Merandy, Molloy to Square Off for Cold Spring Mayoral Seat
As five different candidates jump into the fray that is the Cold Spring election cycle, the only certainty known before the results roll in a month from now is, regardless of who wins what, the village board is set to be comprised of a completely different make-up of local lawmakers.
With the trio of current mayor Ralph Falloon and sitting trustees Bruce Campbell and Stephanie Hawkins all deciding not to seek reelection, village voters will decide between two mayoral candidates and three trustee candidates running for two seats, marking a new chapter in a village government that represents roughly 2,000 residents.
Headlining the campaign season are mayoral candidates Town of Philipstown board member Dave Merandy and village planning board chairman Barney Molloy. Though rather silent now, it seems it’ll only take a matter of time before the race reaches a boiling point of contention with both having starkly different viewpoints on how to run the village.
In interviews, both Merandy and Malloy have each alleged that the other candidate has a conflict of interest leading up to the March 18 election, with Molloy even suggesting Merandy should resign from his current elected position in Philipstown.
The three residents running for two open trustee positions are Marie Early, who is running with Merandy, Robert Ferris, who is running with Molloy, and Fran Murphy who isn’t running with anyone.
Merandy, who was born and raised in the village, said he has longtime ties to Cold Spring and with his past experience on the Haldane school board and Philipstown town board, he believes he’s capable of taking on more of a leadership position.
After moving about three miles out of the village once he graduated high school, Merandy is once again a village resident. Issues he said facing the village include an array of capital improvements, such as the sewers and dams, as well as the village firehouse.
While Merandy has roots dating back to his childhood in the village, Molloy has lived in Cold Spring for only three years, but that hasn’t stopped him from immediately immersing himself in civic activities.
Most notably, Molloy has been the chairman of the planning board as it continues to navigate its way through the Butterfield
project, which has been a hot topic on the west side of Putnam County long before he arrived. Before moving to Cold Spring, he lived in northern Westchester, participating in governmental and non-profit efforts for 25 years.
Issues for Molloy include protecting the boat club going forward and finding a way to fund upgrades to the village firehouse. He believes he has the experience needed to smoothly run village operations.
“You have to look to a candidate who has management experience, who has skills, who has worked in a myriad of different roles,” Molloy said. “
Though the race is in the early stages, the two experienced politicos aren’t shy about lobbying shots at each other.
Merandy said it strikes him as “odd” that no one has brought up that Molloy is currently in a relationship with current Cold Spring trustee Cathryn Fadde, who ran and won a village board seat, along with Michael Bowman, last year.
If Molloy is elected, Merandy firmly called that personal relationship between Molloy and Fadde a “conflict of interest.”
Molloy scoffed at Merandy’s assertion, noting there is nothing in state or municipal law that “even speaks to that” and then countered that Merandy is married to Hawkins, though she isn’t running for reelection. (Merandy said the two would never run for the same board since they tied the knot.)
He also said Merandy moved into the village just a couple weeks ago where Hawkins lives and if he is running for a Cold Spring seat, he should resign from his Philipstown town board seat.
“Realistically I hope he would have been a little bit more involved and little bit more present in the village than just recently as two weeks ago,” Molloy said.
But Merandy actually said he’s better educated on what faces the village and with years of public service under his belt in the area, he’d hit the ground running if elected.
“He’s been involved in some of the village stuff. He hasn’t been around that long.” Merandy said of Molloy. “I’m probably more aware of a lot of things.”
