BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The candidates for the two most notable countywide races for Erie County highlighted their platforms in a forum held Friday morning at the Amherst Center for Senior Services.
The forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters, included the candidates for Erie County Sheriff and Erie County Comptroller.
Democrat Kim Beaty, Republican John Garcia, and Independent candidate Ted DiNoto, are vying to be the next sheriff after current sheriff Tim Howard opted not to run for re-election. All three come from a law enforcement background and vowed to uphold the laws in place. However, they differ on issues like solitary confinement.
"I absolutely will not continue the practice of solitary confinement," Beaty said. "It damages a person's spirit. It destroys them emotionally."
Garcia is supportive of confinement, saying rules need to be followed and warned that others could be hurt if someone is left in the inmate population after they've assaulted another inmate or deputy.
"It's their choice," Garcia said. "If they do assault a correction's officer or another incarcerated person, they will be in solitary confinement...The maximum is 58 days. So each and every case will be addressed on an individual basis."
DiNoto said it's important that inmates are separated by their issues and that there would be stabilization centers to help those who have an outburst.
"We're not going to put somebody in the hole like everybody in the movies and such," DiNoto said. "We'll put them in some type of counseling system to get them stabilized."
Hear the rest of their forum below
Candidates for Erie County Comptroller also pitched to voters why they should be the next fiscal watchdog for the county. Lynne Dixon, the republican and conservative candidate, Kevin Hardwick, the democrat and working families candidate, and Duane Whitmer, the libertarian candidate, all stressed the importance that the office be focused on ensuring the county is spending money wisely.
"I think the comptroller's office should be the most independent office in Erie County," Dixon said. "If you provide transparency and you work with the different departments and say to them let's work together ot identify the inefficiencies in your department. That doesn't have to be some big, grandstanding thing."
"I would like the comptroller's office to be similar to what the Congressional Budget Office is at the federal level," Hardwick said. "A source of independent information and policy analysis. If a new idea comes up, whether it's ErieNet or a convention center, we can get some independent analysis on that."
"I look forward to issuing reports showing you exactly how much they're stealing from you to pack their own profits," Whitmer said.
Election Day is November 2. Early voting starts this Saturday.
