18 October 2026
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On Sept. 30, at the Mahopac Public Library, The Putnam County Press & Times hosted a debate between the candidates for county executive: incumbent Kevin Byrne, who appears on the Republican line; Tatiana Brahimi, who appears on the Conservative line; and Brett Yarris, who appears on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
Kathy Meany, president of the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester County, moderated the 78-minute, livestreamed discussion. There was no in-person audience. This transcript was created by The Current and lightly edited for clarity and brevity. A video of the debate is below.
Meany: Let's go over just a few of the ground rules that were already reviewed with the candidates. It's for the benefit of the recording and also our [online] audience. The order of opening statements will be in alphabetical order. Being we have three candidates this evening, we have drawn lots to determine the order of answering questions, and we will rotate them accordingly. The order of closing statements will be in the reverse order of the opening statement. Comments of a personal, abusive or unruly nature will not be permitted from any of the candidates or the [online] audience and the moderator will rule this behavior out of order and stop the forum at that point.
Each candidate has up to two minutes for an opening statement. Candidates will then have a maximum of one-and-a-half minutes to answer each question. Each candidate will be allowed up to two rebuttals. Rebuttal time is 30 seconds, and there will be no responses to the rebuttals. The timekeeper will indicate when 30 seconds remain and will again show the stop sign when time is up. Candidates may finish their sentence but not go beyond the stop sign time.
Questions from the public were submitted prior to the forum by electronic form and have in some instances been combined with similar questions on the same topic. Once they were collected, the questions were vetted by the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester. Candidates did not receive the questions prior to the forum and no questions of a personal nature are permitted. The audience will not be able to submit questions or comments during the forum.
Candidates may not use text messaging, email, social media or any other form of electronic communication to or from others during the forum. So, do we see all the phones off the table? [laughter] Candidates may not be coached or receive messages via electronic communications or on paper. … Good luck to all of you, and we will begin in alphabetical order with Ms. Brahimi.
Brahimi: Hello, Putnam County. I'm standing before you today not as a career politician but as a mother, wife and proud resident of Kent, New York, who believes our community deserves a bold, unapologetic voice in government.
As the official and only nominee of the Putnam County Conservative Party, I'm running for county executive to bring common sense, solutions and accountability to our county. It's time for a leader who stands proudly for our values, and I am ready to fight for you.
Byrne: I want to thank the organizers. I want to thank everyone for tuning in to this important debate. It has been a tremendous honor to serve as your county executive the last nearly four years. I have called Putnam County home my entire life. I grew up here, was raised here, the son of a 45-plus-year career lineman at Con Edison and a respiratory therapist who worked many years at Putnam Hospital. My wife and I laid our roots here in Putnam County, raising our family in Mahopac. I have been proud to represent and serve Putnam County for nearly 10 years in elective service.
Before that, I worked as a crew chief on the ambulance for 15 years with three different agencies in combined service. I served as a regional director for the American Heart Association. I was a deputy district director to a member of Congress. I was a volunteer member of the Town of Putnam Valley Planning Board, and I worked for ...
Kathy Meany, president of the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester County, moderated the 78-minute, livestreamed discussion. There was no in-person audience. This transcript was created by The Current and lightly edited for clarity and brevity. A video of the debate is below.
Meany: Let's go over just a few of the ground rules that were already reviewed with the candidates. It's for the benefit of the recording and also our [online] audience. The order of opening statements will be in alphabetical order. Being we have three candidates this evening, we have drawn lots to determine the order of answering questions, and we will rotate them accordingly. The order of closing statements will be in the reverse order of the opening statement. Comments of a personal, abusive or unruly nature will not be permitted from any of the candidates or the [online] audience and the moderator will rule this behavior out of order and stop the forum at that point.
Each candidate has up to two minutes for an opening statement. Candidates will then have a maximum of one-and-a-half minutes to answer each question. Each candidate will be allowed up to two rebuttals. Rebuttal time is 30 seconds, and there will be no responses to the rebuttals. The timekeeper will indicate when 30 seconds remain and will again show the stop sign when time is up. Candidates may finish their sentence but not go beyond the stop sign time.
Questions from the public were submitted prior to the forum by electronic form and have in some instances been combined with similar questions on the same topic. Once they were collected, the questions were vetted by the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester. Candidates did not receive the questions prior to the forum and no questions of a personal nature are permitted. The audience will not be able to submit questions or comments during the forum.
Candidates may not use text messaging, email, social media or any other form of electronic communication to or from others during the forum. So, do we see all the phones off the table? [laughter] Candidates may not be coached or receive messages via electronic communications or on paper. … Good luck to all of you, and we will begin in alphabetical order with Ms. Brahimi.
Brahimi: Hello, Putnam County. I'm standing before you today not as a career politician but as a mother, wife and proud resident of Kent, New York, who believes our community deserves a bold, unapologetic voice in government.
As the official and only nominee of the Putnam County Conservative Party, I'm running for county executive to bring common sense, solutions and accountability to our county. It's time for a leader who stands proudly for our values, and I am ready to fight for you.
Byrne: I want to thank the organizers. I want to thank everyone for tuning in to this important debate. It has been a tremendous honor to serve as your county executive the last nearly four years. I have called Putnam County home my entire life. I grew up here, was raised here, the son of a 45-plus-year career lineman at Con Edison and a respiratory therapist who worked many years at Putnam Hospital. My wife and I laid our roots here in Putnam County, raising our family in Mahopac. I have been proud to represent and serve Putnam County for nearly 10 years in elective service.
Before that, I worked as a crew chief on the ambulance for 15 years with three different agencies in combined service. I served as a regional director for the American Heart Association. I was a deputy district director to a member of Congress. I was a volunteer member of the Town of Putnam Valley Planning Board, and I worked for ...