York Drops Out of Sheriff Race, DeStefano Enters
A heated Putnam County Sheriff’s race was shaken up this week, as Christopher York, an assistant district attorney in the Putnam County DA’s office, dropped out while Andrew DeStefano, a retired NYPD captain, announced his candidacy.
Now vying for the Republican line are Sheriff Don Smith, first elected in 2001, DeStefano and former MTA Police Chief Kevin McConville. McConville ran as a Democrat in 2009, losing to Smith in the general election.
York announced Wednesday he was dropping out of the race and backing McConville. York and District Attorney Adam Levy have been at loggerheads with Smith over a number of issues, and York said he believes uniting behind one candidate will result in the best chance of knocking off the incumbent.
“I have come to know Kevin McConville over this, and I think he’s qualified to be sheriff,” York told The Putnam Examiner Thursday. “I think the two of us splitting up the Republican votes would be problematic.”
York, in his announcement, said he has “serious misgivings” about Smith.
York made his decision before DeStefano announced his intention to enter the race. Four years ago DeStefano was part of a three-way Republican primary with Smith and former Southeast judge Jim Borkowski but announced he was dropping out of the race just days before voters went to the polls. He later pleaded guilty to offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree and a violation of New York State Election Law, with the charges relating to signatures appearing on a nominating petition for an independent line.
DeStefano has since said he was pressured to drop out of the race and plead guilty to the charges for political reasons. In December 2010 he filed a lawsuit seeking sanctions against his lawyer, Pat Bonanno, and Borkowski, claiming the pair worked together to force him to drop off the ballot, but was rejected by the courts. Now, he said, he is looking to get his conviction thrown out.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this case is going to be immediately overturned,” he said.
In 2009, Smith narrowly edged Borkowski for the Republican line, with DeStefano remaining on the ballot and receiving a handful of votes. Smith easily topped McConville that November, receiving 65 percent of the vote.
In his plea deal, DeStefano was barred from running for public office for five years, according to a statement sent out at the time by Levy. DeStefano told The Putnam Examiner he doesn’t believe setting such a condition in a plea bargain is legal even if his conviction were not overturned.
