POUGHKEEPSIE – The members of the Dutchess County Legislature’s Budget, Finance, & Personnel Committee approved County Executive Sue Serino’s request to name her former deputy as the new Commissioner of Human Resources. Kashimer is slated to serve out the remainder of Commissioner Steve Rector’s six-year term, which expires on August 12, 2031. Rector has moved to the county’s Family Services as deputy commissioner.
On Thursday night, eight Republicans voted in favor of the appointment while three Democrats voted against the proposal. The fourth Democrat on the committee, Randy Johnson, was absent from the meeting.
Minority Leader Yvette Valdés Smith explained the unified Democratic vote to Mid-Hudson News, saying, “We believe this appointment requires further discussion and we are asking that questions be answered by the county executive.”
The questions posed by the Democrats go back to earlier this year when it was learned that Kashimer, who was Deputy County Executive at the time, had used her county email address to send more than 100 emails to individuals to solicit donations for the annual , a non-profit where Kashimer serves as a member of the board. The non-partisan event is typically attended by members of all major political parties.
The accusations came as Serino was preparing to finalize until January.
When the emails were brought to light through FOIL requests, Serino referred the matter to the Dutchess County Ethics Committee, which held a hearing on the matter in September. A source told Mid-Hudson News that another individual had filed a complaint with the ethics committee over Kashimer’s emails.
The Democrats want Serino to produce the results from the ethics committee probe into the matter before the appointment is voted on by the full legislature on Monday, December 8, 2025.
Kashimer has held a variety of positions within county government, where she began as a Budget Assistant in 2012 before moving to Research Analyst, Senior Research Analyst, Assistant County Executive – COVID Operations, Senior/Assistant County Executive, Deputy County Executive, and then Senior Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources.
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