Sayegh Gets GOP Nod Over LoBue in Leg. 8 Race
In a move sure to shake up the district 8 legislative race, incumbent Legislator Dini LoBue was unable to secure the GOP nomination against challenger Amy Sayegh last week.
Sayegh nabbed the endorsement of committee members encompassed in district 8 over LoBue, who has been on the county legislature for three terms. The final tally was 14-10 in favor of Sayegh, according to Carmel GOP Committee chairman Tony Scannapieco.
Three years ago when LoBue and Sayegh faced off, LoBue got the county Republican Party’s support. But this time LoBue, who has clashed with Republican colleagues on the county Legislature, fell short.
LoBue, a Mahopac resident, didn’t hold back against the GOP committee members that voted against her to The Putnam Examiner. She also linked Sayegh to County Executive MaryEllen Odell, who backed Sayegh last time she ran. (There is no love lost between Odell and LoBue with LoBue knocking Odell because she said the county executive has pushed through high spending.)
“On Monday night, the Carmel GOP Committee attempted to extinguish the lone legislative voice of reason upholding accountability and transparency. By a carefully engineered scheme, some of the members of the committee connived and approved the nomination of Amy Sayegh, a known supporter of the Odell- binge spending club that over the past three years has engaged in a betrayal of authentic Republican principals of prudent fiscal policies,” LoBue said. “However, in a democracy, it is the public that has the final say and I look forward to a spirited campaign, which on Election Day will vindicate my efforts.
Sayegh, a Mahopac resident, said she told the GOP committee that she would be a strong voice for district 8 and an independent thinker with Republican values on the legislature. She said she believes residents should be free from government intervention and county government should be “smaller, smarter and more efficient.” She also noted to committee members she has experience as an auditor and has served the community for the past decade. Sayegh is the founder and director of Community Cares and on the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce board.
“As a lifelong Republican, to get the endorsement of my party, it’s very humbling and I am thankful to earn their confidence,” Sayegh said. “I look forward to going door-to-door over the next few months to meet with the voters in the district to discuss the issues that are important to them.”
Scannapieco, who didn’t have a vote because he doesn’t live in that district, said he’s spoken to LoBue in the past and advised her not to argue so bitterly with her fellow Republican lawmakers all the time, but it’s fallen on deaf ears.
“The committee people are fed up with her,” Scannapieco said. “I tried to talk to her over and over and over again.”
