Crime, drugs and the economy. The race for Monroe County executive centers around many of the issues communities around New York are trying to solve. 

Adam Bello has been on this trail before — the campaign trail — which recently led the Democrat through the village of East Rochester, going door-to-door, meeting potential voters. Bello seeks re-election as Monroe County executive.

“For me, running for office is really about public service,” said Bello, of Irondequoit. “Bringing people together, investing in people, making government work again so that it really makes a difference in the challenges that we face.”

Bello’s Republican challenger is also familiar with the campaign trail. Mark Assini, like his opponent, is a former town supervisor who’s held many roles in public service.

“I just hit a point where I felt like there's unfinished business,” said Assini, of Gates. “I see what's going on in Rochester, the poverty is crushing, the homelessness is just heartbreaking.”

Both candidates say public safety is the biggest concern for voters. The opioid crisis and the economy are also prevalent. Bello touts the 50 additional deputies he’s budgeted for in the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, among many accomplishments.

“It’s really those issues which hit closest to home,” said Bello. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home and they want to know what we're doing to impact public safety.” 

Assini said the sheriff's office has had a hard time filling the dozens of open positions it already has. He blames Democrat-led policy.

“You can't hire them,” said Assini. “And you know why you can't hire them? Because we’ve vilified the police.”

“When public safety becomes an issue in our community, we invest in the sheriff's office,” responded Bello. “We invested in the district attorney’s office to hire additional ADA’s. We invested in the crime lab, which just won an award.”

The influx of migrants bussed upstate from New York City is another hot topic in the race. Many have been relocated to the Rochester area.

“We've forsaken our own children,” said Assini. “And yet we're going to support illegal immigration in this community, and provide benefits up and beyond what people are getting and needing right here in our own community.”

“We took a step back and said, look, if they're going to relocate asylum seekers to our community, we need to know who's paying for it,” said Bello. “Who's paying and providing for security, who's providing the food, who's caring for all those basic needs to make sure it's in place, so you don't have chaos, right? And other communities that didn't have executive orders like this, they've seen chaotic situations.”

The campaign trail is often littered with accusations, disagreement and differences in philosophy. This campaign is no different, with concerns over many of the same issues, but different ideas on how to go about fixing them.

“These are things that can be solved,” said Assini. “But we've got to take a different approach, and you're not going to get that with the people that they're right now.”

“My job is to run this government,” said Bello. “And provide the best services that we can for people. But we'll always tell the truth about it.”