Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson
Election information:
Registered Cornwall-on-Hudson voters can cast a ballot in the village election on Tuesday, March 21. Voting will take place between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the Edward C. Moulton, Jr. Board Room, Village Hall, 325 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson. To be decided is the mayor of the village, and the election of two trustees.
Brendan Coyne
Brendan Coyne is a 33-year resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson. He has worked in the journalism/public relations field and held a state government position for 10 years. Coyne is a member of the Cornwall Lions Club, the Cornwall Independence Day Committee, and the Cornwall Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service Committee. He served on the Cornwall Board of Education for nine years, was mayor for 10 years, and coached Cornwall recreation soccer.
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: I’m running for mayor to serve residents, to continue some efforts, such as reaching the goals of Donahue Farm, including community gardening, and to take on new ones, such as installing an electric vehicle charging station.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: My experience as mayor for 10 years, especially as the village clerk retires, and a legacy of service and accomplishments, in and out of government. A strong sense of community. An even temperament. A sense of humor. Respect for all. Civility, collaboration, and consensus building.
Excellent writing and speaking skills. Contacts throughout the village, Cornwall, Orange County, and New York State.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your next term?
A: Explore creating a village manager to make the village run more efficiently; to ensure continuity as administrations change; and to lighten the workload of the village clerk, and board members to make service more attractive. Promote the village as the birthplace of the Modern Environmental Movement considering its victory over ConEd in the Battle for Storm King Mountain. Review train safety with CZX and first responders following the recent Ohio derailment disaster. Many other goals.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the village should do with its half of the NY Forward grant?
A: Among the areas to consider for the NY Forward grant are infrastructure repairs, and parks and trails enhancement.
James Gagliano
James Gagliano is a 23-year resident of the village. His parents moved to Payson Road when he was two and relocated to Atlanta four years later. In 2004, Gagliano returned and set roots in the village. As a West Point graduate and Army officer, Gagliano served the FBI in investigative, undercover, diplomatic, and tactical positions. He participated in numerous overseas deployments, assignments (Afghanistan, Global War on Teorrorism), SWAT team leader, and member of elite Hostage Rescue Team. Gagliano led the FBI’s three-county Hudson Valley office and served as Legal Attaché in México City. Earning his Master’s Degree from St. John’s University, Gagliano has been an adjunct professor and Homeland Security doctoral candidate, as well as a CBS News Security and Law Enforcement Analyst.
Gagliano served one term as trustee before being elected mayor two years ago. He is a member of the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI (SFSAFBI), the Hostage Rescue Team Association (HRTA), and currently serves on the board of directors of Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF).
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: Service to country and community. After retirement and a decade in Newburgh (Boys & Girls Club) coaching, mentoring young men, I decided in 2019 to become more engaged in my own community, where Tiffany and I are raising a blended family. Leading the village operationally and on policy matters is a humbling, satisfying calling. Accountability to neighbors and friends is a blessing and an awesome responsibility; something for which my parents, faith, West Point, Army, coaching, and FBI prepared me well.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: First and foremost, leadership. The mayoral position demands it. Leadership isn’t dictatorial or autocratic. It requires a tricky blend of accountability, collaboration, persuasion, respecting others’ viewpoints, and building coalitions without abandoning our own core values. Communication is essential in securing consensus on modern “battlefield of ideas.” Humility. Win, lose, or draw, this is my final campaign. I’m a term limit adherent. As de Gaulle famously quipped: “The cemeteries are full of indispensable men (and women).”
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your next term?
A: Finish the job! I’m wholly privileged to have been entrusted by the voters for one two-year term. The current board has accomplished some incredible things. Another term would allow us to complete/improve my oft-stated priorities – the three P’s – public safety (police, fire, EMS), pipes (crumbling infrastructure), and potholes (aesthetics, sidewalks, village appearance, and quality of life). I commit to hold line on tax increases and smartly leverage the village’s sound fiscal footing.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the village should do with its half of the NY Forward grant?
A: In some small measure, the state recognized the healthy, bipartisan working relationship between the town supervisor and myself. Winning the historic $4.5 million award to “enliven and reinvigorate” is a credit to the assembled team. Real work begins now. We will be hyper-focused on NYS guidance: “transformative, catalytic, ready-to-go projects.” We will include central business district improvements, art, green spaces, public parks, and walkability projects to connect village businesses with the waterfront and Donahue Farm property.
William Braine
William Braine is a 17-year resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson. He was elected in 2021 and nearing the end of his first term on the Board of Trustees. He’s worked as director at Mastercard, for the last 16 years, in the marketing department. He helps publicize the company’s environmental sustainability initiatives and products. Braine is also a writer, previously as a running columnist for the “Times Herald-Record” and a freelancer for “Runner’s World,” as well as small websites and weekly newspapers. His novel, “Bone Hollow,” was published in 2015. Before Mastercard, Braine worked at Sotheby’s auction house and SUNY Old Westbury. Braine is active in the Town of Cornwall Democratic Committee and a member of the Greater Cornwall Chamber of Commerce. He previously chaired the Town of Cornwall Economic Advisory Committee and served on the Board of the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum. His family volunteers for the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, and the annual Riverkeeper Sweep.
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: Pete Seeger once said, “The most important thing you could ever do is find a place and dig in.” Serving the public as a trustee is one way I do that. Cornwall-on-Hudson is the best place I could imagine to raise our kids, a place worth preserving and improving, and I hope to do my part. I’m also a nerd about water systems, public infrastructure, planning, conservation, and public health. And I like people.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: When I was lucky enough to be elected, I swore the oath of office, and I also promised to 1) show up, 2) work hard, and 3) do my best. I think I’ve lived up to that promise. Whatever professional skills I bring, such as communications, researching, planning, graphic design, and organization—plus curiosity and dedication to civil conduct—it’s still those three things that matter most.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your next term?
A: I’m exploring, with the rest of the board, the town, and with Cornwall EMS, hiring a social worker in a pilot to help residents with evaluation and referral to resources for some of the issues that continue to challenge families after Covid. We can also advance our Climate Smart Community goals, integrate Donahue Farm into a managed tourism effort, keep the village on its current fiscal footing, and help implement the 2021 Comprehensive Plan.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the village should do with its half of the NY Forward grant?
A: As one of the authors of the Cornwall Rising proposal, an ingredient in the grant application, I applaud the village and town for their tremendous work. The application noted we can be even more “walkable”—by integrating Donahue Farm, Donahue Park, Dock Hill Road, and the Palisades Park Commission land off Bayview Avenue into an accessible trail network, connected to the Main and Hudson business districts via shaded rest areas, trash receptacles, plantings, and crosswalks.
David Carnright
David Carnright is a lifelong resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson. He retired from Central Hudson in 2017 as a chief gas mechanic, spending 31 years in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Carnright has been a trustee since 2012 and has served on the Fourth of July Committee, the Cornwall Little League Board, and the board for Cornwall Youth Football.
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: I am seeking my sixth term on the Village Board to continue my service to the village. We have projects slated to be completed in the next two years. Such projects include Donahue Farm, water infrastructure repairs, the repaving of Rt. 218, and the construction of a pavilion at the riverfront.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: I believe I am well qualified to serve as trustee having been on the Village Board since 2012. I served for nine years on the Cornwall School Board, and have been on the Cornwall Little League board for 30 years, the Cornwall 4th July Committee for 25 years, and current president and 30-year board member of Cornwall Youth Football.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your next term?
A: If I am elected to another term we will be continuing work on infrastructure improvements in water, roads, and sidewalks. We hope to continue Donahue Farm property improvements, as well as formulating best usage ideas from residents. We hope to continue tree replacement in the village with help from Cornwall Conservation Advisory Committee.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the village should do with its half of the NY Forward grant?
A: The NY Forward grant achieved during this past year will involve a planning phase to seek residents’ input. As a board along with the mayor, we will seek a professional planner to best achieve set goals. This will be a collaborative effort with the town that shares the grant. There are many projects to be explored. Certainly Donahue Farm, a river pavilion, better walkways to the river, and overall village beatification are all possibilities.
