Voters won't be weighing in on the future of the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office this November. Leaders have been looking at making the sheriff an appointed position versus an elected one. Philip O'Driscoll spoke with residents who voiced there concerns about the idea.
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Its an issue Tompkins County lawmakers and residents have been debating for weeks. Some want to make the sheriff's office an appointed position rather than elected. That doesn't sit well with residents like Rocco Lucente.
"This was an idea that would ultimately take away power from the people take away the representation that they had to elect their sheriff which is something that the vast majority of counties in this country take for granted," said Rocco Lucente, a Ulysses resident.
While legislators were considering putting the idea up for a referendum, they voted to table the issue instead. Some felt lawmakers were moving to fast.
"This was brought up to quickly I believe and it has really impacted not just public perception but the vote of the legislature. I believe many of the legislators have said that they oppose this because there wasn't enough time," Lucente said.
But supporters say putting it on the November ballot could have worked well.
"We would have a great voter turnout because of the presidential election. And we would avoid the expense of a special election next year," said Deborah Dawson, a village of Lansing resident.
They feel having an appointed sheriff would create greater accountability for the public.
"As it stands now, the sheriff is not required to interact with the public other than carrying out his official duties. He's not required to have open meetings. He's not required to do anything. He can sit behind a shut door for four years. Now no good politician would do that," Dawson said.
Lawmakers aren't closing the door on the idea. They are expected to continue exploring the issue in the months to come.
Tompkins County Sheriff Ken Lansing's term expires in 2019. He was not planning to run for re-election.