Schiff and Buck announce their re-election bids on Wednesday
LIBERTY – About 50 supporters packed a restaurant in Liberty Wednesday
afternoon, for an announcement that likely did not surprise anyone. Sullivan
County Sheriff Michael Schiff and Treasurer Nancy Buck are running for
re-election this year.
Schiff, seeking a fourth term, describes the first three as a “steady
evolution.”
“We’ve tried to upgrade training in both the jail and the
road patrol,” the Sheriff said. “We’ve upgraded our
security, that anyone else going in there, there’s going to be a
corrections officer, a peace officer, instead of just a security guard.
The new jail project is going to be a handful trying to stay on top of
that.”
Schiff said the jail and designated space for the road patrol will mean
significantly improved working conditions for all involved.
He said they did not ask the county for any additional personnel this
year because they are aware of how tight things are for the county. All
departments in county government are working with bare bones, he said.
Schiff said, however, that has not stopped them from implementing new
initiatives to give jail inmates the help they often need.
“We’ve tried to institute some initial drug rehabilitation
programs to get people started on the right path. We’re also the
front line on mental health. We’ve initiated some programs to try
to deal with that in the jail because a lot of the people that wind up
in our jail have mental health problems. They’re not really what
you would call a career criminal. And, we’ve also implemented foot
patrols in the rural parts of the county.”
Buck has been in the Treasurer’s office for 17 years, and assumed
the top spot, two years ago, following the passing of then-Treasurer Ira
Cohen.
“I’m open for new ideas and I’m so excited about our
new revenues that will be coming in next year,” Buck said, pointing
to anticipated money from the casino, scheduled to open in just over a
year.
Buck and Schiff are both Republicans. No other candidates have announce,
yet, for either office.
