Town Supervisor Candidates
With early voting starting one month from today, it's time to start thinking about this fall's local election. Two candidates are competing for the right to oversee the Town of Putnam Valley: Incumbent Jacqueline Annabi and Lake Peekskill entrepreneur Alison Jolicoeur.
They present voters with two very different options. Annabi, 55, is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, betting that her track record getting things done as the town's Supervisor and longtime board member will get her re-elected. Jolicoeur, 47, is running on the Democrat and Working Together lines, making the case that it's time for a change and that she will bring fresh thinking and a more collaborative approach to the role.
Whoever wins, they will likely only have the job for a year. That's because New York State wants to sync up local elections with the timing of state and federal elections in order to encourage more voter turnout. Unless that decision is reversed by the courts, voters will get a chance to reconsider their choice for supervisor in the fall of 2026.
If Jolicoeur wins, she says she will concentrate on streamlining and updating building and zoning processes at Town Hall and creating more ways for residents to engage directly with their local government. She wants homeowners to be able to submit applications online, for instance. "This is 2025!", she notes. She also wants residents to sit on independent oversight committees and wouldn't limit public comments to three minutes at the end of Town Board meetings, as is the current practice.
Jolicoeur is known locally for having founded Second Chance Foods, a nonprofit that links surplus food from stores, farms and restaurants to those who are in need. She grew up in central Massachusetts, briefly studied at SUNY Purchase, and moved to Lake Peekskill in 2007 where she now lives with her 15-year old daughter. A holistic health coach whose business is based in Fishkill, she has long been interested in environmental issues and would seek ways to launch a food scrap recycling program and an Open Space Inventory project, initiatives that the current Town Board has not yet supported. She has also been studying ways that innovative technology can support alternatives to traditional septic systems to help address the town's infrastructure limitations. If elected, she commits to working full-time as Town Supervisor.
Both candidates want to find ways to attract more business to Putnam Valley. Annabi launched the Neighborhood Business Committee earlier this year and that group is proposing changes to zoning laws that would enable more mixed-use districts. Jolicoeur thinks more could be done to leverage the natural assets of the area by promoting hiking and biking trails and linking them to a regional economic development plan.
Annabi says she is already leveraging her relationships to regional public officials, most of whom are also Republicans. In addition to the recently approved shared sales tax initiative, she cited what she says is the state's first county-wide agreement to share highway and other equipment. Instead of having to rent equipment to address emergencies that arise with roads and bridges, the county and its nine villages and towns can now borrow from each other without endless delays and paperwork. "This will save us hundreds of thousands of dollars," Annabi says.
Annabi has also made a big push this year to address residents' concerns about affordability. For the first time in ten years, no increase in property tax assessments is slated for next year and residents in many of the town's districts will also see no district tax increase next year. She has also found a way to start building an outdoor fitness center in Town Park without requiring any increase in taxes.
Both candidates take a centrist position on ICE, saying they don't want to see ICE agents arresting undocumented residents with no criminal records who have been working, paying taxes and raising families peacefully in the area for years.
The November election is likely to be a referendum on the power of incumbency vs. the appetite for change. That theme also played out in the Republican primary in June, when Annabi won by only 47 votes out of the 564 cast in her race against another newcomer to the political scene.
Jolicoeur says she chose to run for Town Supervisor rather than Town Board because, "I'm a fast learner and I don't think we have time for gradual change." To raise her visibility, she is hosting a non-partisan community potluck with open mic on October 25th at the Grange to encourage more civic participation. Annabi says she has no events planned and that her campaign consists of "doing my job", which ensures that she is attending meetings and public events almost every day. There is currently only one public event planned where voters can evaluate the two candidates side by side. The Lake Peekskill Civic Association is hosting a "Meet the Candidates" night at 7pm on October 20th.
The last day to register to vote is October 25th. Information about how to register is available here. Voters with two residences, regardless of which they consider their primary home, have the option of deciding where to cast their vote. More information on that process can be found here.
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