It’s nearly election time
The general election will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 2. To vote, you must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, registered with the Board of Elections and a resident of your present address for at least 30 days before the election.
In our Oct. 15, 22 and 29 issues, The Current will provide information about the candidates in Cold Spring, Philipstown, Beacon, Putnam and Dutchess.
On Wednesday (Oct. 13), we have scheduled an online forum at 7 p.m. with the two Cold Spring mayoral candidates, Kathleen Foley and Vinny Tamagna. Register at bit.ly/hc-mayor. The video will be posted online and a transcription edited for brevity will appear in the Oct. 15 issue.
We are trying to organize an online forum for the following week with candidates for the Philipstown Town Board: Jason Angell confirmed; Megan Cotter has not responded; and Sarina Tamagna and Neal Tomann declined, saying they had scheduling conflicts for the date we suggested (Oct. 20).
We also are trying to organize an online forum for the week of Oct. 24 with candidates for the Cold Spring Village Board. One forum will be with Yaslyn Daniels and Tweeps Phillips Woods, who are running to complete an unfinished term and have both confirmed. The second would be with Cathryn Fadde, Jeff Phillips and Eliza Starbuck, who are competing for two seats. Starbuck has confirmed and Fadde and Phillips have not responded.
Other races
We had planned to host an online forum with Nancy Montgomery, a Democrat who is seeking a second term representing Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley on the Putnam County Legislature, and Barbara Scuccimarra, a Republican who lost to Montgomery in 2016 and hopes to regain the seat. Montgomery agreed to a face-to-face discussion but Scuccimarra declined.
Because our goal is to inform voters, we asked Scuccimarra if she would discuss her positions in an interview. She agreed, as did Montgomery. We will publish edited transcripts of these separate conversations in the Oct. 29 issue.
We also planned to host an online forum on Oct. 20 with the candidates for Putnam County sheriff — the incumbent, Robert Langley Jr., a Democrat, and the challenger, Kevin McConville, a Republican. Langley agreed but McConville said he had a scheduling conflict, so we are trying to find a date when both are available. If we cannot, we will attempt to interview each candidate separately.
In Beacon, there are competitive races for city judge, and, in Ward 4, a Dutchess County legislative seat. In these cases, we will submit the same questions to each set of candidates and publish their written responses.
How to register
The deadline is today (Oct. 8) to postmark an application to vote in the Nov. 2 election. Download the form at putnamboe.com. In Dutchess, see elections.dutchessny.gov. If you are not sure of your status, visit voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
How to vote by absentee
The deadline to request an application is Oct. 18; see absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov. The ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day. The last day to apply in person for a ballot at the boards of elections in Carmel (for Putnam) or Poughkeepsie (for Dutchess) is Nov. 1.
Early voting
Early voting will be available daily from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31. For Putnam, it will take place at the North Highlands Firehouse, 504 Fishkill Road, in Philipstown. For Dutchess, it will take place at Fishkill Town Hall, 807 Route 52.
