Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne
By Dan Murphy
For a few years, we have been writing about the strange alliance between the Conservative Party and democratic candidates for office. In Westchester, the Conservatives have denied Eastchester Supervisor Tony Colavita the C line and have also supported democratic candidates for State Supreme Court.
We don’t see the logic in the Conservative Party endorsing Democratic candidates because of the vast differences between the two parties. Usually, it’s about politics, not ideology.
Now the same thing is happening in Putnam County, with Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne in a political feud with the Putnam Conservative Party.
Byrne is one of the most conservative elected officials in Westchester & Putnam. He has stood for conservative principles during his first term as Putnam County Executive; he cut taxes, spearheaded a law against migrants relocating to Putnam hotels, and before that, Byrne was a conservative Republican member of the Assembly.
Byrne’s conservative Bona fides are beyond question. So why is he running for reelection in November without the C line? Some republicans in Putnam are saying that it’s all about “dirty politics and corruption. People aren’t dumb, they know something is wrong here. What about Kevin is not conservative enough for the conservative party in Putnam?”
Before this story blew up, the Putnam Conservatives had nominated their Chair Bill Spain For County Executive. So Byrne wasn’t getting the line anyway, but the idea was that Spain was a placeholder who wouldn’t campaign and wouldn’t take many votes away from Byrne.
But a recent Executive Committee meeting of the Putnam Conservatives resulted in the ouster of Chairman Spain and unanimously endorsed Henry Lopez as the new Putnam Conservative Chair. Lopez is the campaign manager for Democrat Brett Yarris, who is challenging Byrne. Let me write that again: the Putnam County Conservative Chair is the campaign manager for the democratic candidate for County Executive.
At that meeting, the Putnam Conservatives endorsed Tatiana Ibrahim for County Executive. A registered Republican until a few weeks ago, Ibrahim switched parties to accept the Conservative Party nomination for County Executive.
Tatiana is a Facebook firebrand, whose posts are sometimes informative but, more than most, call out politicians she sees fit to do so.
But Tatiana has never run for office. Most believe the political thinking behind this move is that Tatiana will take enough votes from Byrne to give the election to Yarris.
After the Conservatives’ decision, Byrne stated, “From my very first time seeking public office, I made it clear that I would never be a rubber stamp for any political party or power structure. Some candidates can be bought. I am not for sale.
“I will never trade my principles, my record, or my commitment to Putnam County for political power. I will not ‘bend the knee’ in exchange for a party’s blessing—especially when that party has become so blatantly compromised by backroom politics and self-serving deals.
“The Conservative Party’s decision to remove its own Chairman, William Spain, from its line and replace him with a grossly unqualified candidate exposes exactly the kind of dirty political dealing New Yorkers are sick of. There were no new interviews, no transparent process, and no meaningful opportunity for principled conservative voters to have their voices heard.
“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.
“Questions about this maneuver go back months. Earlier this year, our County Attorney, Compton Spain, shared with me and members of my office that Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Colamonico had ‘offered’ him re-nomination as County Attorney if he assisted their endorsed candidate, Brett Yarris. At the time, we could hardly believe such an offer was serious. Obviously, we were wrong.
“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.
“Meanwhile, Henry Lopez, a member of the Conservative Party’s own Executive Committee, is actively running Brett Yarris’ Democratic campaign. These are also the same party officials who recently allowed liberal activist judges to run on their supposedly ‘conservative’ line.
“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.
“I would rather lose a political party line than sell out the taxpayers I represent or compromise the conservative, limited-government principles that have guided my administration: cutting taxes, reducing debt, supporting law enforcement, protecting individual liberty and making government more accountable.
“I didn’t run for County Executive to serve party bosses. I ran to serve the people of Putnam County. They—not political insiders or backroom dealmakers—will decide who their next County Executive is.
“I’m proud to be running on the Republican and Libertarian lines this November. True conservatives can vote for me, Bruce Blakeman and others on Row B,” said Byrne.
The Putnam Conservative Party stated, “This decision was neither hurried nor made lightly,” wrote Secretary Theresa Votano in a statement on behalf of the committee. “After careful deliberation, the committee concluded that Tatiana, a registered Conservative who affirmatively sought our endorsement, best represents the principles and values of our party. We further believe that she can, and will, win this election.”
Tatiana Ibrahim, in an Aug. 13 post, issued a call for Putnam County to “wake up.”
“Does anyone else in Putnam County actually see what is going on with this county executive election?” she wrote. “On one side, we have Kevin Byrne, who lost the Conservative line and is now pursuing the Libertarian line. That raises a very simple question for me: What has actually been accomplished for Putnam County during his time in office?”
“Brett Yarris has expressed and participated in support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and that is something voters have every right to consider when deciding whether his political philosophy aligns with theirs,” she wrote.
“Are we going to support law enforcement and ICE and hold criminals accountable, or are we going to adopt policies that make it harder for police to do their jobs and easier for criminals to take advantage of the system?” she asked. “It was obvious when our imitation of the Declaration of Independence was vandalized, neither candidate fought for accountability.”
“If you are worried about splitting the vote, then maybe the answer isn’t telling voters who they’re supposed to vote for,” wrote Brahimi. “Maybe the answer is putting forward candidates who actually earn people’s votes.”
Conservatives usually get around 7% of the vote in Putnam County.
Editor’s Note: We have informed the NYS Conservative Party about the shenanigans in their own party in Westchester. We were told it is up to the local Conservative Party to make its own decisions.
That is too bad. For decades, Mike Long was Chairman of the NYS Conservative Party. Long was a true conservative who wouldn’t stand by while his party endorsed Democratic candidates.
This is akin to the republican candidate for ANY OFFICE getting the Working Families Party endorsement.
A majority of Putnam County voters have voted for President Trump three times now. Let’s hope voters won’t be fooled and will vote to reelect Kevin Byrne. We live on the Westchester-Putnam border and support the work that Byrne has done over the past 4 years.
Here’s our take: If Brahimi turns out to be an active and viable candidate, then she and Yarris will split the anti-Byrne vote.
If her campaign doesn’t pick up steam, Byrne will surely win a head-to-head matchup against Yarris, who Brahimi pointed out is too “Woke” for Putnam County.