Suffolk County Sheriff, Democrat Errol Toulon Jr., says a campaign mailer from Democratic District Attorney Timothy Sini could give voters the wrong impression that Toulon supported Sini for re-election.
Sinis Mailer includes a photo of Toulon and says “CHOOSE THE SINI / TOULON TEAM”.
Toulon told Newsday that he did not endorse a political candidate in the November 2 election to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest or politicization of his role as the district’s chief police officer.
Toulon, who is seeking re-election, said he was not interviewed about the mailing.
“I’m just very disappointed because – I’ll tell you why – I am leading the campaign as well as I can, and I haven’t got myself into that,” Toulon told Newsday.
Sini’s campaign manager Logan Gershon defended the mailer.
Gershon said that both Sini and Toulon are running for re-election on the Democratic Party’s line, even if, as law enforcement officers, they “do not give political support”.
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“Tim Sini did not support Errol Toulon and Errol did not support Tim Sini,” Gershon said in a statement.
“However, they are both on the same ballot, Row A, and our campaign is encouraging people to vote on our ballot,” said Gershon. “That is common practice in politics.”
Sini faces a challenge from former federal attorney Ray Tierney, who runs along the lines of the Conservative and Republican parties.
Toulon, who represents the democratic and conservative lines, competes against the Republican William Amato, who is not actively running for office.
The Toulon campaign is led by the county’s Democratic Committee, while Sini has a separate campaign operation.
Toulon said he avoided sponsoring candidates because the sheriff’s office had problems with politicization in the past.
He cited the 2016 conviction of former Suffolk Conservative Party leader Edward Walsh for illegally collecting more than $ 200,000 in salary from the Suffolk Sheriff’s Department while playing golf, gambling and politics in the county played.
Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County’s government, politics, and breaking news.
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