Official Results: Desmond Claims 49.87% of Vote, 12 Towns in Solid Victory

The Schoharie County Board of Elections has released their official results for last month's hotly contested election cycle, which shows a solid victory for incumbent Sheriff Tony Desmond over his two fellow law enforcement officers - Cobleskill Police Chief Larry Travis and Deputy Sheriff Todd Ethington - with 49.87% of the vote in the 2013 race for Sheriff.

Towns that supported Desmond are red, Travis are Blue and Ethington are yellow

Even more impressive was Sheriff Desmond's town-by-town dominance across the county. From his hometown of Sharon Springs to Conesville the incumbent Sheriff carried twelve towns overall, while both his opponents won just two each: Chief Travis in Blenheim and Cobleskill; Deputy Ethington in Jefferson and Summit.

 

Interestingly enough, this marks the second consecutive election where Sheriff Desmond has lost Cobleskill but still managed to build a large enough base of support across the rest of the county to offset the population center's more than fifteen hundred votes, which went by a healthy margin to their hometown candidate this time around.

 

But now that all is said and done, officially, all three men can return to their positions as law enforcement professionals with last November's race in the past and the protection of Schoharie's citizenry, regardless of who they supported, as their top priority in the present and into the future.

Opinion: Both Desmond and Travis Fine Choice for Sheriff

The Schoharie News brought our readers three informative and wide-ranging interviews with each of next week's candidates for county sheriff back in September, with the end result being a better understanding of where each candidate stands and one very unsure editor of a then small news project.

 

All three offered strong first impressions and came off as knowledgeable in the field of their collective expertise. Sheriff Desmond and Chief Travis particularly impressed me, while Deputy Ethington had a certain charm about him.

 

However, in the end, the office of sheriff is one of the more honorable positions in local government. It carries a distinct job description that ultimately could lead to its occupants harm or even death, as occurred in this county when Sheriff Henry Steadman was murdered by a prisoner who concealed his revolver in 1930, and because of this the individual we put in charge of it must be of the highest caliber. With great power comes great responsibility and as such the decision must not be made lightly.

 

Which is why the Schoharie News is proud to endorse both incumbent Tony Desmond and Chief Larry Travis for Sheriff in next Tuesday's election.

 

We honestly believe that after months of consideration and learning about both men, that either would effectively serve the citizens of Schoharie Count atop our law enforcement apparatus: Sheriff Desmond holds a loyalty and passion for the men and women who work under him that speaks volumes, while no one could touch the respect and admiration that Chief Travis has for enforcing the law.

 

Both men understand the threat that illegal drug use poses to our residents and have effectively waged an offensive on their particular drug of expertise. The result of which has been the removal of drugs and thugs from Schoharie County's communities, with the Sheriff's department combating marijuana and Cobleskill police cracking down on heroin use.

 

Obviously it is impossible to vote for both candidates and only one can win next Tuesday. That decision is ultimately up to a majority (or in this case, likely a plurality) of voters who make their choice at the ballot box and our only advisement is that they take the time to consider both viable candidates and reach a conclusion without allowing outside forces, or fringe candidates, to cloud their judgment.

 

Oh, and as for the unsure editor, his vote next Tuesday is still yet to be determined.



Interview: Deputy Sheriff Todd Ethington

Deputy Todd Ethington, who has served in the County Sheriff's Department for 23 years in a variety of positions, including road patrol and corrections, is currently undertaking his most challenging task yet: running against his boss, Sheriff Tony Desmond, in this fall's election.

Launching his campaign earlier this Spring, Ethington has secured both the Conservative and Independent lines, after contesting for the Republican endorsement and during a recent conversation with myself was positive and confident heading into the final seven weeks of the campaign, telling me that if you "give it your all, it will come back to you."

Ethington. Picture provided by the campaign website

The Issues

Deputy Ethington initiated our issues portion of the conversation by handing me a piece of his campaign literature showing the county's public safety building over halfway flooded during the devastation of Hurricane Irene, using what he called a "powerful image," to support his position that we need to rebuild and relocate such offices out of the flood plain.

He also spoke strongly in support of the concept of innovation, stating he "believes in community policing," and spoke of one particular instance where one citizen's tip led to a major marijuana bust in Charlotteville. This brought us to present-day drug enforcement and his stance that "heroin and prescription use has gone over the top," and that Sheriff Desmond's belief that marijuana is "the biggest.... illegal substance" in the county is inaccurate.

SAFE Act

When the conversation inevitably turned towards the unpopular SAFE Act that was passed earlier this year and championed by Governor Cuomo, Deputy Ethington agreed with certain aspects of the bill - namely the provisions that direct money towards mental health and school resource officers - but that he's "not in favor of a majority of the law."

Although he reminded me that when the Sheriff stands before Judge Bartlett at the Schoharie County Courthouse and takes the oath of office, he "swears to uphold New York state law," and as a law enforcement officer is bound by that.

In conclusion

If any one moment could capture the confidence of Deputy Ethington heading towards election day, it would be when I asked him how he felt about running a third-party campaign and he responded by saying that he loved it and that "when I win I'm gonna take that as a compliment." 

Ethington Campaign Unveils Giant "Sheriff Todd" Yard Signs

Conservative and Independent Party candidate for Sheriff, deputy Todd Ethington, has caused more than one controversy concerning his "Sheriff Todd" yard signs that have dotted the county's roads for months now, but I highly doubt anyone's reactions can compare to when early morning motorists caught a glimpse of his new, gigantic sized, yard sign today:

 

This one is located on Route 30 just before the Dollar General in Middleburgh

I asked Mr. Ethington about the gigantic signs during an hour long discussion we had on the state of the Sheriff's race (the last of three such discussions I've had with each candidate and that will be made into three separate articles in the coming week) and with obvious glee he informed me that eleven of these signs were put up across the county by him and supporters last night before midnight.

 

If people weren't paying attention before, they would have to look hard to miss this campaign statement by Mr. Ethington.