CORNWALL – Tiffany Gagliano’s chances at being elected as Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson trustee seemed to be in jeopardy when a Judge removed her from the ballot earlier this month for having insufficient signatures on her independent nominating petition.
However, Gagliano took her campaign to the streets with a write-in campaign and was elected to serve as a trustee on Wednesday. Gagliano is well-connected in Cornwall, and her husband, James, is the Village’s former Mayor. Still, it is often difficult to win as a write-in.
“The effort to keep me off the ballot was driven by a small group of party insiders, many who do not even live in the Village,” Gagliano said. “These same operatives attempted to move our Village election to November, absent conversation with the Village Board and community involvement. Because our community was paying attention and refused to be divided, voters rejected that initiative with a resounding no.”
Lori Beth Paliotta (632 votes) and Gagliano (566) won seats in the competitive race. Brian Mitchell had 508 votes, and Lisa Silverstone had 481. Gagliano was appointed as a trustee last year to fill the one-year unexpired term left by James Kane when he opted to run for mayor.
“This is what Cornwall-on-Hudson looks like when we stand together,” Gagliano added. “Republicans, Democrats, and independents walking the same streets, sharing the same schools, caring about the same riverfront. We don’t always agree — but we agree that our Village belongs to us, not to outside political forces with their own agenda.”
Gagliano had filed a lawsuit in Orange County Supreme Court against the Orange County Board of Elections (BOE), Village of Cornwall Clerk and Treasurer Meagan Gschwind, and Victoria Peebles, who objected to her petitions. In her suit, Gagliano requested that the court declare her petitions valid and keep her on the ballot for the Village election.
However, Supreme Court Justice Kyle McGovern ruled earlier this month that there was no basis to declare the objections to Gagliano’s nominating petition invalid, and she was taken off the ballot. Fusco said that Gagliano could have appealed the decision just two weeks ahead of the election but opted to run a write-in campaign.
“It is truly impressive that Tiffany was elected trustee as a write-in candidate after her name was removed from the ballot,” said Gagliano’s attorney, Adam Fusco. “The voters saw through the heavy-handed tactics Tiffany’s opponents resorted to. There were two victors here – Tiffany and democracy.”
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