Editor’s note: No lawsuit has been filed against Brett Yarris concerning the social media post referenced in the letter below. The characterization of the post as false and defamatory or that Yarris knew it was false reflects Patterson Supervisor Williams’ position. The matter remains a dispute, without a judicial determination of those allegations.
Dear Editor,
A candidate’s character should be of paramount importance to voters.
Lord knows, Kevin Byrne and I have not always agreed on the issues. But I know if my town has a need, I can reach out to Kevin and he will do all that is possible to aid Patterson. Without Kevin, we would not have the historic sales tax agreement. There would be no sharing of the County ARPA funds. We would not have a fire training center for our fire departments.
The first on-demand transit system, which started in Patterson, has been a huge success. We have the first county-sponsored Early Learning Center in Patterson so young children do not have to sit on a school bus being transported for more than an hour. The list goes on. All of this has been accomplished through County Executive Byrne’s leadership. Kevin Byrne knows my town because he doesn’t just sit in his Carmel office. He shows up and supports Patterson’s activities and events. You cannot dispute that Kevin Byrne has made the Patterson community a better place to live.
His opponent’s history in Patterson paints an entirely different picture. Having no true knowledge of the issue, in 2025 Brett Yarris posted on social media a blog that made both defamatory and false statements about the Town of Patterson. He knew they were false because the issues in question had been addressed by the Town Board at their meeting just the week before. But there was nothing sensational about the truth. Mr. Yarris’s statements were not just critical of my town, they were so flagrantly wrong that the Town Board unanimously agreed to have the town attorney send a letter to Mr. Yarris demanding that he retract his statements and issue an apology. Of course he refused. How can someone of this character, who posted such false and inflammatory statements as though they were the truth, be expected to represent the Town of Patterson?
Mr. Yarris has also been critical of zoning throughout the county and has stated that as county executive he intends to fix every town’s zoning laws to encourage affordable housing. What he is proposing is to commercialize our residential neighborhoods, making our residential homes more enticing as commercial investments than as a place to raise a family. This is how you destroy a community, not make it more affordable. The only “Putnam Possible” future is one that will send the county into high taxes and financial ruin.
We need a county executive with character we can trust; one that has demonstrated strong leadership and sensible ideas. That’s why I am supporting Kevin Byrne and encourage you to do the same.
-Richard Williams Sr., Supervisor, Town of Patterson
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