03/12/2026
⚠️ $1.4M Settlement & A Supervisor’s Race Every Resident Needs to Understand
On March 10, 2026, our Town Board unanimously approved a settlement restructuring Town Board elections beginning in 2027. The Town admits no wrongdoing — settling was the fiscally responsible choice. But residents deserve the full story.
WHAT CHANGES IN 2027 📋
Beginning in 2027, Mount Pleasant moves from at-large elections, where every resident votes for every seat, to a ward-based district system. The Town Supervisor remains elected town-wide. Six (6) Town Board seats will now be elected by district:
District 1: Thornwood, Hawthorne, Valhalla & unincorporated areas — elects four (4) members
District 2: Pleasantville area — elects one (1) member
District 3: Sleepy Hollow & Hudson River corridor — elects one (1) member
Here is what makes this particularly frustrating: the Villages of Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow are thriving, having governed themselves successfully for generations, each with their own elected Mayor, Village Trustees, and fully staffed Recreation, Police, and Public Works departments. The system was working. This lawsuit forced an unnecessary added layer of government onto communities that have never needed it, never asked for it, and will now have to navigate — and pay for it. More politicians. More bureaucracy. More complexity. All at taxpayer expense because additional board members don’t work for free.
And now you need to ask — who pushed for this, and who benefits?
FOLLOW THE MONEY 💰
The lawsuit was filed by Abrams Fensterman, LLP, the firm where Democrat County Legislator (LD-12) David Imamura is a partner. Their playbook: sue municipalities under the 2022 New York Voting Rights Act, force a ward system, and collect. They did it to Newburgh. Then they came for Mount Pleasant. The result? $1,425,000 in legal fees directly benefiting a sitting elected official’s law firm.
NOW CONNECT THE DOTS 🔵
Who else benefits?
Legislator Imamura holds the seat once held by former Democrat State Assemblyman (AD-92) Tom Abinanti, a Pleasantville attorney and Albany political operative now running for Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor against incumbent Carl Fulgenzi. Imamura and Abinanti share one unmistakable trait: a self-serving instinct to reach for a lawsuit and benefit politically. Same party. Same playbook. Same target — our Town.
Here’s what many residents don’t know: Tom Abinanti has also been in court against our Town. He led a years-long legal fight trying to hand over your private contact information to outside interests. Our Town said no and fought back all the way to New York’s highest court. This year, the Court of Appeals ruled decisively for Mount Pleasant. Abinanti lost. Now he wants to run the Town he tried to strong-arm. Let that sink in.
The pattern is impossible to ignore. Abinanti sued us as a private attorney. The Democrat following his political path sued us through his law firm, collecting $1.425M in the process.
Now, this Albany political operative Abinanti wants to run the very Town he spent years attacking in court.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sue. Strongarm. Collect. Repeat. That is the Democrat playbook — and now the one who helped write it wants the keys to our Town Hall. Make no mistake; this is not about serving our community. This is a calculated move by someone who has studied our Town, tested our defenses in court, and now sees an opening for a political power grab.
Mount Pleasant is not something to be conquered by a briefcase full of lawsuits. We need integrity in Town Hall. Not a self-interested political operative masquerading as a neighbor.
🗳️ Choose wisely this November. Vote for Carl Fulgenzi.
