Luciana Haughwout isn’t done yet

Luciana Haughwout never thought she’d run for office. What started as what she saw as a simple act – having the grass cut in a local park so her kids could play – turned into something much bigger when her friend, Assemblyman and then Town Supervisor Matt Slater, told her that’s not something a regular citizen can just do.

But because of her efforts with parks and safety across town, Slater invited her to get involved with the Republican Party, and through that, she says she began applying her expertise in zoning and real estate to serve her community in ways she hadn’t imagined.

That led her to run for Town Board in 2021, where she served from 2022-2025. Over the years, she became a familiar face around town, and her practice of being herself made her a hard-to-forget presence on Yorktown’s Town Board. She garnered thanks and praise for her work at her last meeting on Dec. 16, 2025.

While Haughwout lost her seat last fall in a close contest to former town supervisor and judge Ilan Gilbert, she said her commitment to making Yorktown better isn’t fading. Yorktown News sat down with Haughwout, who reflected on her time on the Town Board and looked ahead to what may come next.

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

Did you know what you were getting into when you ran for Town Board? No, in fact, I thought it was a once-a-month review. I thought it was to use my skills for zoning — I have a very intense background in real estate and construction — I thought it was a way for me to help development, help infrastructure.

I think one of the greatest things was not being vetted in what a town board and its political power are. It was my strength because it allowed me to be me. Whether I won or lost, I lost as me. It never compromised who I was. I’m not going to be any different because I am not on the Town Board.

I do believe we have a Town Board that does want to do the bigger picture, but I wasn’t ready for the nitpicking. I think every knows that being on the Town Board is also a political arena: They come after your family; they come after your business during election season. I didn’t know it was going to be that. I thought at the end of the day it was a place to agree to disagree and decide upon the greater good.

Do you feel like you’ve accomplished your mission? Yeah: I think that my strength, and moral compass around accountability, and holding everyone accountable, including myself, is something that I did. I don’t like red tape, I don’t like sweeping things under the rug. I’m a big believer of partnering with people to find a solution. Did I accomplish everything I want to do? It is a very slow-moving train.

There’s a bunch of things that I would like to see done—no way I could get it done in the time frame because there are so many moving parts.

It didn't matter to me what party you were affiliated with, the hard questions I asked.

I informed myself with the Parks Commission, with the Parks and Recreation Department, so the constituents who were like “why are we paying more,” I had real, factual reasoning that it wasn’t just raising the prices.

Maybe I didn’t know how to play politics, but I knew how to play infrastructure. I knew how to understand people. I ran to make sure that everybody who invests here knows what this town stands for and where we're all going. It didn't matter if they had deep pockets or not, but they were going to hold the same moral compass.

What were some of the biggest challenges? Being a strong woman.

Do you feel like people didn’t take you seriously? Or they didn’t want to hear me.

I try to listen to what everyone else is also saying. I do not sit there thinking I’m the smartest. I think there are multiple perspectives to be had and through the multiple perspectives, we can actually come up with maybe the exact thing the town needs.

What did you learn from being on the board? Always ask the questions that are not being asked.

Did the loss feel personal? I’m a big believer in energy—something doesn’t feel right. But I also think it happens and that maybe God wants me to be with my kids for the next couple years or do something else—something where I could be a bigger impact.

Will you continue to go to meetings? You can’t unsee what you know, so you see it through. I intend to go to the meetings and am excited for my three minutes of courtesy of the floor.

Do you have any parting words? This isn’t goodbye. I am not going anywhere.