Today meet city council candidate Emily Baldwin.
Fall is underway, and that means elections are around the corner. The election will be on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with early voting from Saturday, October 24, 2026 through Sunday, November 1, 2026. Our local early voting center is Resurrection’s Early Childhood Education Center at 88 Milton Road – see days and hours of operation.
In the City of Rye, there is a single city council seat open. The seat opened when Rye Mayor Josh Nathan vacated his council seat in January to take the position of mayor.
In February, the Rye City Council appointed Emily Baldwin to the council seat. Baldwin is now running in her first election (a special election to serve the remaining term on the same seat). She is running unopposed.
Running for Rye City Council
Your Name: Emily Baldwin
Running for: Rye City Council
MyRye.com: Why are you running for Rye City Council?
Baldwin: I am the incumbent, appointed to the Rye City Council in February 2026 by a unanimous, bipartisan vote, and I am running in this special election to keep that seat. I first stepped up after Hurricane Ida flooded my Glen Oaks neighborhood and a large development was proposed in the Beaver Swamp Brook floodplain; I organized neighbors in Rye and Harrison and we stopped it. I want to keep turning that kind of action into results for all of Rye: real flood resilience, safer streets, and a comprehensive plan that preserves what we love while making progress for our future.
Why are you running for Rye City Council now?
Baldwin: As I was appointed to fill an unexpired term, this is the special election when voters decide who fills the balance of that term. The work I’ve started on flooding, traffic safety, and comprehensive planning is underway right now, and I want to see it through.
What is your party affiliation?
Baldwin: Democrat
Please summarize your public service experience and contributions.
Baldwin: Since February 2026 I have served on the Rye City Council, where I represent Rye on LISWIC, the Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council, and on the regional flood partnership with Harrison, Mamaroneck and the Town of Rye that pursue flood funding together. I serve as Council liaison to the Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee, where I was a member before joining the Council. In 2025, I led Friends of Beaver Swamp Brook and neighbors on both sides of the Rye-Harrison line to defeat the proposed 67 Grant Ave development in the Brook’s floodplain. Earlier, I served on the junior boards of New York Cares and The Valerie Fund, and today I volunteer at my children’s school and organize neighborhood events.
Describe your core base of electoral support.
Baldwin: My base started with neighbors who have lived through flooding, in Glen Oaks and across Rye’s floodplains, and who saw what organized residents can accomplish. My base has expanded across Rye as I have worked on TPS and on the council. It includes young families who want safe streets and a say in Rye’s future, and seniors and their families, many of whom I work with every day. My base continues to expand as I work to represent all of Rye on the issues before the Council. My support is bipartisan: residents who want a hands-on problem solver who shows up, listens, and gets things done.
Opportunities and Cost Containment
What are the three biggest opportunities / challenges facing the City of Rye over the next 3-5 years?
Baldwin:
- Flood resilience: Flooding is the existential threat to Rye. We need to act within Rye through better building codes, bridge and seawall repairs, and natural restoration, while working with upstream and downstream neighbors on the rest.
- Comprehensive planning: Replacing our 1985 plan is our best chance to decide together how Rye preserves its character while adapting to redevelopment, climate change, and new needs.
- Safe streets and quality of life: Speeding, traffic and parking pressures, and the third of Rye with poor cell service, affect daily life and safety in every neighborhood and deserve steady, practical fixes.
What are the three biggest areas for cost containment with the City of Rye over the next 3-5 years?
Baldwin:
- Grants and regional partnerships first: Inter-municipal agreements make Rye eligible for state, county, and federal funds open only to joint projects, so every grant we win is a tax dollar residents keep.
- Earlier, more transparent budgeting: I am an avid supporter of the planned move to regular monthly or quarterly financial reporting and multi-year forecasts, supported by our newly activated Finance Committee to help us meet challenges, evaluate opportunities, find efficiencies and avoid surprises.
- Design together and share: Designing capital projects for flood resilience, and sharing services and equipment with neighboring towns where it makes sense, avoids paying for the same work twice and recognizes that flooding and weather events need to be actively addressed regionally.
Comprehensive Planning
The city is finally taking steps to update its comprehensive (fka master) plan that dates back to 1985. How would you explain to a fifth grader what this process is and why it is important? In what ways do you believe this plan will be substantially different than the one written in 1985?
Baldwin: A comprehensive plan sets a city’s long-range vision, much like a family agreeing on what they want their home to be in ten years, so that every repair, renovation, and new planting moves toward that goal. The comprehensive plan matters because it is the lens for every land-use, zoning, and spending decision the city makes, and our current plan dates to 1985. The 1985 plan was written to guide building single-family homes on open land; Rye is now fully built out, so the new plan will focus on redevelopment, flood resilience and climate, traffic and walkability, and the needs of residents of every age. It will also be built with far more resident input, through the topic and neighborhood committees that more than 150 residents have volunteered for.
In addition to the current Nursery Field turf project, should Rye have more turf athletic fields, yes or no?
Baldwin: Not at this time. I strongly support (and my children participate in) our youth sports programs, and I want to see a recreation and
field-needs analysis completed through the comprehensive planning process. This will help us assess two separate questions: whether we need more fields and where they would go, and whether they should be synthetic or grass. What’s important to me is that we have open dialogue and weigh all alternatives. The right surface depends on the site, its drainage and flood risk, and how the field will be used, so each location should be evaluated on its own merits.
Flooding
What are the three flood mitigation measures the City should undertake with the greatest cost/benefit?
Baldwin:
- Replace the Locust Avenue bridge and repair the Blind Brook seawall, and address other undersized bridges identified in the Ramboll study, protecting the library, YMCA, and downtown.
- Adopt flood-resilient building codes and ordinances from the FEMA-funded review, so new construction and redevelopment stop sending water into neighbors’ basements.
- Protect and restore natural floodplains and wetlands, like the Rye Nature Center’s riparian restoration on Blind Brook, and keep large developments out of floodplains, as we did at 67 Grant Avenue.
- Continue our work with Mamaroneck and Harrison on current efforts to relieve downstream blockages of Beaver Swamp Brook that cause flooding Rye.
What are some of the ways the City can realistically expect to pay for some of the more expensive flood mitigation projects (including infrastructure)?
Baldwin:
- Joint grant applications with our neighbors: Through LISWIC and our inter-municipal agreements with Harrison, Mamaroneck, Rye Brook, and the Town of Rye, we can compete for state, county, and federal funds reserved for collaborative projects.
- State and County partnerships: Working with the Governor’s office, our state legislators, and Westchester County to fund upstream Blind Brook projects that protect Rye, Rye Brook, and Harrison together.
- Disciplined capital planning: Sequencing the largest projects in the city’s capital plan and using reserves and bonding responsibly, so we close funding gaps (like the Locust Avenue bridge, where we have about $5M of a $10–12M need) without surprising taxpayers.
Deer Management
The City has its first deer management committee, realizing that the massive overpopulation of deer has decimated our parks and forests, our native plants and gardens, and has been one of the factors contributing to the spread of invasive species.
Yes or no:
| Issue | Baldwin: Yes or no |
| We have a serious deer overpopulation problem | The current study will provide data on this |
| I support a scientifically informed deer management process, including an ongoing culling program if recommended by the experts | Yes |
| If indicated, I would support a culling program utilizing trained and licensed bow hunters or sharp shooters if recommended by experts | I come to this issue with an open mind and no predetermined view about any particular option. What is “indicated” or “recommended by experts” needs to be considered in context and when we have actual indications or recommendations. |
City code allows for a maximum fence height of six (6) feet on most private property – this is ineffective at deterring deer.
Proper deer fencing in a high deer pressure area should be eight feet (8) feet or higher. Would you support a change in City code that raises the max fence height to eight (8) feet or higher where six feet is currently indicated so residents can protect their private property from deer browse?
Yes or no?
Baldwin: Yes. Residents in high deer-pressure areas should be able to protect their gardens and native plantings. I would want the change paired with sensible design standards, such as open, see-through deer fencing set back from the street, so we protect property without walling off our neighborhoods or creating visibility safety concerns. Fencing is an individual fix, so it should go hand-in-hand with the community-wide management plan.
Lightning Round
Please Answer the following questions Yes or No:
Baldwin:
| Subject | Yes or No | Baldwin: |
| Rye is prepared for the next “100 year” flood. | No | Through regional partnerships, the FEMA-funded code review and projects like the Locust Avenue bridge, we are making real progress, but there is much more work to do. |
| Rye should have additional restrictions on residential development. | Yes | In floodplains and sensitive areas, new construction should meet flood-resilient standards so it does not worsen flooding for neighbors. |
| Rye should have additional restrictions on commercial development. | Yes | Thoughtful standards, like the Central Business District design standards and the comprehensive plan, will help downtown thrive while preserving its character. |
| I voted for (or would have voted for) the City’s tree law. | Yes | Our trees protect against flooding and heat and are part of what makes Rye special. |
| Landscapers should be registered with Rye so practices such as the gas leaf blower ban can be more closely controlled. | No | The leaf blower ban should be enforced with clear communication and existing tools before adding a new registration bureaucracy. Landscapers are already registered with the County. |
| I voted for (or would have voted for) in favor of the artificial turf installation at Nursery Field. | Yes | Our youth athletes need reliable, well-maintained fields. |
| Rye Playland will be in good hands with Westchester County. | Yes | The County has the resources to invest in Playland, and Rye should stay closely involved as a partner and neighbor. |
| Rye needs to reduce its deer population by active management. | – | I support a science-based plan from our new deer management committee, including active management if recommended and appropriate. |
Tell us about you:
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
Baldwin: Determined, Resourceful, and Pragmatic
What is your day job?
Baldwin: I run The Move MBA, a senior move management and decluttering company that guides older adults and their families through life transitions. Before that, I worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, in consumer brand management at Pepperidge Farm, and in new business development for technology start-up Zola, where I built and
monetized a two-sided marketplace for wedding vendors. I hold an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Where do you live in Rye and how many years have you lived in the City?
Baldwin: I live in the Glen Oaks neighborhood. I grew up in Rye near Milton, attending Rye Presbyterian Nursery School, Milton Elementary, and Rye Middle School. I returned in 2021 with my husband to raise our children here, so I’ve lived in Rye for 5+ years this time around.
What affiliations do you have with organizations in Rye?
Baldwin:
- City of Rye Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee, member and now Council liaison
- Friends of Beaver Swamp Brook, leader (2025–present)
- Osborn Elementary School, parent volunteer
- Glen Oaks neighborhood event organizer (Progressive Dinner, Trick or Treat Parade)
- Parent of current athletes in Rye Youth Soccer, Rye Youth Lacrosse, Rye Little League, East Point Dance Studio, ISG Gymnastics
- Parent of artists at Rye Arts Center
- Parent of a Troop 2 Cub Scout
- Member of Rye YMCA
- Member of American Yacht Club’s tennis and paddle tennis teams
- Grew up in Rye Girl Scouts, Rye Youth Soccer, Rye Girls Softball, Apawamis Swim Team
What are three of your favorite food takeout / delivery restaurants in or around Rye?
Baldwin:
- Piazza Pizza – My family’s favorite since they opened in 1994
- Jerry’s Post Road – Sausage Egg and Cheese or Chicken Parm Sandwich, depending on time of day
- Rye Roadhouse – A great place to actually eat-in with my young kids! They are so patient
Thanks Emily!
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