CARMEL, N.Y. —Mahopac resident Amy Sayegh will helm the Putnam County Legislature after being voted in as chair at the body’s 2025 reorganization meeting on Jan. 7. Sayegh, who served as deputy chair from 2022-24, won her fellow legislators’ unanimous approval to succeed Paul Jonke of Southeast, who nominated her. Greg Ellner of Carmel was voted in as deputy chair.
“Like any elective position, you get your colleagues behind you just let them know that you’re interested in the chairmanship and earn their support,” Sayegh said. “And I think I’ve done that over my past seven years in the legislature.”
Sayegh has represented District 8—which includes parts of Mahopac—since 2018 and is in the second year of a three-year term that runs through 2026. She said her first order of business as chair will be selecting leaders and members for the Legislature’s nine committees, which she must do by the end of January.
“Each committee will have a chair and at least two other members and be up to five members,” she said, adding that she will draw on the individual legislators’ experience and interest to make the assignments, with each committee covering the entire county (as opposed to individual districts).
Committees include Audit & Administration; Budget & Finance; Economic Development & Energy; Health, Social, Educational & Environmental (which Sayegh chaired); Personnel; Physical Services; Protective Services; and Rules, Enactments, Intergovernmental Relations.
“We all come together and work on these issues,” Sayegh said. “Each of these committees does the work of the [whole] county.”
Sayegh has lived in Mahopac for 26 years and raised her three children here. In 2007, she founded Putnam Community Cares, a nonprofit that provides help in managing normal household tasks for families of school-aged children who have a parent dealing with cancer or other major medical illnesses. Over the years, she’s earned multiple accolades both as an individual and for Community Cares, where she still serves as president.
These include the 2021 Trailblazer Award from the Putnam County Business Council, the 2020 Women in Government Award from the Mediterranean Political Action Committee, the 2018 Trailblazer Women in Leadership Award from the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, the 2015 Ruth Dain Voluntary Service Award, and many others.
She is a member of the Lake Mahopac Rotary Club, serves on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center and the Putnam County Board of Health, and is a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Post 1080 and Putnam County Firearm Owners Association.
Sayegh stated that her long-term goal as legislative chair is to serve the community while preserving the legislature’s independence. When asked about the recent dispute with County Executive Kevin Byrne over the legislature’s authority to approve and potentially dismiss the county attorney, she noted that she and fellow Mahopac resident Byrne are on good terms but emphasized her commitment to standing up for the legislature. Sayegh expressed her willingness to collaborate with Byrne but reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the legislature’s authority.
“He and I had a great conversation [after her appointment]” she said. “I’ve spoken to Kevin many times and we’re very friendly. I believe in a strong legislature and I think this legislature needs to use its full powers and duties to do the work of the people of Putnam County. It’s the people’s branch with nine representative members across the county. I don’t think our duties as prescribed by the county charter should be limited by the executive, because we’re two separate but equal branches of government.
“I think some of the rub there has been maybe the executive branch has been trying to usurp some of the power of Putnam County Legislature and that just goes against our charter goes against the legislature,” she continued. “I belive we can support our county executive and have a strong legislature. And going forward, that’s what I hope to have happen. You can’t tie our hands and keep the legislators from performing our duties to the best of our abilities with the powers that we have granted by the charter.”
The full legislature is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
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