The position:
The Broome County sheriff’s office is made up of nine divisions, with responsibilities including overseeing and staffing the county correctional facility, managing highway patrol, running special investigations and general law enforcement, and managing civil processes like judgements and evictions.
The sheriff’s department is also responsible for pistol permits and sheriff ID cards and training correctional officers and local law enforcement officers across a seven-county area.
Term: Four years
Each candidate was asked to limit answers to 100 to 150 words. WSKG cut answers at the 150 mark. If you would like more details about a candidate’s answer to a question, their contact information and/or website is provided in this Voter Guide.
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Candidate: Fred Akshar
Incumbent - Elected 2022
Party affiliation: Republican, Conservative
WSKG Q&A
What is the greatest law enforcement challenge facing Broome County over the next four years? How would you address it?
From our first day in office, the goal of the Broome County Sheriff’s Office has been relatively simple: Prioritize Public Safety.
We do that by ensuring that those protecting and serving the people of our community have the best training, tools and support possible, while meeting the highest standards possible.
In 2026, BCSO Deputies are answering thousands more calls for service, up 25% since we took office. More people are getting help they need, from public safety emergencies to active crimes, domestic situations or other issues.
The new Strategic Response Group addresses ongoing community issues using real-time crime data from the Southern Tier Crime Analysis Center, identifying and targeting problem areas that might not get the extra attention from Road Patrol Deputies going call to call.
In the first two years alone, they’ve added hundreds of narcotics, warrant, vehicle and traffic and weapons arrests to the work our Road Patrol …[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The state’s new Local Cops, Local Crime Act includes a ban on formal partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
Our Sheriff’s Office has and always will enforce the law, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with any particular statute.
The reason why I joined 14 other sheriffs in a lawsuit against two of the most powerful politicians in Albany is simple: It’s about standing up for what’s right and standing up for Public Safety.
It’s standing up for men and women in uniform and against the continued erosion of accountability and common sense in our criminal justice system.
It’s standing up on behalf of the victims of preventable tragedies perpetrated by criminals who’ve been coddled by opportunistic politicians and out-of-touch activists.
It’s standing up for people who’ve endured unimaginable pain because of decisions made out of political expediency rather than right and wrong.
It’s standing up for the safety of my own 6-year-old son, my daughter, my family and countless other families who should never be needlessly put…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
In what ways, if any, should the sheriff's office collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies? What would that cooperation look like ideally, and how would it help protect Broome County residents from crimes?
The policy of the Broome County Sheriff’s Office from the start has been to prioritize public safety, with a clear understanding of what our role is. We understand that our deputies are not immigration officers and we would not be participating in day to day Civil Immigration enforcement. There is an entire agency designed for that.
But if there were ever a situation where the safety of our community was in jeopardy because of a wanted criminal – regardless of his/her immigration status – we would not hesitate to act in the interest of protecting our community.
If the safety of our community’s families is at risk, we have and always will support our colleagues in law enforcement regardless of the agency, because public safety is too important for petty politics.
Within the law as written, our policy for holding federal detainees is that they must be held on a judicial…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
Children are facing more threats to their safety from online sources. At the federal level, the regional FBI offices have cyber crime specialists who are available to make local presentations. Should the Broome County Sheriff’s Office be doing anything to educate children and parents about these risks and how to protect against them?
Over the past three years, our Broome County Sheriff’s Office team has provided nearly 100 local, in-person presentations on cyber crime, online scams, exploitation and other digital threats for not only students and parents, but for grandparents, seniors and other community members throughout Broome County.
Since taking office, Community Engagement has been a cornerstone of our efforts to strengthen bonds, build trust and foster partnerships with our community’s families. Our new Community Engagement team has participated in nearly 800 community events, classroom presentations, senior center visits, safety checks and other interactions with the children and families of Broome County in the past 3 years alone, and we’re only getting started.
The majority of incarcerated people are released and return to their communities. What is the greatest challenge facing Broome County residents reentering society after incarceration?
Communication and Coordination have been key to our Responsible Reentry plan, and over the past three years, we’ve completely overhauled the reentry process so that discharge and community reintegration planning for incarcerated individuals begins as soon as someone enters our jail.
Our new and improved Discharge Team coordinates with host of community partners like ACBC, VOICES Recovery, Mothers & Babies, YWCA, STAP, the Broome Health Department, Department of Mental Health, Social Services, Visions FCU and other community volunteers to connect more individuals with the services and assistance they need 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 they are discharged.
Our community partnerships help ensure continuity of medical care, mental health and substance abuse treatment and appointments, activating health insurance, securing housing, transportation and clothing.
This remains a challenge when 80% of releases are unscheduled and by court order, but it hasn’t deterred our team from doing all they can to provide released clients with more opportunities to…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The Broome County Correctional Facility has services to help people with reentering society. Is there anything else the BCSO or BCCF should do to help with the most difficult reentry challenges?
In the past year alone, our team has handled nearly 1000 scheduled and unscheduled releases, providing 532 rides, issuing over 500 Sheriff’s ID cards, helping complete 548 DSS applications for assistance, helping activate health insurance for 128 people, providing clothes for over 155 people and helping schedule 167 drug and alcohol treatment and support appointments, 204 mental health appointments and over 252 primary care appointments.
That’s not all. We introduced a free digital learning initiative that provides inmates with over 8,700 hours of digital learning, workforce development and personal growth courses, along with 10,000 books to read on their tablets free of charge.
We also created the Correctional Facility Garden in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension to provide meaningful, rewarding programming while donating over 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to locally families in need through CHOW. We expanded the volunteer work program to allow trustee workers to…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
ALPRs are getting a lot of attention, is there other law enforcement technology you think would help the BCSO to prevent or solve crimes? Name one and how it would make a difference?
Our BCSO team is always exploring the latest technological advancements to better protect and serve our community. We’ve documented our substantial success utilizing drone technology to find missing people, as well as arson, burglary and other criminal suspects over the past two years. Our StarChase GPS launcher has helped law enforcement locate and apprehend fleeing vehicles without engaging in potentially dangerous high-speed pursuits, and body camera technology has helped provide accountability, trust and transparency for suspects, our men and women in uniform and members of our community.
Not every tool of law enforcement needs to be high-tech to be highly-effective. Our newly relaunched K9 Division has assisted in hundreds of investigations, locating contraband, fugitives and lost or missing community members.
There is no single magic solution to protecting our community’s families. Our focus is on effectively utilizing a variety of tools to solve crimes, hold criminals accountable and ultimately make…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
ALPR systems have internal audit functions so that law enforcement departments can be alerted if their data isn’t being accessed appropriately. Do you think the audit reports should be made available to the public regularly on the county or sheriff office website? Why or why not?
Audit logs are not released because the data would include information related to ongoing investigations, information on wanted individuals, missing people, suspect or victim vehicles. This information, which includes specific GPS locations and plate numbers, not only jeopardizes ongoing investigations, but could put crime victims at risk.
Any identified misuse of the data would obviously be made public due to the criminal charges of the individual accessing the data, just as it has been in recent news reports.
Do you think School Resource Officers (SRO) are needed in Broome County? Why or why not?
Every child deserves a safe and secure environment to learn and grow, and every parent deserves to know that their children are cared for and protected at school.
That’s why the Broome County Sheriff’s Office was proud to expand our School Resource Officer program to more schools than ever before.
Our SROs don’t just help ensure safety and security of our community’s most vulnerable and treasured resource, they build relationships, connections and trust with students, going above and beyond to help make them feel safe in every way as they go about their day.
For many of our SROs, the work continues long after the school day ends. For example, SRO Tony Wood helped organize an annual kickball tournament involving multiple schools that’s already raised tens of thousands of dollars for local families in need.
Our BCSO Family will continue making every effort to help keep our community’s children as…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo required all law enforcement agencies to create policing reform plans in 2020. Should the sheriff’s office make any more changes relating to the 2020-2021 reforms? If yes, give one example of something you would like done? If you answer no, please state why are no further reforms needed?
We have committed to always improving how we protect and serve the community from Day One.
Even before being sworn in as Sheriff, we established the Rentry Reform Advisory Task Force, comprised of dozens of local volunteers, advocates, community organizations and service providers. We’ve been able to meet nearly every month for the past 3 years, identifying specific issues at the Broome County Correctional Facility and in the reentry process while working together to solve them.
To probably protect and serve the community, you must be a part of the community, that’s why we’ve brought unprecedented community engagement, community interaction and community partnership to the Broome County Sheriff’s Office. Our dedicated team has been out and present at schools, community events, parks and more than 312 times last year alone. Every day they’re making our community safer just by being there, talking and, most importantly, listening to the people they…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
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Candidate: Matt Ryan
Party affiliation: Democratic, Working Families
WSKG Q&A
What is the greatest law enforcement challenge facing Broome County over the next four years? How would you address it?
The greatest challenge facing Broome County is rebuilding public trust while tackling an out-of-control budget and fractured inter-agency relationships. The Sheriff's Office has used political intervention to monopolize county resources—pushing through an over $7 million budget hike while other departments were flatlined—and forcing costs onto communities like Deposit. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars fund vanity projects, like a full time PR man trailing the Sheriff, instead of evidence-based crime prevention.
Furthermore, The current sheriff has fractured, bullied and alienated our community because he prefers playing politics and building his reputation over leading. He has lost the community’s trust on immigration by partnering so closely with ICE. He embarrassed our entire community with his disrespectful display in Congress. And, in the process, his office lost all credibility in supporting victims of sexual assault.
As Sheriff, I will treat every tax dollar with respect. I will eliminate redundant services, partner…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The state’s new Local Cops, Local Crime Act includes a ban on formal partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
I strongly agree with the Local Cops, Local Crime Act because public safety relies entirely on community trust. Forcing local law enforcement to act as federal immigration agents isolates immigrant neighbors, driving crime victims and witnesses into the shadows out of fear.
Furthermore, entangling our jail with federal ICE operations is fiscally irresponsible. Low per-diem reimbursements (around $90 to $110 per detainee) fail to cover the true medical, staffing, translation, and operational expenses borne by local taxpayers. Housing asylum seekers created operational chaos inside the jail.
Local police should focus strictly on protecting our streets and investigating local crimes, not executing Trump’s agenda.
In what ways, if any, should the sheriff's office collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies? What would that cooperation look like ideally, and how would it help protect Broome County residents from crimes?
It’s sad that we even have to ask this question, given how much Trump and his cronies have undermined federal cooperation. The Broome County Sheriff's Office has and will continue to collaborate with federal agencies like the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals through targeted joint task forces, specialized technical support, and shared intelligence databases. This partnership must focus on complex, high-impact criminal networks that cross municipal and state borders, such as trafficking operations, violent gun crime networks, human trafficking rings, and locating dangerous fugitives. Partnerships should go after the big fish.
This focused approach protects Broome County residents from organized regional criminal enterprises while preventing local patrol and corrections resources from being diverted into unrelated federal administrative priorities, such as civil immigration enforcement. It keeps our core focus on protecting our neighborhoods from serious, violent crime.
Children are facing more threats to their safety from online sources. At the federal level, the regional FBI offices have cyber crime specialists who are available to make local presentations. Should the Broome County Sheriff’s Office be doing anything to educate children and parents about these risks and how to protect against them?
Yes. On-line risks--for kids, parents, and older people are increasing and evolving. Today, on-line harassment, stealing personal information, faking checks, and scamming money out of vulnerable people is rampant. Local police need to invest resources in combatting these crimes and working with trusted partners, like schools, to provide the best pro-active safety education possible.
I believe schools should be leading educational efforts. So when I am in office I will begin conversations with them on these, and other topics, to see how our office can help them protect our community's kids. We need a broad effort to create an educational Safety Curriculum to formalize information flows between public safety experts and on-the-ground credible messengers like teachers and community leaders, so we all have the information we need to keep our community safe.
I will, however, establish accessible, local reporting channels so parents and victims have an immediate law enforcement point…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The majority of incarcerated people are released and return to their communities. What is the greatest challenge facing Broome County residents reentering society after incarceration?
The greatest challenge facing residents reentering society is the severe lack of transitional stability, specifically safe housing, jobs, and uninterrupted mental health and treatment. When individuals leave the Broome County Correctional Facility without a stable place to sleep, reliable transportation, or continuous medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders, they face immediate barriers that push them back toward despair and cycle people back to jail. Even a few days in jail can upend someone’s life.
Thanks to state law changes and investments, transitions back to the community have improved. But they are still inadequate and rely on under-resourced not-for-profit organizations. And it shows: the lack of funding for transitional services contributes directly to our growing homelessness population in Broome County. Housing is the key to breaking both the cycle of recidivism and homelessness.
As Sheriff, I will invest in transitional services, including post-release housing and getting the bloated sheriff’s budget under…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The Broome County Correctional Facility has services to help people with reentering society. Is there anything else the BCSO or BCCF should do to help with the most difficult reentry challenges?
Reentry services must begin on day one of incarceration, not right before release. It starts with improving jail conditions and educational services in the jail. The horrific salmonella outbreak made clear that the jail must do better ensuring adequate nutrition and food. How can we expect someone to improve themselves with such low-quality and dangerous food? Additionally, I’ll work with the state to reduce jail communications costs so incarcerated people can maintain and grow positive relationships with their outside support network, a critical part of reentry. [WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
ALPRs are getting a lot of attention, is there other law enforcement technology you think would help the BCSO to prevent or solve crimes? Name one and how it would make a difference?
As Mayor of Binghamton I directed our staff to implement the first crime mapping system in Binghamton. As Sheriff, I will bolster our forensic capacities to reduce investigative delays and expense from sending samples to other agencies. We need to review exactly what capacities exist and better systems for handling forensic evidence.
I am a strong proponent of using cutting edge technology to inform and improve crime prevention and investigation. Too often, however, police technology just means more surveillance of regular, everyday people. I believe protecting people’s civil liberties is key to crime fighting and prevention because it builds trust.
Additionally, new technologies are not always improvements. They can be costly to procure and implement. Between training new staff and changing workflows, new tech is often more trouble than its worth.
The best way to keep our community safe are the most low-tech: building strong connections with our neighbor, cultivating…[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
ALPR systems have internal audit functions so that law enforcement departments can be alerted if their data isn’t being accessed appropriately. Do you think the audit reports should be made available to the public regularly on the county or sheriff office website? Why or why not?
Yes, ALPR audit reports should be published regularly on the county or Sheriff's Office website. Automatic license plate readers gather massive amounts of location data on everyday law-abiding drivers. Whenever law enforcement deploys surveillance technology, proactive public transparency is required to maintain community trust. Standardized public audits reassure residents that database access is strictly restricted to legitimate, active criminal investigations and deter unauthorized internal queries.
Additionally, I will review how ALPR’s are deployed in our community and renegotiate or terminate bad contracts that turn over too much private data. Public safety is not undermined by respecting civil liberties, it is enhanced because it promotes community trust.
Do you think School Resource Officers (SRO) are needed in Broome County? Why or why not?
SRO programs can support school safety, but they succeed only through close collaboration and local control by individual school districts. New York State provides rigorous training programs, and the most effective models prevent SROs from intervening in routine student discipline, ensuring school administrators handle student conduct while officers focus purely on campus safety.
Unfortunately, Broome County recently centralized the SRO program under the Sheriff’s Department, stripping autonomy away from local school boards. Parents have raised concerns after well-liked, experienced officers were replaced with novices without community input.
As Sheriff, I will return decision-making power to the school districts, allowing educators and parents to participate in selecting officers and shaping the program's scope. School safety works best as an authentic, locally driven partnership that reflects the values of the students, educators, and families we serve.
Former governor Andrew Cuomo required all law enforcement agencies to create policing reform plans in 2020. Should the sheriff’s office make any more changes relating to the 2020-2021 reforms? If yes, give one example of something you would like done? If you answer no, please state why are no further reforms needed?
Yes, the Sheriff’s Office must treat reform as an ongoing standard of good governance, not a discarded checkbox. The county's 2021 plan was an embarrassment—a six-sentence draft developed with minimal public input. As Mayor of Binghamton for eight years, I led executive initiatives that drove real institutional progress, and I will bring that same accountability to the Sheriff's Office.
One concrete reform we will implement immediately is establishing a public criminal justice data portal, modeled after successful systems like the City of Rochester’s. Making regular data on traffic stops, citations, arrests, and jail admissions accessible online ensures transparency and community oversight.
Additionally, we must restructure road patrols to guarantee reliable, community-oriented coverage for rural and outlying towns that lack municipal police departments, fulfilling the Sheriff's core duty to protect every corner of Broome County.
I will also create a violence interrupters program and new initiatives to support gun shot victims. [WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]