Letter to the Editor - Supervisor Jeff Nayer, Copake

As Election Day approaches and there are no State Elections, I would like to address the County Election for Sheriff.

Chatham Police Chief Peter Volkmann will be running against current Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett.

Mr. Volkmann has done a fine job with his Chatham Cares 4U program to combat Opioid addiction, as well as Sheriff Bartlett has done to implement such programs as Narcon training and Vivitrol.

But this election should not be based on one issue alone.

There is a lot more involved in running the Sheriffs Department for the County then just the Opioid Crises facing our County and our Nation.

At the County, as a Supervisor I sit on the Public Safety Committee and work with Sheriff Bartlett on that committee.

The Sheriff has come to us to ask for additional patrols and investigators to combat the drug problem we are facing now, but he is guided by the budget he is given to work with that is voted on by the Board of Supervisors.

Sheriff Bartlett has over 30 years of experience with the Columbia County Sheriffs Department with the last four as Sheriff.

He is responsible for five different divisions within the County Sheriffs Office plus he must manage an $11.5 million budget for those divisions. He has instituted recertification of his Deputies to insure they perform at their best to serve all of the people of Columbia County. He has continued to work with our School Districts to put Deputy Sheriffs in the schools as Resource Officers to aide and gain the respect and trust of the Students.

He will also be enhancing the Dare Programs to reach the higher grades where further Drug Resistance Education is critical.There are many other programs that he has instituted as Sheriff during his tenure but are too numerous to list.

Please join me in supporting Sheriff Dave Bartlett on November 7th election day for four more years. He has proven that has the know how, the experience and the dedication to continue as Sheriff.
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Jeff Nayer
Copake Town Supervisor