Longtime assistant steps down
Matthew Covucci, the chief of staff to Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, has stepped down and will be succeeded by Dain Pascocello, most recently the chief of staff for state Sen. Rob Rolison.Â
Covucci served as Byrne’s chief of staff since 2017, when Byrne began the first of two terms in the state Assembly. Byrne was elected as county executive in 2022.
A 2003 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Pascocello also has been chief of staff for Rep. John Faso and director of communications for Orange County.Â
In other county news, Legislator Paul Jonke, who represents Southeast, does not plan to run for a fourth term in November, according to the Mid Hudson News, which cited a letter he sent to the chair of the Southeast Republican Committee.
This is great news for Putnam and for us here in the village. Dain is a consummate professional and has been an excellent colleague as part of Sen. Rolison’s staff. I look forward to working with him in his new capacity in the county executive’s office.
Foley is the Cold Spring mayor.