GOP Chester Town Board Candidate Arrested for DWI, Faces Gun and Falsifying Charges

Brian Youmans, a 33-year-old Republican candidate for the Chester Town Board and vice chairman of the Orange County Young Republicans, was arrested Tuesday on a DWI charge in Chester, just three months after a January arrest on felony-level allegations involving attempted criminal possession of a weapon and falsifying business records in the Town of Wallkill.

The back-to-back arrests triggered immediate calls from both parties for Youmans to abandon his candidacy. Chester Town Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said that DUI, weapons possession, and document-falsification allegations are not the kinds of issues voters should face when evaluating potential elected officials. Zak Constantine, chair of the Orange County Democratic Committee, went further, calling the fact of Youmans' party endorsement despite the pending felony weapons charges "unconscionable" and urging him to step down.

Youmans' attorney did not return a request for comment. Republican organizations had previously issued statements praising his organizing work.

The January charges in Wallkill carry serious potential penalties if Youmans is convicted. A court appearance on those counts was scheduled before Town of Wallkill Justice Peter Green. The new DWI arrest opens a separate criminal matter, with its own arraignment and pretrial proceedings, and could trigger administrative consequences for his driver's license.

The convergence of the two cases puts Republican leaders who backed Youmans in an uncomfortable position. As vice chairman of the Orange County Young Republicans, he had been an active figure in local party organizing before these arrests surfaced. With a primary election approaching, the developments have placed mounting pressure on the party to revisit its endorsement and left Chester voters weighing whether a candidate facing felony weapons allegations and a fresh DWI can credibly seek a seat on the town board.