Orange County Supreme Court removes Cornwall-on-Hudson trustee Tiffany Gagliano from ballot

A New York court removed Cornwall‑on‑Hudson trustee Tiffany Gagliano from the March 18 Village election ballot after finding her independent nominating petition failed to meet service requirements, Supreme Court Justice Kyle McGovern ruled. The original report lists the ruling date as March 3, 2026; another local account describes the judge as having “ruled on Monday.”

Gagliano had filed a lawsuit in Orange County Supreme Court against the Orange County Board of Elections, Village of Cornwall Clerk and Treasurer Meagan Gschwind, and objector Victoria Peebles. In her suit, Gagliano requested that the court declare her petitions valid and keep her on the ballot for the March 18 Village election.

The litigation centered on an objection to the nominating petition that challenged whether required notice and service procedures were followed. Justice McGovern found there was no basis to declare the objections invalid and effectively upheld the Board of Elections’ prior determination that the petitions were invalid. Attorney Michael Treybich, who represented Victoria Peebles, said, “I’m glad that the Court saw that the candidate received notice, and applied the correct law to this village election, upholding the decision of the bi‑partisan Board of Elections to declare her petitions invalid.”

Gagliano’s attorney, Adam Fusco, said his client will pursue further options. Fusco stated, “Either through a future appellate court order or via a write‑in campaign, (Gagliano) will appear on the general election ballot for Cornwall‑on‑Hudson Village Trustee.” Fusco also maintains that Gagliano’s petitions for office were ruled invalid even though she never received proper notice of the objections to her candidacy, and he added that his client only found out about the objections to her petition after filing a Freedom of Information Law request with the Village.

The ballot change leaves three candidates competing for two Trustee seats: incumbent Lori Beth Paliotta, Lisa Silverstone, and Brian Mitchell. With Gagliano removed, the March 18 election in Cornwall‑on‑Hudson proceeds without the sitting trustee as an official candidate unless an appellate court acts or a write‑in bid is mounted.

Several procedural questions remain unsettled for local election administrators and voters. The record does not list the date the Board of Elections first declared the petitions invalid, the filing date of Peebles’ objection, or the docketed date and text of Justice McGovern’s written order. It is also not yet clear whether any absentee or early ballots already processed will reflect the change or how quickly the county will update election materials.

For now, Gagliano faces the choice Fusco outlined: seek appellate relief or organize a write‑in campaign ahead of the March 18 Village election. The court ruling closes one chapter in this local contest while setting up a potential appellate fight and an expedited decision window for campaign planning in Cornwall‑on‑Hudson.