On November 3, the Town of Montgomery will hold an election for the supervisor seat, with the winning candidate serving a two-year term. This year’s candidates include Republican Steve Brescia, the current town supervisor, and Democrat Ashley Dmitrieff, a newcomer. Brescia seeks to maintain his seat and continue working with the town board on unfinished business, while Dmitrieff seeks to bring new leadership to the board and work with the community on various challenges.

Supervisor Steve Brescia
Brescia is a lifetime Village of Montgomery resident whose family has deep roots in the village. He graduated from Valley Central High School in 1981 and obtained a BA in Political Science from the University of Tennessee in 1986. After graduating from UT, Brescia managed Brescia Lumber and Rowley Lumber, conducted sales for ProBuild, and delivered dialysis supplies. He is also a former member of UNICO, the Walden Rotary Club, and the Wallkill Masonic Lodge No. 627.

Brescia grew interested in government work after meeting and interviewing a few county legislators during high school. He began his municipal career in the Village of Montgomery; he was elected trustee in 1987 and mayor in 1990, serving 39 years on the village board. He joined the Orange County Legislature in 1994, serving as the 9th District legislator for 30 years and chairman for eight years. Brescia was also a member of the Orange County IDA for 18 years and the NYS Fire Prevention and Building Code Council for 12 years.

“Back when I was in high school, we interviewed a couple of county legislators, and I liked what they did when we interviewed them. I knew that I wanted to do that when I got out of college, so that’s one of the main reasons I majored in political science,” Brescia said in September 2025. “I knew I wasn’t going to be full time right away because we had the family business, and we were in business for many years. But when I got out of college, I ran for office and was elected trustee in the Village of Montgomery in 1987.”

“I originally didn’t want to run for mayor, I wanted to be a county legislator. The former village mayor (Josephine Murphy) helped my opponent in 1989, and I had lost by a very close margin. So my friends talked me into running against her for mayor, and I did,” he continued. “In hindsight, I’m very happy that I did do it. It’s been a great experience in my life, to be able to work with a lot of volunteers and some good board members. We were able to accomplish a lot.”

Brescia resigned from both village mayor and District 9th legislator in 2024 after getting elected to his latest position, the Town of Montgomery supervisor. Over the last two years, he and the other council members have worked on various projects and tackled several challenges. Under Brescia’s leadership, the town improved Benedict Farm Park, adding an ADA-compliant kayak launch and revamping the athletic fields; passed the hotel-motel tax, bolstering revenue; passed the short-term rental law, establishing standards for rental properties; restored the fund balance to a healthy level through conservative spending; secured several grant awards, including $3 million from the NY SWIMS Grant; and updated industrial and business zones to accommodate film industry uses, which will bring more money and jobs into the town.

This year, Brescia and the board have been juggling several initiatives:
• The board’s biggest project is the town’s new sewer treatment plant, as the current plant has reached the end of its useful life. The council members already conducted a sewer study and will soon choose an engineer to design the facility. The board also seeks to overhaul Lakeview Park’s water and sewer systems.
• The board has been collaborating with the Improve Montgomery Parks committee on various park projects. Most notably, both parties have been working towards installing an ADA-compliant trail that will stretch around Benedict Farm Park.

• The board has been working on a plan for the space needs of all the town departments. Brescia recently proposed moving town services from the Carl L. Helstrom Government Center to a building at 30 Scott’s Corners Drive. This would allow the Montgomery Police Department to occupy the entire lower floor of the government center, while the town courts occupy the building’s upper floor.
• The board and town clerk will soon transfer the town’s records to cloud storage. This will save the town money and simplify record retrieval and FOIL requests.

Brescia ran unopposed in the town’s 2025 election and was reelected to a one-year term as supervisor. He asserted that he has the government and leadership experience to excel in this position.

“I think governmental experience is key,” Brescia said on August 4. “You can’t have somebody who has no governmental experience at all running; that person is going to come in here and not know what they’re doing.”

Ashley Dmitrieff,

Democratic Candidate
Dmitrieff lived in Middletown for most of her life, then the State of Florida for 10 years, before moving to Montgomery in 2020. She and her husband spent a lot of time in Montgomery prior to moving, as her sister’s family resides in the area. Dmitrieff adores the town and appreciates its safe neighborhoods and outgoing residents.

“There’s something special about this community; neighbors are always there for each other, kids are riding down the street on their bikes and feel safe, and it’s the kind of place where community matters. So when it came time to buy our first home, we chose Montgomery,” Dmitireff said on July 17. “We wanted our boys to grow up in a place where they knew their neighbors, where they felt safe, and where they understood what it means to be a part of a community. Years later, I believe we made the right decision.”

Dmitrieff graduated from Gulf Coast High School in 2003, then obtained a BA in Telecommunications from the University of South Florida in 2007. Following the USF, she worked at a news station in Tampa for two years and another one in New York for over a year. Dmitrieff currently operates Stellar Films & Photography, a small business that specializes in photography and videography for weddings, families, and real estate.

Since moving to Montgomery, Dmitrieff has given back to the community in various ways. She provides hunger relief to families in need, whether paying for their meals during the SNAP funding lapse or growing food in the town’s community garden. She offers discounted photography to RUPCO, a nonprofit that helps low-income families find affordable housing , and free photography mini sessions to Inspire, also known as the Orange County Cerebral Palsy Center. Dmitrieff is also a member of the Orange County Democratic Party and has helped several candidates with their campaigns, including Democrats Aimee Stout and Michael Sussman.

Over the years, Dmitrieff has gained extensive knowledge of government operations through working at news stations, watching town and village meetings, and campaigning for local candidates. Through these experiences, she grew interested in serving her community on the town board. In particular, Dmitrieff wants to help struggling families with food assistance, housing, transportation, and other challenges. Hence, she decided to run in this year’s election for town supervisor.

“I have watched neighbors step up to help one another during difficult times. I’ve seen families worried about rising costs, struggling to find affordable housing and wondering whether the local government is really listening,” Dmitrieff said on July 17. “And I realized something: it’s easy to sit on the sidelines and hope someone else fixes the problem. It’s much harder to step up and be a part of the solution, so that’s what I’m doing. And I am doing that because this community has given so much to me, and I really feel like I should give something back.”

Dmitrieff asserted that she would bring compassion, work ethic, and fresh ideas to the supervisor position. She would also stand up for residents and protect them from federal politics. Some of her initiatives include improving transportation, maintaining fiscal responsibility, partnering with RUPCO on affordable housing, and supporting local food pantries and hunger relief programs. She also wants to strengthen relationships between village and town leaders; she believes that everyone, regardless of their political affiliations, should work together for the betterment of their communities.

“No matter how you vote, I think most of us want the same thing. We want safe neighborhoods, we want kids to have fun, we want responsible spending, we want roads that don’t damage our cars. And we want an honest government that listens first, gathers the facts, and makes thoughtful decisions,” Dmitrieff said on July 17. “I don’t believe that kindness has a political party, and I don’t believe that honesty has a political party, and I don’t believe that looking out for your neighbors has a political party. They’re not Democratic values or Republican values; they’re Montgomery values, New York values, and American values.”

“I believe that Walden, Montgomery, and Maybrook can accomplish more together. Each village has its own identity, and I don’t want to take away from that. They don’t have to be the same to work together,” she continued. “But when we share ideas, we come up with innovative ways to make our community stronger.”