For the first time in more than a decade, there will be a new sheriff in Erie County as Tim Howard decided not to run for re-election.

Spectrum News 1 spoke with the three candidates about their priorities.

Kimberly Beaty is running on the Democratic line. She’s the former deputy police commissioner of the city of Buffalo.

"I’ve done a lot," said Beaty. "I’ve led over 800 officers at one time and managed operations of the police department. I’m the only person running for sheriff prepared to walk in the door on day one and do the job."  

She advocates for more training and resources for deputies, and greater transparency.  

"We need leadership, we need professionalism, we need to build trust between the community and police and we’re struggling with that right now at the sheriff’s office," Beaty said.

Beaty says the mental health of inmates in the county holding center and correctional facility needs to be tackled.  

"Being incarcerated is a crisis," said Beaty, "and we have to address that and we have to make sure our incarcerated people are managed well and we cannot do things to them that create depression and excessive punishment. I don’t believe in that."

On the Republican line, it’s John Garcia, a former detective with the Buffalo Police Department.

"I think the message is professional law enforcement and transforming the Office of the Erie County Sheriff’s office into a modern professional law enforcement agency," Garcia said.

Garcia says it’s important to focus on improving the environment for deputies and staff.  

"I have to ensure that they have the right training, the right equipment and the right staffing levels and working conditions and they then will provide better service and better protection to our public," Garcia added.

Garcia also addressed the concerns over the physical and mental health of people in custody to make sure they are stabilized.

"If they’re diabetic, getting insulin," he said. "If they’re an opiate abuser, getting suboxone so they don’t have these feelings of suicidal thoughts."

Amherst Police Lieutenant Ted DiNoto is running as an independent for sheriff.

"This is about making the sheriff’s office better," DiNoto said. "Making morale better, making inmates safer, making the citizens safer and serving the citizens of Erie County."

DiNoto wants to create stabilization centers to address mental health and substance abuse issues of people in the custody of the sheriff’s office.  

"I want to hire actual mental health professionals to evaluate people at intake and we’re going to separate them," said DiNoto. "And we’re going to send them to these stabilization centers so they can get the proper treatment that they need."

DiNoto also plans to focus on the well-being of deputies and making sure they have what they need to do the job properly.

"Finding where I can get that money to bring that training in, to bring that equipment in and make things better and safer," he said.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2, 2021.