KINGSTON – At a news conference in Kingston on Monday, Governor Hochul, a Democrat, said that there is currently an interview process to name a new sheriff for Dutchess County. Sheriff Butch Anderson passed away in September and Undersheriff Kirk Imperati, a registered Republican, has been the Acting Dutchess County Sheriff since Anderson’s death.
Mid-Hudson News previously reported that a deputy in the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), Adrienne Licari, is being vetted for the position. Licari, a Democrat, is the daughter of the Town of Wappinger Democratic Committee Chairperson, Robin Licari.
“We have individuals that are being interviewed,” said Hochul. “There’s a process – very strong vetting – background vetting that goes on and we interview people,” the governor added.
Noting that other officials are involved in the process Hochul told Mid-Hudson News “Beyond what I can do, we make a recommendation to the Senate, so the Senate has to approve this but I know that they want to get it settled. We want to make sure there is someone who has permanent authority in that place as soon as possible, so the process is very much ongoing.”
Imperati interviewed to be appointed sheriff with Hochul’s staff in November and said “I thought the interview went well”. He met with Hochul’s Chief of Appointments and other staffers, including the governor’s public safety advisors. “I told them that I am not a political person and I am willing to help everyone.”
During the interview, Imperati provided the governor’s staff with a copy of the Dutchess County Police Modernization and Reform Plan, the DCSO recruitment initiative for a more diverse workforce, and the sheriff’s arrest statistics for the last three years.
“I would appreciate it if the governor allowed me to remain Acting Sheriff of Dutchess County and let the voters of the county decide who they want to lead the department when they vote in November,” Imperati said of the current interviews taking place in Albany.
