When Carmel voters head to the polls in November, they will choose among three hopefuls for two seats on the Town Board. The candidates are Democrat Brett Wieland, incumbent Republican Michael Lugo and Republican Robert Schanil Jr. Lugo and Schanil will also run on the Conservative party line.
Here is a closer look at each candidate.
Republican incumbent and local business owner Lugo won a special election in 2024 to finish the term of former councilman Steve Baranowski, who resigned in late 2023.
“I am not a politician. I am a father, husband and small business owner who can be a valuable asset to Carmel,” he said. “My decision to run was an easy one. As I sat back and watched meeting after meeting, one issue after the next, I noticed a disconnect between the community and our local government. Trust was no longer existent.”
Lugo said he felt the board wasn’t acknowledging the frustration of their constituents.
“The board needs someone who can restore faith and trust in one another. They need someone who can be of help, not only to unite opposite sides of a community but to stand up for what’s right for the people as a whole,” he said. “We will not always agree but we need to start working as a true team to benefit the majority.”
Lugo said preserving that small-town feel and natural resources is a priority for him.
“There are public parks that need TLC, sidewalks that need to be replaced, buildings that need a facelift and projects that need to be finished,” he said. “I would like to continue moving the town forward by utilizing some of the county’s tax redistribution on these issues. This would help our board to keep taxes at bay without having to increase. We are not exactly sure about what that dollar amount is yet, but we do know anything will help.”
Lugo said the town needs more commercial development along the Route 6 corridor to ease the
tax burden on residents.
“This isn’t possible without sewer and water,” he said. “We have finally come to an agreement with NYC Water Board after 15 plus years to begin the process of taking over the [water treatment] plant. This is also a project that will take upwards of five to seven years to complete. Growth, traffic and change is inevitable, but the mom-and-pop shops are what I can promise to preserve in Carmel/Mahopac.
“Being a small business owner myself, I know the community ties and relationships one builds off of a small business,” he added. “It helps keep the people shopping and spending money right here in the town they call home while supporting a neighbor in business.”
Lugo said he agrees with the decision to prohibit most battery farms and solar farms in the town’s revised zoning code.
“The people spoke, local government listened and took action,” he said. “This was not a huge benefit for the taxpayers and town if we allowed these farms to exist. Safety concerns were top priority, something we cannot ignore as a small town to protect our residents. Property values would decrease if locations were close to residential areas and the eyesore in one’s backyard would not be ideal.”
Lugo said he decided to throw his hat in the ring for the special election last year because “I knew that the town needed someone like me to help alleviate the workload, keep people informed and give local government a small business perspective.”
“I truly enjoy helping each other in the tough times,” he said. “Major decisions are made behind closed doors in regard to the future of this town, so you want someone who is going to be honest and fair in doing so. It’s not always easy coming to an agreement but know that I have the people’s best interests in mind, not just a small group of individuals. With hard work, leadership and an open mind, anything is achievable in Carmel.”
Schanil says he always knew he wanted to serve in office. Born in the Bronx and raised in Lake Carmel, he graduated from Carmel High School and went on to earn degrees from Westchester Community College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Marist College, and Manhattanville University.
A retired police officer with 20 years in law enforcement, Schanil, a Republican, began his career with the Mount Vernon Police Department before transferring to Harrison, where he rose to the rank of sergeant and led the department through the state accreditation process. Now assistant director of security at a midtown Manhattan hotel, he and his wife, Marlene, have lived in Carmel for 27 years, raising four children—all Carmel High School graduates.
Public service, he said, runs in the family. His mother devoted 35 years to the role of Kent town clerk, while his aunt served as deputy county clerk and later held several local offices in Kent. Schanil previously served four years on the Carmel Town Board, including time as deputy supervisor.
“I’ve been around politics for most of my life,” said Schanil, who lost the 2024 Republican primary but remains eager to return to town government. “I enjoy helping people. As a police officer, I was always involved in community groups—the Knights of Columbus, scouting, football coaching. Public service was a way for me to give back.”
Asked about the comprehensive plan—developed while he was on the board but adopted after his tenure—Schanil said it “needs some work,” particularly around zoning measures that “may have been pushed through a little too quickly.”
“Some of the plan is a little vague,” he said. “I’d like to go over it to make sure it fits our vision for the town going forward. But it does set the tone and direction for where the town should be heading over the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years.”
He pointed to ongoing projects and past investments, particularly Swan Cove.
“A lot of money was spent preparing for these projects, especially Swan Cove, which faces major challenges like flooding,” he said. “The goal was to revitalize downtown, but now the land has been declared a wetland.”
Schanil also proposed using the building purchased from the Mahopac School District as a BOCES annex.
“We could use it for trade school instruction—for high school students and adults—to teach trades or technology like computer science,” he said. “That could help bring in jobs.”
Balancing development with preserving Carmel’s small-town character, he said, starts with its infrastructure.
“There’s a lot of property to be developed around Route 6,” Schanil said. “What’s holding it back is the lack of a sewer line. Running one down from Mud Pond Road for commercial use only would give us the opportunity to add more retail space.”
Affordable housing is another concern.
“I have four children, and it’s tough to find an affordable house,” he said. While he supports clustered or multifamily housing in specific zones, he warned against overcrowding.
“I’ve got one in my neighborhood with 20 cars parked out front and it’s only a four-bedroom house,” he said. “I believe they’re all different people.”
Schanil said he favors small shopping centers over big-box stores along Route 6 but stressed that the sewer issue remains the key.
“Without the infrastructure, it’s a moot point,” he said. “That’s why we’re stuck where we are now. We need to focus on making our commercial areas truly accessible.”
He pointed to neighboring towns as models.
“I think the reason things move so quickly in Yorktown is because they’re ready to build,” he said. “We’re not. The process here takes too long. We should streamline it so that once projects are approved, they can move ahead. Projects sitting and waiting help no one.”
Schanil supports the town’s ban on grid-scale battery storage and solar farms, saying the potential dangers outweigh the benefits.
As for revenue-sharing funds coming into the town, he said, “I’d love to see them used for infrastructure improvements or put toward the highway department.”
Schanil said he opposes raising taxes but believes tax revenue must be spent wisely.
“The police department takes up a large part of the tax base,” he said. “We’ve given them the best tools and training to do their job. They’re excellent but that comes with a cost.”
As for why Carmel residents should vote for him, Schanil said his lifelong ties give him insight into what the community needs.
“I think I have my finger on the pulse,” he said. “I’ve been here my whole life. My kids grew up here. I travel a lot and see how other towns operate, and I try to bring back ideas that could work for us.”
Democrat Brett Wieland, a program manager with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, began his career in human-centered design before earning a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University. In his current role, he develops and manages programs that help New Yorkers save money on energy costs while improving indoor and outdoor air quality. After years of clashing with what he said were corporations that prioritized profit over people, Wieland decided he wanted to work more closely with the communities he hoped to serve.
Wieland and his wife and two kids live in Carmel Hamlet.
“The first time we visited Carmel, we knew immediately this was the right town [to raise a family], and we were lucky enough to find a home in the Hamlet,” he said. “However, over the years I’ve noticed a common theme among Carmel residents: frustration that the town feels stuck and a growing disconnect between the Town Board and the real needs of the community.”
He said his entire career has been about solving problems for people, and when he sees a problem, he can’t ignore it.
“I realized serving on the Town Board was an opportunity to use my experience to make a meaningful difference for my community, so I decided to step up and offer to serve,” he said.
Wieland said of the objectives in the new comprehensive plan, revitalizing the Carmel and Mahopac downtown districts has the most potential to benefit the community.
“If approached strategically and thoughtfully, this effort can achieve multiple objectives while demonstrating that the town is listening to residents’ concerns,” he said. “Well-planned revitalization can reduce congestion and sprawl, not add to them. By co-locating businesses and housing, we can reduce the need to drive out of town; by separating business and through traffic, we can improve road safety; and by creating vibrant downtowns, we can establish ‘third spaces’ where Carmel residents can connect and build a stronger sense of community — something I care deeply about.”
Wieland doesn’t believe higher taxes are necessary to complete the multitude of projects facing the town.
“There are plenty of ways to fund these projects through savings from improved efficiency and project management, by more aggressively pursuing non-tax funding, and the additional resources from county revenue sharing.”
Wieland said the town needs to balance economic growth while preserving its small-town character and natural resources.
“If Carmel elects leaders with strategic, creative vision—and the proven ability to turn that vision into reality—economic growth and revitalization can go hand in hand with preserving our small-town character and natural beauty,” he said. “If we settle for more of the same leadership, we can expect the same results: a town that remains stuck, or worse, continues to lose its charm.”
“The ridgeline surrounding Carmel Hamlet’s downtown is a clear example,” he added. “The hilltops have already been leveled for development, diminishing the feelings of a town nestled in the hills. The plan recommends ridgeline preservation, but it comes a bit late for downtown Carmel.”
Wieland has more than 15 years as a project manager in both the private and public sectors, which, he says, makes him an ideal board candidate.
“I’ve built a proven record of delivering projects on time and on budget and, more importantly, making people’s lives better,” Wieland said. “I will do the same for Carmel by providing effective leadership and project management that has been missing. I look to deliver lower costs, better amenities and services and town leadership that prioritizes the residents’ needs.”
Wieland said that, if elected, he will emphasize robust, two-way communication between the town and its residents.
“The board must listen more closely to the community and actively leverage the diverse expertise of Carmel’s residents,” he said. “At the same time, the board needs to clearly communicate what services and amenities are available and how its decisions affect people’s daily life. The burden should not fall on residents to seek out this information, it should be delivered to them.”
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