he needs you to show up at the Conservative Party caucus to stop them. Bill's a conservative fighter, and he has my complete endorsement."
At the caucus, Gouldman told the group that current Democratic Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur was only working part-time, 20 hours a week, and offered himself as a full-time alternative. In fact, Jolicouer had filed monthly state paperwork indicating she works 20 days a month, not 20 hours a week. When confronted afterward about the discrepancy, Gouldman apologized and said he was only repeating what he had been told. While these machinations might not have made a difference, the Republican Party was clearly leaving nothing to chance. Gouldman won the Conservatives' endorsement.
Gouldman sprang into action again on July 5th after the town was hit by a fierce thunderstorm. When NYSEG recognized that 231 homes in Putnam Valley would be without power for up to several days, the utility offered dry ice to the town's affected homeowners. Highway Superintendent Shawn Keeler went to pick up the dry ice and found Gouldman and Republican stalwart Bill Bujarski filling out the paperwork with the intention of distributing the dry ice at the German-American Social Club, a popular Republican watering hole nearly three miles from the affected homes. After clarifying to NYSEG officials that he was the rightful town representative, Keeler brought the dry ice to the Lake Peekskill Community Center, the nearest location to the outages. (Gouldman did not respond to requests for an interview.)
Perhaps the most pronounced display of political fervor occurred in late July when County Executive Byrne surprised officials at Putnam Valley's Town Hall with his decision to hold a press conference at Oregon Corners the morning of July 30th. Press conferences in Putnam Valley are rare events and usually indicate breaking news and urgency. The headline of the press release disseminated on July 29th read "Byrne to Announce Expansion of Putnam On-Demand Transit Service".
Whether intentional or not, the press conference was scheduled for a day when Gouldman's opponent, Supervisor Jolicoeur, was supposed to be out of town. Deputy Supervisor Sherry Howard, a Democrat, was available to participate as an alternative but she was not listed in the press release. The only Putnam Valley official listed as a speaker at the event was Russo, the Republican Town Board member running for county legislature. Had Jacqueline Annabi, the former Republican Town Supervisor still been in office (she is now Byrne's chief of staff), it's unlikely that would have been the line-up.
As luck would have it, torrential rain and flooding the day before the scheduled press conference drew Jolicoeur back early from her vacation. With some roads and bridges submerged, she declared a State of Emergency. In the early hours of July 30th, Byrne's communications director announced that the press conference was being moved out of Putnam Valley to the senior center in Philipstown. As for the big news, Byrne cited the completion of a transit study, said he was including a proposal in his executive budget to expand the county's on-demand service, and hoped legislators would support it. Jolicoeur ended up attending the event and speaking as did Russo and Gouldman. They all made it into the photo op.
Some wondered if Jolicoeur had declared a state of emergency in an effort to thwart Byrne's press conference. However, Byrne, Republican State Assemblyman Matt Slater and Republican State Senator Rob Rolison all seemed to acknowledge the severity of the storm by visiting Putnam Valley the next day to discuss recovery efforts. Another photo op ensued.
Normally, shenanigans like these don't start occurring until we get closer to Election Day. And certainly neither party can lay exclusive claim to them. With Putnam Valley apparently now a "swing town", the next few months will determine if last November's results were a fluke or the start of a new, more lasting trend.
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