Bipartisan Putnam Legislators Unite to Expose Corruption Among Colleagues
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Erin Lee Crowley, Bill Gouldman, Nancy Montgomery and Laura Russo
In an era when trust in government feels more fragile than ever, we, four members of the Putnam County Legislature – three Republicans and one Democrat – stand united to confront a disturbing truth: some within our ranks are failing the people they were elected to serve.
While we often differ on policy, we share an unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability and the respect every taxpayer deserves. Yet recent actions by certain legislators have shattered the public’s trust, exposing a pattern of misconduct and self-interest that demands immediate attention. It’s time to pull back the curtain on the dysfunction eroding the integrity of our legislature.
First, Chairwoman Amy Sayegh’s decision to exclude certain legislators from committee appointments reeks of the petty clique politics that have plagued this body for too long. Every legislator is elected to represent roughly the same number of constituents across Putnam County, and denying them committee roles diminishes the voices of those voters. This is governance by exclusion, not collaboration. Chairwoman Sayegh must do better.
Then there’s Vice Chairman Greg Ellner, who has taken an even darker turn by threatening to sue a constituent for daring to criticize his voting record. This blatant attempt to silence legitimate public criticism is not just shocking, it’s unacceptable. The public has every right to hold us accountable, and Ellner’s actions reflect a hostility toward transparency and open discourse.
Ellner’s hypocrisy doesn’t end there. He campaigned against pay raises for politicians, but once elected, he voted in favor of them. In 2023, when the legislature approved raises, two of us who were serving at the time stood firm and voted no. When Republican County Executive Kevin Byrne vetoed those raises, Ellner was the deciding vote to override Byrne’s veto.
Public service is not a means for self-service, yet Ellner’s actions suggest otherwise. Now, instead of owning up to this broken promise, he’s attacking a constituent for calling him out.
This pattern of self-serving behavior extends beyond Ellner. For years, some legislators actively blocked efforts to live-stream public meetings, despite repeated calls from us and the public. It took relentless advocacy – four years of proposals by Legislator Montgomery and 20 months of pressure from County Executive Byrne – before even partial live-streaming was adopted.
Still, the legislature drags its feet on full transparency. If live-streaming had been implemented earlier, the public might have uncovered secretive dealings sooner –like a sitting legislator attempting to sell a county-owned property below market rate to a family member, over $400,000 in federal grant money squandered on a bar at the golf course or a family member of another former legislator living rent-free at Tilly Foster Farm. These examples highlight why transparency isn’t just a buzzword, it’s essential to rooting out corruption.
Chairwoman Sayegh must immediately implement full live-streaming of all public meetings – or explain why she won’t. If Putnam taxpayers were fully informed of this nonsense, they’d demand it stop. And we’re here to ensure it does.
Finally, earlier this month, a rushed and poorly conceived update to the legislative manual passed by just one vote. Among other changes, it now requires individuals speaking before the legislature to swear an oath before offering comments. This rule, championed by recently returned Legislator Dan Birmingham, is nothing more than an intimidation tactic designed to stifle public criticism. We believe it’s unconstitutional, and when we raised these concerns at the Jan. 7 meeting, we were dismissed outright – further proof of the disdain some legislators have for differing perspectives, even from their colleagues.
This new rule only compounds an existing, deeply flawed policy: the public is allowed to comment on issues before the legislature only after a vote has already been taken. It’s a rule we’ve tried to change because it effectively tells the public their input is irrelevant, and it defies common sense. Together, these policies reflect a disturbing disregard for transparency and disrespect the very constituents the legislature is supposed to represent.
These actions are not just isolated incidents; they represent a pattern of self-dealing and disregard for public accountability that has no place in Putnam County government. As legislators from both the Republican and Democratic parties, we call on our colleagues to abandon these divisive, undemocratic practices and instead prioritize transparency, accountability and respect for the people we serve. Anything less is a betrayal of the public trust.
The authors are four of the nine members of the Putnam County Legislature. Erin Lee Crowley of Carmel, Bill Gouldman of Putnam Valley, and Laura Russo of Patterson are Republicans, while Nancy Montgomery of Philipstown is a Democrat.
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