Election is scheduled to take place on March 19
As Monday night’s Village Board work session came to a close, Mayor James Gagliano polled the trustees inquiring what the over/under would be for the number of voters who will turn out for Tuesday’s election. Deputy Mayor James Kane and Trustee Lori Beth Paliotta are running uncontested for two open seats. The last contested race was three years ago.
Kane is seeking his eighth two-year term while Paliotta is running for her first full term. She was asked to serve the remainder of Richard Gaillard’s term and has been sitting on the board since September.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 19 in the Edward C. Moulton, Jr. Board Room.
James P. Kane
Kane has lived in Cornwall-on-Hudson with his family for over 22 years since moving in the fall of 2001. He was first elected as trustee in 2010 and has served as deputy mayor the last five years. Kane currently works for the New York Power Authority as an Energy Market Advisor and is also an attorney having served in various positions in government including as a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Senior Counsel with MTA Inspector General’s Office, as well as a partner in his private practice firm for over 15 years. On the military side, Kane served 28 years in the U.S. Army Reserve spending half of his career in the Military Police Corps and the remainder in the Judge Advocate General Corps with one deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Kane is a current member of American Legion Post 353.
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: I am running for re-election to continue the dedicated diligent approach to village finances started over a decade ago which has assisted in placing us on a very fiscally sound footing (reducing $12M in long/short term debt to about $2M). The Village Board should continue our focus on water system infrastructure improvements, sidewalks, and roadways, improvements to Donahue Farm and the waterfront, and tackle updating our water rates within and outside the confines of the village.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: As related in the past, my vast professional experience in private practice, local and New York State governments along with my military experience, diligence, and balanced approach to addressing village issues makes me a strong candidate to continue to represent residents. I purposefully address matters in a collaborative manner concentrating on balancing residents’ positions with the legal and financial consequences, in search of the most practical, common-sense solution. Such an approach has served me well since first elected in 2010.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
A: To maximize the reach of the soon to be awarded NY Forward grant funded projects which should highlight the attractiveness of both the village and town and enhance the reasons why the village is such a special place to live, visit, and operate a business. Moreover, to further foster and expand the beneficial collaborative efforts between the village and town initiated under Mayor Gagliano and Supervisor Wojehowski which have garnered positive results such as the NY Forward grant and the excellent emergency medical services provided by New Windsor EMS.
Lori Beth Paliotta
Paliotta was born and raised in the Town of Cornwall with her parents buying her childhood home in 1971. She attended elementary school, middle school, and high school in the Cornwall School District. In 2011, she and her husband purchased a home in Cornwall-on-Hudson.
After high school, Paliotta’s educational journey entailed pursuing a degree in early childhood development/psychiatry while working in childcare for many years. Ultimately, children and family life altered that path and as a result, she has had the great fortune and opportunity, over the last 18 years, to focus on her family, community, caretaking of family members, and raising five children. In the past, she has worked in accounts payables, accounts receivables, project management, and office manager of a psychiatry office, but her passion and continued quest is in the field of understanding and addressing mental health challenges.
Paliotta is the current PTO president of Cornwall-on-Hudson Elementary School, COH Drama Co-Producer, and has been a Girls on the Run Coach for over 10 years earning the 2022 Remarkable Volunteer Award. She’s a member of the Cornwall Youth Committee, the Cornwall Community Coalition, and past Cub Scout den leader and passionate mental health care advocate.
Q: Why are you running for a seat on the board?
A: In this time in my life, I have been blessed with the ability to give back to this beautiful community that I love which helped raise me as well as helping to raise my children. I find myself in a unique position as someone with five children who can facilitate shared opinions for the community. Every community has its own needs, and my current activities place me in a position to gauge community concerns, desires, and build consensus. I have and will continue my approach of addressing village concerns with the Village Board with the honesty, hard work, and transparency that I have adhered to in the various community organizations in which I volunteer.
Q: What qualifications would you say make you a good candidate to represent the village residents?
A: I appreciate all points of view, especially those that differ from mine. I feel that if I am not learning and seeking new perspectives then I am doing myself and the community a disservice. I pride myself on working with others and one rewarding aspect of being a Village Trustee is the understanding and appreciation of how residents’ concerns are addressed. In the end, I approach each issue with the same questions that most residents have … what is the cost, the impact on living here in the village, and is it beneficial to our community in the long term?
Q: What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
A: I will continue using my familiarity and knowledge of the needs of our local schools, children, parents, and community to aid in the decisions made by our Village Board. One of my goals is to foster better communication with our school district and look for ways to assist each other and our residents together to maximize the reach of our tax dollar. While I am proud of being a part of events such as the Cornwall Youth Committee’s Jr. New Years Eve Ball Drop, being on the Village Board I now appreciate having a more in-depth understanding of the municipal support needed to make events like these possible. It is in areas such as this that I am confident I can contribute to the success of such events while highlighting the appeal of our wonderful village.
