Kevin Walsh challenged by three deputies in his department.
Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin WalshThis election campaign has been unlike any of Kevin Walsh’s four others for Onondaga County sheriff.
Next week, he’ll face his first-ever primary for the Republican nomination since he first ran to be Onondaga County’s top cop in 1994.
And he’s up against three deputies in his own department, the most he’s ever faced: Detective Ed Bragg on the Republican side, and Sgt. Toby Shelley and Deputy Joe Price on the Democratic.
Walsh’s immediate obstacle is Bragg, a 24-year veteran and former president of the union that represents road patrol deputies.
“I’m counting on every Republican voter to come to the polls,” said Walsh, 65, of North Syracuse, who has the party endorsement. “If that happens, I think we’ll be successful.”
Detective Ed BraggBragg, 47, of Camillus, said a comparison of his campaign contributions to Walsh’s tells a different story. Bragg’s campaign has received $49,000 from 409 people this year. In that same time, Walsh’s campaign has raised $37,000 from 64 contributors.
It’s the number of contributors that has Bragg feeling confident he can upset Walsh.
“He’s got incumbency recognition,” Bragg said. “But we’ve got this underground movement of people who want change.”
Walsh said he doesn’t solicit campaign contributions from his deputies, and that Bragg has a ready source of contributors because he’s the former union leader. Walsh has more campaign cash because he had $40,000 at the start of the year.
Bragg has spent $37,000 on billboards and lawn signs. His message has focused on a need to revitalize.
“The sheriff’s tired,” Bragg said. “Nothing personal against Kevin Walsh. He’s done a good job as a public servant. But there just needs to be new energy, and his staff is not providing it.”
Walsh cites his record over the past 16 years: 1.25 million police calls handled and more than 212,000 inmates booked through the jail.
“We’ve done it with very good results in 99.9 percent of the issues that we’ve had to deal with,” he said. He said he plans to continue to build the sheriff’s office as a cost-efficient operation.
On the Democratic side, Shelley has raised $18,000 with contributions from 53 people. He has the Democratic party endorsement, along with that of the Working Families party. Price has raised just $1,900 from five people.
Sgt. Toby ShelleyShelley, 43, of Otisco, said he plans to ramp up his fundraising after the primary.
“This primary is a bump in the road for us,” he said. “The true focus is Kevin Walsh” in the November election.
Shelley, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and a member of the New York Air National Guard, said he’s campaigning on four issues: better use of personnel and equipment, better community connections, better coordination with other police agencies, and better treatment of inmates.
The fact that Walsh is facing three of his deputies should raise a question for voters, Shelley said: “Why would this many people oppose their boss?”
Deputy Joe PricePrice, 43, of Baldwinsville, has been a jail deputy for 17 years, and ran against Walsh in 2006, getting 40 percent of the vote. As the only candidate with experience in jailing, Price said he’s best suited to fix problems at the Justice Center.
All three of Walsh’s opponents point to the Justice Center jail as evidence that Walsh should go. On his campaign website, Bragg lists the names of three inmates who have died at the jail since Walsh became sheriff. Shelley has met with community groups that have protested against poor medical care there. Price has said the problems at the jail are a result of mismanagement.
Walsh said the county last year spent $8 million on medical and mental health care at the jail — an amount he said is probably more than any other jail of the same size. There were more than 44,000 sick calls last year, with more than 300 inmates transported to the emergency room, he said.
“They do an excellent job over there,” he said. “The deputies don’t hesitate for a moment to pick up the phone and call the nurses if there’s any issue, and the nurses respond very quickly.”
The state Commission of Correction in July criticized the medical care that preceded the death of inmate Chuniece Patterson in November. She died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after complaining of pain for 14 hours, according to jail records.
Bragg cited the 1996 death of another inmate from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. After that, the county instituted policies designed to prevent another such death. Bragg said it appears the new policies weren’t followed, including the need for a doctor to perform a pelvic exam on a pregnant woman complaining of abdominal pain.
“It’s pathetic,” he said. “I don’t know how that falls through the cracks.”
Walsh maintains the county did follow the new policy in Patterson’s case.
The Commission of Correction and three other agencies are investigating the death of Raul Pinet Jr. after he was booked at the jail in August.
Contact John O’Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 470-2187.