Kevin Byrne (New York politician)

Byrne was born and raised in the Hudson Valley and attended Carmel High School before enrolling at the University of Scranton. As a high school student, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. At Scranton, Byrne participated in the Army ROTC program, but was unable to qualify for the Army physical because of a high school wrestling injury. Byrne completed the academic portion of the ROTC program coupled with an internship with then Congresswoman Sue Kelly.[4]

Following his graduation from the University of Scranton in 2007, Byrne returned to the Hudson Valley and served as a member of the Putnam Valley Planning Board and as a Firefighter/EMT with the Kent Volunteer Fire Department where he served three terms as the department’s president. He later served as Deputy District Director to Congresswoman Nan Hayworth and then as a Regional Director for the American Heart Association while finishing his M.P.A. concentrating in Healthcare Administration at Marist College.[5] Byrne won his first bid seeking elected office in 2016 when he was elected as the Assemblyman for New York’s 94th Assembly District.

Assemblyman Byrne lives in Mahopac with his wife Briana, a Physician Assistant, their son Braeden, and their rescued Treeing Walker Coonhound, Tracker.

During his first term, Byrne voted against every tax increase proposed in the Assembly. Byrne was recognized in 2017 as one of five state legislators with the highest rating by the Conservative Party of New York State.[6]

During his first term, Byrne introduced and passed ten bills in the Assembly, eight of which passed the Senate and were signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, more than most other freshmen members during that time.[7][8]

Some examples of Byrne’s legislation over the years include:

• Honoring the actions of a local Yorktown hero by designating a portion of state roadway the Major Clayton Carpenter Memorial Highway.[9]
• Designating various local lakes as inland waterways to improve eligibility for state grants[10][11][12][13]
• Loosening a residency requirement for the position of assistant court clerk in the town of Somers to help recruitment and retention of public employees who serve the town.[14][15]
• Granting forgiveness for ministerial errors made by a local school district (initially vetoed by Gov. Cuomo[16] but identical bill language was later included and passed in 2020-2021 FY budget which Byrne opposed for unrelated reasons[17][18])

Legislation co-sponsored by Byrne that passed included bills that

• Strengthened the Clean Indoor Air Act (Byrne was the only GOP Assembly member to co-sponsor this legislation) [19]
• Prohibited the practice of conversion "therapy" on minors (Byrne was the only Republican legislator to co-sponsor this legislation)[20]
• Increased access to Automated External Defibrillators[21]
• Better benefits for combat veterans[22]
• Increased access to Epinephrine Auto-injectors[23]

In 2016, Assemblyman Steve Katz announced that he would not seek another term. Byrne was one of five Republicans that announced they would seek the nomination to replace Katz.[24] At the local Republican Convention, Byrne received 14,562 weighted votes (76%) over Somers Town Councilman Bill Faulkner's 3,681 (19%) and Carmel Councilwoman Suzanne McDonough's 974 (5%).[25] Councilwoman McDonough immediately pledged she would continue a primary campaign.[26]

A day after winning his party’s endorsement, Byrne was injured in a Brewster auto accident, breaking his right knee and suffering other injuries when another car, traveling at high speed, crossed into his lane, he said, and collided with him head-on.[27][28] Byrne continued his campaign throughout his recovery and would later be victorious during the Republican primary, defeating McDonough 60% to 40%.[29] He won the 2016 general election over Democrat Brian Higbie in the 2016 general election with 61% of the vote.[30]

In 2018, Byrne was challenged by Vedat Gashi, a Yorktown resident and real estate attorney.[31][32]

During the campaign, a debate at the Putnam League of Women Voters Forum became contentious due to a dispute between the candidates about whether Byrne had supported legislation that would prevent violent domestic abusers from obtaining firearms, commonly referred to as the “Domestic Violence Escalation Protection Act” (Assembly bill A5025).[33] Byrne voted in favor of the bill in question (A5025) twice.

Throughout the campaign, Byrne argued that his effectiveness was shown by his record of passing more legislation than nearly any other freshmen lawmaker in the state (of the 20+ freshmen legislators only 3 freshmen Democrats passed more).[34][35] Gashi argued that he could deliver more for the district by being a member of the majority Democratic conference.

Gashi’s campaign outspent Byrne’s campaign by more than four times, spending more than $250,000 compared to Byrne's approximately $65,000.[36][37]

The same election year, the state Senate flipped to Democratic control. This was in part due to the loss of a Republican held Senate seat that largely overlapped with the 94th Assembly District. In a year that proved challenging for many Republicans across the state, Byrne won his bid for re-election by a double digit margin.[38]

• New York State Assemblyman Kevin M. Byrne official site