For the first time in eight years, Onondaga County voters will choose a new sheriff. The choice this year comes down to whether voters prefer a candidate with a corrections or police background.
Two-term Onondaga County Sheriff, Gene Conway, is retiring. Looking to replace him is one political newcomer, Republican Esteban Gonzalez, and a candidate who is running for the job for a fourth time, Democrat Toby Shelley.
Each brings a different strength to the race. For Gonzalez, it is a more than 30 year career working in the county's corrections department. For Shelley it is a career as a sheriff’s deputy, as well as a local police department.
Shelley points out that almost all the sheriffs in New York come from the police side of the ledger, so his experience in the field puts him at an advantage over Gonzalez.
"How you handle these calls is based on your experience, which my opponent is not going to have any of because he’s never been on the street," Shelley said. "He’s never pulled someone over, he’s never written a ticket, he’s never responded to a domestic, on and on the list goes. So if he shows up, he’s going to administrator the department from a desk, a chair or a table somewhere."
Gonzalez said he does have experience taking emergency calls, as a duty commander who takes calls and directs the department when the sheriff and undersheriff are not available. But he admits he will need help on the police end of things.
"The largest part of the sheriff’s office is corrections," Gonzalez said. "My intention is that with the largest part, I’ve got that down. Having gotten that down, is to hire the best and brightest minds I can find to make up my team to cover the smaller portion, the police side, and round out an excellent team."
Shelley has the same strategy in reverse, when it comes to the corrections department.
"I recognize that as a weakness cause I have not worked there," Shelley said. "So to make that weakness a strength, I have picked the right people to surround myself with. The person I have chosen to run the jails started working in Jamesville, then the downtown jail then came to the police division. That person knows all the divisions and that makes my weakness a strength, picking the right person to surround myself with."
Issues the two agree on include supporting more training and mental health professionals to help with calls, and getting more police cameras into the department.
When it comes to a police officer shortage, Gonzalez said he has a plan.
"I want to get a recruitment team that can recruit a diverse population that’s reflective of our community," Gonzalez said. "And you can’t do that with out a recruitment team that’s diverse and reflective of the community."
Shelley said boosting the staff comes down to improving morale .
"When you improvement morale, you lower sick leave and on and on," Shelley said. "But the other thing you do, if people are happy where they work, they’ll tell their friends hey work here, it’s a good place to work."
Many sectors of the public have lost trust in public safety. Both have ideas on how to deal with that. Gonzalez proposes forming something called a LEAD group that will bring community and law enforcement together.
"That meets open a regular basis and can report to me on a regular basis on issues in the community on public safety," Gonzalez said. "Where is the crime, where are the increases in crime that might not be reported, that community members will be able to report back to us. It’s almost like a neighborhood watch times a thousand."
Shelley also promises accountability and accessibility to the community.
"I want to bring a level of transparency to the department," Shelley said. "Like a George Floyd incident and they ask me that like it’s a hard question. I tell them I would investigate, get the facts and tell the truth. I’d like to build the public trust, that’s wavering what with Defund the Police things like that. Build the public trust so we’d have time to do an investigation."
All Onondaga County residents can vote for sheriff. Election Day is November 8. Early voting begins October 29.
Find more information on elections taking place around the region by visiting our election guide.
