2026 New York General Election

The candidate profile states: “Born and raised in Virginia, Rebecca has lived in the Town of Poughkeepsie for 30 years and raised her son here (Arlington schools). A retired history educator and former county legislator, Rebecca lives in Ward 6 with her rescue pup Bella.”

Rebecca Edwards

Rebecca Edwards, Town Supervisor - We Are TOPK

The article reports: “Edwards has been teaching at Vassar College since 1995 and plans to take a leave of absence to fulfill her new role.”

History professor Rebecca Edwards takes on new role as Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor

History professor takes on new role as Poughkeepsie town supervisor

Rebecca has experience as a professor at Vassar College.

The Town of Poughkeepsie employee directory lists: “Rebecca Edwards / Supervisor.”

Employee Directory — Rebecca Edwards

The Vassar article reports: “While teaching at Vassar full time, Edwards ran a successful campaign for a seat in the Dutchess County Legislature in the fall of 2017 and served two two-year terms, the second as minority leader.”

Candidates with Vassar ties win important seats in local elections

Rebecca currently serves as Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor. She previously won a seat in the Dutchess County Legislature in 2017 and served two terms of two years each.

Supervisor | Poughkeepsie Town, NY

Rebecca Edwards , PhD - Vassar College

As of October 26, 2026, Rebecca Edwards did not have a website or any information online.

Economy

Public Services

In response to a question asking for the community's biggest issues and top priority, Edwards wrote: “Edwards: Lack of affordability is our biggest problem. Creating affordable housing is my top priority. This year we passed a law requiring all builders of 10 or more new rental units in the town to set aside one out of every 10 units for affordable or workforce housing. We also passed a Good Cause Eviction law to protect tenants and are working with Habitat for Humanity on a 55-unit affordable home-ownership initiative. There's much more to be done.”

Get to know your candidates for Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor

Said that affordable housing is her top priority and the town passed a law requiring affordable or workforce units in larger rental developments.

- Said that affordable housing is her top priority and the town passed a law requiring affordable or workforce units in larger rental developments.

Housing & Urban Development

Public Safety

Transportation & Infrastructure

Energy & the Environment

Instagram

Facebook

As of October 26, 2026, Rebecca Edwards’s website did not contain information on this issue.

- Said that affordable housing is her top priority and the town passed a law requiring affordable or workforce units in larger rental developments.
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Rebecca Edwards was born and raised in Virginia. She raised her son, who attended Arlington schools.

Rebecca Edwards is a retired history educator who taught at Vassar College.

Rebecca was elected Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor after defeating the incumbent. She previously served in the county legislature for four years.

Isaac Brickman

Buket Urgen

I was born and raised right here in Poughkeepsie. This town isn't just where I live — it's where I grew up, where I met my wife, where we raised our daughter, where I built my career, and where I've watched our community grow and change over the years. When I look at our neighborhoods, I don't see statistics. I see my home.

About Steve

Mr. Oscarlece, who resides in the Town of Poughkeepsie with his wife, Gail, plans to enjoy time with family and friends. He also looks forward to continuing community service in his hometown through involvement local town government.

OCIS Commissioner Steve Oscarlece to Retire

A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Mr. Oscarlece worked for many years in the private sector before joining Dutchess County Government, working as Systems Analyst/Programmer for Info-Matic Inc and Richmor Aviation.

SERINO TO APPOINT STEVE OSCARLECE AS OCIS COMMISSIONER

Stephen C Oscarlece was born and raised in Poughkeepsie. He earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from SUNY New Paltz. He lives with his wife, Gail; they raised a daughter.

Mr. Oscarlece joined Dutchess County Government in 2003, when he began as a Systems Analyst. He has advanced through the department serving in various roles including Project Leader and Applications Manager. In 2016, he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner before being appointed Commissioner in 2024.

After earning my degree in Computer Science from SUNY New Paltz, I took a path that I never could have fully predicted — and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've sat in the cockpit as a Charter and Airline pilot, written code as a Computer Programmer, and built something of my own as a small business owner. Today I serve as the Commissioner of Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Systems (OCIS) — a role that puts me at the intersection of technology, public service, and the responsible management of taxpayer resources.

Stephen C Oscarlece has served as commissioner of the Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Systems. He previously worked in Dutchess County government as a systems analyst, project leader, applications manager, and deputy commissioner. Before joining county government, he worked as a systems analyst/programmer for Info-Matic Inc and Richmor Aviation, and has also worked as a charter and airline pilot, computer programmer, and small-business owner.

A full municipal spending audit

Before we can cut waste, we have to find it. I'll conduct a comprehensive review of every town expenditure — line by line — to identify where taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively and where they aren't.

Fiscal Responsibility

Finding real efficiencies

That means renegotiating vendor contracts, eliminating duplicated services, and modernizing operations where technology can add efficencies. Savings found will go back to residents.

Tax Reduction Focus

Control taxes by knowing where every dollar goes — cutting waste, finding efficiencies, and ensuring the services you need remain. That's how we deliver real tax relief for Poughkeepsie families.

Learn more

Steve for Town of Poughkeepsie

Zero-based budgeting

Every department should justify its budget from scratch each year — not simply inherit last year's numbers with an automatic increase. This approach forces accountability and surfaces waste that rolling budgets hide.

No reliance on one-time funding

Federal grants, settlement funds, and surplus windfalls are welcome — but they are not a budget strategy. I will never plug a structural gap with a one-time source, only to leave residents holding the bill when that money is gone.

Fiscal Responsibility and Trustworthy Leadership

I will focus on transparency, no surprises in budgets, and no unnecessary borrowing to protect taxpayers and promote community trust in government.

Make a contribution

Plans to audit town spending, cut waste and inefficiencies, and use savings to control taxes while maintaining needed services.

Advocates for zero-based budgeting, requiring departments to justify their budgets annually rather than receiving automatic increases.

Pledges not to use one-time funding sources to cover structural budget gaps.

Plans to prioritize budget transparency and avoid unnecessary borrowing.

- Plans to audit town spending, cut waste and inefficiencies, and use savings to control taxes while maintaining needed services.
- Advocates for zero-based budgeting, requiring departments to justify their budgets annually rather than receiving automatic increases.
- Pledges not to use one-time funding sources to cover structural budget gaps.
- Plans to prioritize budget transparency and avoid unnecessary borrowing.

Full budget transparency

Residents should be able to see exactly how their tax dollars are spent — not in buried reports, but in clear, accessible formats published proactively. Transparency isn't optional; it's how trust is earned.

Advocates for proactively publishing clear, accessible information on town spending.

- Advocates for proactively publishing clear, accessible information on town spending.

Smart Growth & Housing

Putting Poughkeepsie residents first—building a stronger community, restoring accountability, fostering smart business growth, and expanding affordable housing through a more efficient, streamlined permitting process

Learn more

Plans to expand affordable housing through a more efficient, streamlined permitting process.

- Plans to expand affordable housing through a more efficient, streamlined permitting process.

Protecting essential services

Fiscal responsibility isn't about gutting what works. Public safety, infrastructure maintenance, and core community services will be protected. The goal is smarter spending, not just less of it.

I’ve done this before—and I’ve already saved the Town of Poughkeepsie money. As Commissioner of Dutchess County OCIS, I built budgets from scratch, identified cost savings, and managed budgets with accountability to both leadership and the public. I also led the effort to bring the Town of Poughkeepsie onto the County’s Public Safety system. That single inter-municipal agreement saved the Town $550,000 in software costs and continues to save taxpayers more than $80,000 annually in maintenance fees.

Plans to protect public safety, infrastructure maintenance, and core community services while pursuing more efficient spending.

Led an effort to connect the Town of Poughkeepsie to the county public-safety system, reducing software and maintenance costs.

- Plans to protect public safety, infrastructure maintenance, and core community services while pursuing more efficient spending.
- Led an effort to connect the Town of Poughkeepsie to the county public-safety system, reducing software and maintenance costs.

As of October 26, 2026, Stephen C Oscarlece’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Stephen C Oscarlece

Stephen C Oscarlece was born and raised in Poughkeepsie. He earned a degree in computer science from SUNY New Paltz. He met his wife there, and they raised a daughter.

Stephen C Oscarlece currently serves as commissioner of the Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Systems. He previously worked as a charter pilot, airline pilot, and computer programmer, and has been a small business owner.

- Advocates reducing taxes by cutting waste, improving efficiency, renegotiating vendor contracts, eliminating duplicate services, and modernizing operations.
- Advocates for fiscal policies to avoid unnecessary debt burdens on residents.
- Proposes requiring each department to justify its budget annually rather than automatically increasing the prior year's budget.
- Pledges not to use one-time funds to cover structural budget gaps.
- Calls for proactively publishing accessible information showing how tax dollars are spent.

- Pledges to protect core community services while pursuing smarter spending.

- Advocates expanding affordable housing through a more efficient, streamlined permitting process.

- As commissioner of the Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Systems, led the Town of Poughkeepsie's transition to the county public safety system.

- Pledges to protect infrastructure maintenance while pursuing smarter spending.

New York Town Supervisor, Poughkeepsie

Candidates (2)