Sheriff Defends Advisory Committee
Sheriff Don Smith downplayed criticism of the controversial Sheriff’s Advisory Committee, saying the picture identification cards issued to committee members couldn’t reasonably be mistaken for police ID.
“I don’t think that anyone can confuse it for anything other than what it is,” Smith told The Putnam Examiner last week. “The cards, they’re clearly identified as not being a police officer. It clearly identifies what they are.”
Members of the committee, which was comprised of a handful of local residents, received cards with their name and photo along with the seal of the sheriff’s office and Smith’s signature. In May, a mailer sent to Putnam Republican Committee members alleged the cards were awarded to Smith’s political donors, calling the ID a “get out of jail free card.”
“Did you know… The so called ‘shell’ of Sheriff [sic] Advisory Committee, never met once in 5 years?” the mailer stated. “There was never a Real Committee!”
Former MTA Police Chief Kevin McConville, who is challenging Smith in a Republican primary, has bashed Smith for issuing the cards and called on the sheriff to return all political contributions made by committee members.
“Don Smith believes there is a ‘political side’ to the sheriff’s office – I believe that justice is and should always be blind,” McConville said Monday in a press release. “Putnam County needs a sheriff for everyone, not just the few who call Don Smith their ‘friend’ or political pal.”
Earlier this month, McConville called the committee “quasi-governmental” with “implied powers” following a report in the Hudson Valley Reporter.
“It’s clear Sheriff Smith has some explaining to do,” McConville wrote in the July 15 press release.
Smith acknowledged the committee hasn’t been very active in the five years since it was established, saying it met once at a social function.
“I can remember one meeting, “Smith said. “Most people, if they have an issue, they call up.”
He compared the IDs to similar cards often issued by Police Benevolent Associations or Fraternal Orders of Police. While Smith denies members of the Sheriff’s Advisory Committee received any benefits, he said he no longer issues committee ID cards and has no plans to resume doing so.
Smith criticized McConville for focusing on the committee, saying it is a distraction from more important issues.
“It is deeply troubling that Kevin McConville’s rhetoric seems to focus on everything but the real issues facing Putnam County,” Smith wrote Monday in an email to The Putnam Examiner. “I believe Mr. McConville does not want to discuss the real issues because he knows he simply can’t win on the issues.
The primary, which will be held Sept. 10, has divided Republicans in the county. It is also likely to decide the election, as there is no Democrat running, though both candidates are expected to have third-party lines.
In defending the Sheriff’s Advisory Committee, Smith lashed out at the Hudson Valley Reporter, saying the paper, which has written several articles on the committee portraying Smith in a negative light, had political motives. Smith noted Gerard Ahler, a Mahopac resident who has donated at least $800 to McConville’s campaign, is an investor in the paper and works in the same facilities as the campaign. The committee, Smith said, was originally Ahler’s idea.
“It should be evident to any observer that the Hudson Valley Reporter has an apparent conflict of interest that prevents it from reporting on the office of Putnam County Sheriff,” said Smith. “I think Gerard Ahler’s track record of trying to have influence in the sheriff’s office, it’s troubling to me.”
Faith Ann Butcher, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Hudson Valley Reporter, said Ahler is not involved on the paper’s editorial side.
“Gerard is one of several investors in the paper, but he has no say on what actually makes it into the paper,” Butcher told The Putnam Examiner. “As a seasoned journalist who has a crew of seasoned, well-respected journalists, we take the truth very seriously and really just use that as the motivation for our readers.”
Before launching the Hudson Valley Reporter, Butcher worked for Examiner Media, which publishes The Putnam Examiner.
Smith, seeking his fourth term, beat McConville in the 2009 general election with 65 percent of the vote. McConville ran as a Democrat but has since switched his party registration.
