McConville Launches Campaign For Putnam County Sheriff

CARMEL, NY — Cold Spring resident Kevin McConville, a former MTA police chief, launched his campaign for Putnam County Sheriff Thursday from the steps of the historic county courthouse in Carmel.

This is his third run for the office. In 2013, he challenged then-Sheriff Don Smith for the Republican nod, saying at the time that politics did not belong in the sheriff's office.

This time, he announced his candidacy surrounded by politicians. Scheduled to appear were Assemblyman Mike Lawler from Rockland County, Assemblyman Colin Schmitt from Orange County, plus Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson. Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, whose District 94 includes parts of Putnam and Westchester counties, and Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell also were scheduled to appear at the rally in support of McConville.

Odell and the Republican-majority County Legislature have butted heads with current Putnam Sheriff Robert Langley since the Democrat ousted longtime Republican Sheriff Don Smith in 2017.

McConville, like Langley, lives in Cold Spring.

McConville retired in 2008 as Chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department, where he oversaw a 770-member force with a $100 million budget.

McConville served as a member of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Homeland Security Team and developed and implemented plans and strategies to prevent bombings on commuter rail systems, like the ones in London and Madrid.

For the past 12 years, he has served as Director of Security Emergency Management at a local healthcare facility.

In a press release announcing his candidacy, McConville said, “It is time to have a responsible,
accountable and efficient law enforcement leader, one that manages the budget, and the Department. The role of the sheriff is not about politics, it is a hands-on job that requires the knowledge of how a law enforcement agency works and how to do it effectively and efficiently, provide support and training to your personnel and excellent service to your communities.

“I support, without hesitation, the men and women of law enforcement. Let’s give our deputies and corrections officers a leader, one who isn’t afraid of transparency and fiscal accountability. Training, resources and assets are a large part of that support. So is leadership; providing a mission and goals allows deputies and corrections personnel to fulfill the Department’s job,” said McConville. “As my good friend, Dutchess County Sheriff, Butch Anderson says, ‘treat others as you want to be treated.’ That is a promise we will uphold in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.”

McConville said he thinks the race for sheriff should focus on ideas, law enforcement experience, effectiveness, responsibility and accountability to the taxpayers.

“Who is going to do a better job for the Sheriff's Department from today forward should be the focus of this campaign,” said McConville. “The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county, so you have to work well with everyone and have everyone on the same page with your agency. More can be accomplished by working together because simply put, we are better together.”

“I have been at the head of one of the states’ largest law enforcement agencies,” McConville said. “You have to be accountable, responsible and able to work with everybody. [The MTA police] worked with everybody—local and county police departments as well as state and federal agencies, during my time as chief.”

McConville, 63, has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Marist College, and lives with his wife Janice in Cold Spring. They have three children and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Putnam County.