MEET KEVIN BYRNES
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Kevin Byrnes is a dedicated public servant and experienced leader. A retired Detective Sergeant with 25 years of service in the NYPD, Kevin has experience in various assignments, including subway patrol, narcotics enforcement, patrol supervision, executive protection, internal investigations, and a joint NYPD/FBI Task Force. After retirement, Kevin served as a security monitor at Lakeland High School for seven years, still serving as a substitute monitor. In 2023, Kevin earned a master's degree from Long Island University in Homeland Security Management.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
The son of an FDNY firefighter, Kevin and his family moved from Brooklyn to Westchester when he was aged 12. Kevin spent most of the following 48 years living in Westchester - in Pleasantville and in Yorktown. Kevin is married with four adult children. He and his wife moved to Yorktown in 2001 and raised their family, putting their children through Lakeland schools.
Kevin has been active in his community for decades. He is currently in his second term as Chairman of the Yorktown Republican Town Committee, is co-chair of the Yorktown Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT), and has served on the Yorktown Conservation Board.
Kevin and his family are known locally for their public service. Kevin has proudly been serving as a Boy Scout leader since 2006 and his wife Patricia has been serving as a Girl Scout leader since 2010. Their sons Brendan and Kevin III each earned their Eagle Scout rank (Brendan currently serves in the US Army), and their daughter Kaitlin earned her Girl Scout Gold award. Both Kevin and Patricia still serve the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts long after their children aged out of Scouts. Kevin also served an assistant coach for his daughter's Shrub Oak Athletic Club basketball team, played bagpipes with the Yorktown Irish Pipes and Drums, is a member of the Yorktown Elks Lodge 2324, and has volunteered with United for the Troops since its inception in 2007. Even Kevin's mother Anne is known for her public service. After her husband (and Kevin's father) Kevin Sr. died from an illness sustained as a result of the rescue and recovery efforts, Anne served a vital role in having Westchester County's 9/11 memorial "The Rising" include those Westchester residents who died of 9/11 illnesses.
ISSUES
ISSUES
PUBLIC SAFETY:
Having spent 25 years in the Police field, Kevin is passionate about Public Safety, and one of the most ill-advised policies that hampers public safety is the 2018 law making Westchester a sanctuary county. Since that time, untold numbers of violent criminal illegal aliens have enjoyed protection in Westchester, while Police Officers have been hampered from doing their job and cooperating with federal agencies in keeping Westchester safe. Kevin will make it his priority to undo the 2018 Sanctuary County law.
AFFORDABILITY:
Kevin will work to bring back fiscal responsibility to Westchester County by holding the line on taxes and spending, advocate for ending congestion pricing which affects so many Westchester commuters who work in New York City.
UNION ISSUES:
Kevin is pro-union, pro first responder, and unequivocally "backs the blue."