By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
ELLICOTTVILLE — Acting Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler was nominated by Monday by the Cattaraugus County Republican Committee to run for sheriff in November.
Republican Chairman Mark Heberling called the Special Committee Meeting to nominate a Republican candidate for Sheriff for a full four-year term for the Nov. 5 General Election, after the recent retirement of former Sheriff, Timothy Whitcomb.
As undersheriff, Butler became acting sheriff when Whitcomb left the office for the last time on Friday.
Whitcomb retired after 34 years of service in law enforcement, including to the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office. At 15 years of service, he is the longest serving sheriff in the county’s history.
Heberling and Republican committeemen thanked former Sheriff Whitcomb for his record of distinguished public service and his leadership and dedication during the last two decades and wished him the absolute best in retirement.
Whitcomb spoke to the committee and provided his resounding support and endorsement of Butler, who served as Whitcomb’s second in command. As undersheriff, Butler oversaw the daily operations of a 150-bed jail, the 911 County dispatch center, the Sheriff’s Road patrol, SRT Team and Criminal Investigation Bureau and exercised direct oversight over all Office operations. Butler was sworn in as acting Sheriff on Friday, August 2, 2024.
Cattaraugus County Legislature’s Chairman, M. Andrew Burr, nominated Butler for the sheriff’s post. Olean Mayor William Aiello, seconded the motion.
In discussion, Cattaraugus County Legislature’s Vice Chairman, Michael Brisky, supported the motion. Thereafter, the Cattaraugus County Republican Committee voted unanimously to endorse Eric Butler as the Republican candidate for Cattaraugus County Sheriff.
“Acting Sheriff Butler’s significant experience, integrity and strong leadership is needed in order to continue the great work of the Office of the Sheriff,” Heberling said. “He is a proven leader in County law enforcement. He has also shown tremendous commitment to the community over the years, with his service as dog control officer for many municipalities, his professorship at Jamestown Community College, his prior presidency of a local Board of Education, and in his work in the development of the Sheriff’s Summer Camp for disadvantaged youth.”
Burr stated “Eric Butler is unquestionably the best candidate to fill the Sheriff’s role. The role of Sheriff is the oldest constitutional law enforcement office in the County and the office is charged with maintaining the peace in all municipalities, villages, and townships within our jurisdiction.”
Burr said, “The sheriff must be honest, trustworthy, and transparent in both their actions and decision-making and they must be committed to upholding the law and maintaining the public’s trust in law enforcement.”
“In Eric Butler, we have precisely that person,” Burr said. This complex role is complicated by the outrageous mandates and misguided policies stemming from progressive liberal Democratic-led Albany, such as bail reform, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s unprecedented expansion of jail-based medication assisted treatment and the so-called “blindfold” law, a new discovery statute requiring the sharing of evidence by default between the prosecution and defense, on an unrealistically accelerated timeline. Eric is the only candidate who can successfully negotiate the Sheriff’s Office through these challenges.”
Cattaraugus County Legislature’s Vice Chairman, Michael Brisky, echoed Burr’s praise of Butler: “Eric Butler has served the Office of the Sheriff with honor and distinction for almost two and a half decades. He has shown extraordinary character in leadership, and he possesses the perfect skillset to continue to combat rising crime and deal with the challenges presented by New York State’s “criminal friendly” policies.”
Cattaraugus County Democrats may be leaning at endorsing their own candidate, said Acting Chairman Austin Morgan.”We have one candidate in particular in mind,” he said.
“We are looking to run a real race,”Morgan said in a telephone interview. “One party rule leads to bad outcomes for residents and taxpayers.”
Morgan said the county Democratic Committee will meet Sunday ahead of next week’s deadline for nominations.
More than one person has expressed interest in becoming the Democrat’s candidate for sheriff, Morgan said. “We’ve invited them to attend to see if they meet our needs.”
