CARMEL – Election Day is 87 days away, and in Putnam County residents should expect barbs flying regularly in the county executive’s race.
Over the weekend, the county’s Conservative Party nominated right-wing firebrand Tatiana Brahimi for Putnam’s top elected position over incumbent Kevin Byrne, who ran four years ago uncontested with Republican and Conservative backing.
The third person in the race is Democrat Brett Yarris.
Now, the chairwoman of the Putnam Democrats, Jennifer Colamonico, has accused Byrne of making a false accusation that she made a promise to retain the current county attorney, Compton Spain, should the Conservatives endorse Yarris.
“This is completely untrue. Either someone fed him incorrect information, or he is grasping at straws to rationalize this shocking development,” Colamonico said.
The chairwoman added that she never met Spain nor “had any conversation about any future role in a Yarris administration. It would be in Democrats’ best interest for Brett Yarris to have a fresh and open process of staffing county government, bringing in new people who are qualified, innovative, and serve the best interests of Putnam County residents.”
Byrne fired back, saying, “This appears to be the latest effort to split the conservative vote and ultimately help surrender Putnam County to the same radical political forces that have seized control of New York City.”
Byrne alleged that “questions about this maneuver go back months. Earlier this year, our county attorney shared with members of my office and me that Ms. Colamonico had ‘offered’ him re-nomination as county attorney if he assisted their endorsed candidate. At the time, we could hardly believe such an offer was serious. Obviously, we were wrong.”
The incumbent said, “Now the Conservative Party has replaced its original candidate with Ms. Ibrahim, who is wholly unqualified to serve as County Executive. Her erratic conduct and rhetoric are well documented and should concern anyone who expects serious, stable and responsible leadership.”
Byrne added, “At some point, you have to call this what it is. The leadership of the Putnam County Conservative Party has been completely compromised by a political class working to advance a big government Democratic candidate for county executive. It reeks of another backroom political deal.”
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