Mary Lou Carolan stepped down from the Town of Newburgh Council after the New York Court of Appeals declined to hear her appeal, ending a months-long legal battle over a 2025 election decided by a single vote.

Carolan submitted her resignation Sept. 17, after learning that the state’s highest court would not take up her case. The decision left Councilman Paul Ruggiero in the seat after lower courts overturned Carolan’s initial two-vote victory.

The dispute began after Carolan, a Democrat and first-time candidate, finished two votes ahead of Ruggiero, a Republican who had served on the Town Council for about 12 years. The narrow margin triggered a manual recount, which again left Carolan ahead by two votes. Carolan said the five-day process required representatives from both campaigns to review every ballot cast in the race.

Carolan said she continued challenging the eventual reversal because she believed valid votes cast for her had been improperly rejected.

“I absolutely think the process was worth it because integrity is worth fighting for,” Carolan said. “Justice is worth fighting for. The election process is worth fighting for.”

“I didn’t write the New York State’s election laws,” said Ruggiero. “They’re in place to be used. I just used the laws that were on the books.”

The dispute moved to the Orange County Supreme Court, where Judge Sherri Eisenpress ruled in Ruggiero’s favor and determined he won the race by one vote. Ruggiero was sworn in April, following the ruling and later returned to the Town Council while Carolan continued appealing the decision.

The legal battle also created an unusual start to the Town Council term. Carolan was sworn in while Ruggiero’s initial challenge remained pending. Ruggiero said he attended meetings from the audience and took notes during that period so he could remain up to date on Town business if the court ultimately ruled in his favor.

After Ruggiero returned to the council, Carolan was no longer seated at meetings but continued pursuing her appeal. She said she retained access to her Town email and continued responding to residents about code compliance, traffic concerns and other issues, including communicating with Town departments and visiting residents at their homes.

“I continued to do the work because that’s what I was elected to do,” said Carolan.

Ruggiero, who learned that the appeal was denied after a Town budget hearing, said he now plans to focus on the remainder of his term and projects including renovations to the Town’s senior center and police department, infrastructure work and staffing needs.

“I have two and a quarter years left and it’s for me getting things done, whatever may come up,” said Ruggiero.

Carolan, does not plan to disappear from Town affairs but would like to keep whether she would run for office again “an absolute mystery.”