Our Elected Officials
Meet your Democratic Town Board Members and County Legislators
Rebecca Edwards - Town of Poughkeepsie Supervisor
As Town Supervisor since January 2024, Rebecca Edwards has worked to:
Communicate with residents
Address the housing crisis by expanding affordable housing options, including those like home-sharing that also benefit resident homeowners
Protect and expand the town’s green spaces, walking trails, and wildlife preserves
Expand free and low-cost recreation programs for town residents of all ages
Stay below the tax cap, protecting property taxpayers by building new non-property tax revenue sources and increasing effciency
A top priority is developing a cost-effective plan to relocate the Town Police and Courts, which is located on an uncapped landfill and since the 1990s has been sinking into the ground
Born and raised in Virginia, Rebecca has lived in the town of Poughkeepsie for 30 years and raised her family here. A history educator and former Dutchess County legislator, Rebecca helped found the Dutchess-Poughkeepsie Land Bank to get vacant and abandoned properties into the hands of responsible new owners. She has worked with local groups addressing domestic violence and sexual assault and she co-founded the Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project, to increase public knowledge of local Black and abolitionist history. She and her rescue pup Bella live in Ward 6.
Barbara Laird - Town Board Ward 2
Barb and her husband purchased their house off of Vassar Road in 1998 and raised their two daughters here, where they got a fantastic education in Wappinger District schools. Barb teaches Earth Science and Environmental Science in Newburgh and is a union member of the Newburgh Teacher’s Association.
Barb prides herself on listening to her neighbors and helping solve their problems. She wants to make sure Poughkeepsie residents can find housing they can afford, get excellent services for the taxes they pay and enjoy the beauty that our town and region has to offer. She enjoys diversity in thought, culture and language. She strongly supports environmental initiatives that can save our town money, create jobs and rebuild the electricity grid.
During her first year as a Town Board member she served as Chair of the Joint Water Board, liaison for the Climate Smart Task Force and member of the recreation committee, budget committee and finance committee.
Barb is running again for Town Board because she saw an ability to stand up for all residents of the Town of Poughkeepsie in 2023 and definitely does not want to back down now!
Ryan Sharpe - Town Board Ward 5
Ryan lives in the Spackenkill area with his wife and four children, ages 2 years to thirteen years old. He is accustomed to doing things that are frustrating, demanding, and often exhilarating: an attorney for twenty years, he works in the Dutchess County Public Defender’s office, where he provides advocacy for individuals in Family Court and Criminal Court proceedings while helping them navigate systems that are unfamiliar. Ryan’s motivation comes from serving others who may feel they have been ignored or abandoned. As a town board member he wants to ensure clean air and water are protected. He will work for fiscal sustainability, transparency, and true oversight, to ensure that we meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
Ann Shershin - Town Board Ward 6
Ann is a mother and grandmother who is finishing her sixth term on the town board. She is concerned about the cost of the proposed municipal complex at the Poughkeepsie Day School and its impact on property taxes. She has worked to enhance green spaces, protect historic properties, and create new recreational opportunities. Through the Climate Smart Task Force she helped the town achieve Bronze Certification, opening a path to grant funding for conservation and resilience. Ann has served on the Historical Preservation Commission, Arlington Business Improvement District, Cider Mill Friends, and American Legion Auxiliary. She’s also a town marriage officer– and she has been a Spackenkill Girl Scout cookie manager!
Brendan Lawler - Dutchess County Legislator District 4
“I believe in the power of public service and am excited at the possibility of representing our community again. When I served on the Dutchess County Legislature, I saw firsthand how county government could be improved to better help the daily lives of the residents of Hyde Park and the Town of Poughkeepsie.”
Brendan was born and raised in Dutchess County; his father was a corrections officer at Green Haven and his mother taught elementary grades in Wappingers Central School District. His parents – and his Roman Catholic faith – helped him understand the importance of helping others from a very young age. Brendan attended St. Martin de Porres before graduating from Arlington High School in 1996. He next graduated from the College of St. Rose with a Social Studies, Secondary Education degree in 2001. Brendan started as a leave replacement at FDR high school in 2002 and accepted a full-time teaching position at Arlington high school in 2003, where he works today. Brendan met his future wife, Katie, on a blind date at the Eveready Diner. They married in 2013 and have a son who attends North Park Elementary and will enter first grade this fall. Brendan’s family, faith, and friends continue to guide him on his mission of public service.
Lisa Kaul- Dutchess County Legislator District 6
Dutchess County Legislator, District 6, is a dedicated educator, community leader, and advocate. Kaul spearheaded the campaign to save Poughkeepsie’s Arthur S. May Elementary from closure and served on the Arlington Central School District’s Board of Education. She co-organized the 2017 Poughkeepsie Women’s March Across the Hudson and the 2017 Dutchess Activist Fair. She has worked extensively with local non-profits, and has served on the Impact Council of the Dutchess-Orange United Way, the After-School Working Group of the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet, the board of Finish Strong, as well as managing a boys Soccer Club team. She currently organizes the Poughkeepsie Repair Café, serves on the board of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund, and volunteers at the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site gardens growing vegetables for Dutchess Outreach. Her contributions have been recognized by the Barrett Art Center and the Real Skills Network, which awarded her the Rosa Parks “Community Icon” Award.
Kaul is the first AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) woman to serve in the Dutchess Legislature, where she serves on its Environment, Government Services & Administration and Airport Advisory committees, the Climate Smart Communities Task Force, the Environmental Management Council, and the Local Early Intervention Coordinating Council.
Kaul is a 2nd vice-chair of the Dutchess Democratic Committee and represented Dutchess as a delegate to the DNC IN 2024.
Kaul grew up in India, and received her B.A. from the University of Delhi, India. A Rhodes Scholar, she earned a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oxford. She lives in district 6 with her husband, mother, and rescue dog.
Significant achievements in the Legislature:
Waste management – especially the disposal of our waste through incineration – has been a major concern for constituents in district 6. Working across the aisle, Kaul was able to pass a bi-partisan amendment to the budget to fund a study to identify opportunities and implementation strategies for waste reduction and waste diversion. The study will also explore alternative technologies for disposal as well as opportunities for jobs and economic growth in the waste diversion and reuse sector. This is remarkable given that she is a first-year legislator in the minority caucus.
Served as a dogged watchdog in the Legislature. Her pointed questions around the finances of the Homeless shelter led the Republican administration to create a website dedicated to information about the shelter. Similarly, she pointed out inaccuracies in a resolution which led the Republican majority to table a resolution. Last month, she was instrumental in getting Republicans to postpone and re-think a resolution identifying individuals who need to complete a financial disclosure in compliance with the county’s code of ethics.
Kaul has supported the allocation of funds for youth and senior programming, childcare, green infrastructure, road safety, mental health and substance use recovery services. She has also advocated for greater accessibility for the disabled and for seniors.
Kaul is actively focused on thinking of ways to create housing that is more affordable and to increase pathways to jobs for young people and those who are mid-career.
Craig Brendli - Dutchess County Legislator District 8
A lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, Craig has represented District 8 for the past four years, and has been newly elected to his third term. In his first term, he fought for the approval of the Crisis Stabilization Center for county residents in distress. He led the fight against the Federal government’s proposal to add new anchorage site along the Hudson River, authoring a bipartisan resolution in opposition of the plan. He also worked with fellow legislators on the legislation to switch the county government over to renewable energy sources in the coming years, a move that will preserve the environment and yield significant cost savings.