The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Theater on Vassar Street in the City of Poughkeepsie was nearly at maximum capacity at a “Meet the Candidates” event ahead of Election Day.
Dutchess County Comptroller candidates and Dutchess County Court Judge candidates weighed in on the issues Oct. 22 during a debate hosted by the Northern Dutchess Branch of the NAACP and moderated by retired attorney Deidra Jen Brown.
Election Day is on Nov. 4, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Here are the debate highlights.
Key takeaways from Dutchess County Comptroller debate
Incumbent Democratic and Working Families candidate Dan Aymar-Blair took the stage with Republican and Conservative challenger Will Truitt, current chair of the Dutchess County Legislature.
The candidates were asked about the “financial skill and nonpartisan integrity” required for the comptroller job.
Aymar-Blair pointed to his overseeing a $600 million budget as New York City Department of Education COO for the division of teaching and learning, and Truitt referenced his experience as CFO for Metzger Construction and its $5-$8 million budget, as well as his work creating county budgets while on the legislature.
In regard to maintaining public trust and neutrality in office, Aymar-Blair said he invited “any comptroller or auditor” into the comptroller’s office to review their work, highlighting the nonpartisan nature of the office auditors, while suggesting an embargo on future comptroller reports around election season, to prevent interference with local elections.
Truitt said the comptroller serves on behalf of “all 300,000 residents in Dutchess County,” denouncing a political agenda in the role and emphasizing his willingness to work with legislators on both sides of the aisle. In the past three elections, he said, he has raised $0 to be “accountable to the people, not to special interest groups.”
When asked about the comptroller’s potential to “impact social change or to drive narratives that benefit the entire community,” Aymar-Blair highlighted his office’s recent report on the financial history of the county-promised Youth Opportunity Union in an effort to redirect the county’s attention to restarting the work on it. On Oct. 21, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino announced a new, scaled-down plan for the YOU.
Regarding fund transparency, Truitt said he would ensure any significant “redirection of funds” by county government should be brought forward to the attention of the taxpayers.”
Brown asked the candidates about balancing “fiscal discipline” with pressing needs of the community, such as “affordable housing, infrastructure and public safety.”
Truitt pointed to the Housing Trust Fund — established in 2022 to address accessibility challenges by supporting the development and preservation of affordable housing efforts. If elected, he said, the fund could be analyzed, and could be provided with “strong oversight,” ensuring money is “going to the right places,” and is “being spent the right way by the contractors.”
Aymar-Blair said the comptroller can review how the Housing Trust Fund has done so far, which his office has done, and he said, “We haven’t seen high performance.” Only $12.5 million has been allocated, he said, and “it hasn’t really gone anywhere since.”
“I think the Housing Trust Fund fell short, so I hope that more money goes into that in the coming budget from the county executive,” Aymar-Blair said.
Key takeaways from Dutchess County Court Judge debate
Incumbent Republican and Conservative Ned McLoughlin took the stage with Democratic and Working Families candidate Kara Gerry.
McLoughlin has been on the bench for 10 years, serving as county court judge since 2015 and as acting New York State Supreme Court Justice since 2017.
Gerry is an attorney with nearly two decades of courtroom experience, and currently works in the Dutchess County Public Defender’s office. She has worked as a prosecutor, as well as a public defender, which she said “would bring good balance and perspective” to the bench.
Brown spoke with the candidates about slogans like “law and order” and “tough on crime,” and asked whether they use such slogans in their campaigns or believe these carry “inherent biases,” and could be viewed as promoting “over policing in marginalized communities.”
McLoughlin said his campaign slogan is “Without justice, there’s chaos,” and everyone who comes before him on the bench “gets a chance” and he will hear their story.
McLoughlin said he was unable to give his opinion on whether the referenced slogans carry inherent biases because he’s not a “social scientist,” but could only speak from his experience.
He pointed to “law and order” as being “strong with people who are violent,” while getting people with addiction and mental health issues “back to their families and getting them back to our community.”
Gerry said her campaign slogan is “Respect and justice for all.”
She does not believe there should be a “tough” or “soft” way to approach crime, as many factors come into play.
Some sentences are deterrent, some are punitive, and some are rehabilitative, she said. If elected, she said she would work to ensure the community has better access to treatment courts, including Diversion Court, Beekman Drug Court or Veterans Treatment Court. She claimed there are only 30 participants in those programs now.
Brown asked McLoughin about his reputation for enforcing “extremely harsh sentences in high-profile cases,” citing a report of New York trial judges whose sentences were later deemed excessive.
McLoughin said it’s his role within the law to “reflect the values and the reactions of my community,” and the jury has “unanimously convicted that person beyond reasonable doubt.”
Every case he has is unique, he said, with many people never going to jail at all. Instead of looking at the statistics, McLoughin said, “each case needs to be examined carefully.”
Gerry nevertheless accused McLoughlin of imposing excessive sentences and said, “Actions speak louder than words, and Judge McLoughlin’s actions speak volumes.”
In a follow-up question, Brown said, “Democratic judicial candidates are often accused of being too woke,” and asked Gerry if she would put herself into that category.
“I wouldn’t consider myself woke by any stretch of the imagination,” Gerry said. “I’m a very middle-of-the-road person.”
On the topic of data-driven sentencing and “the impact historical context should have on the judicial decision-making process,” Brown noted in 2023, Black Dutchess County residents made up 14% of the population but accounted for around 42% of the county jail population, and asked the candidates what they think accounts for this disparity.
McLoughlin said the people who come before him should not be viewed as a statistic. He said he is not a “social scientist,” nor a “statistician,” but looks at the people in front of him holistically.
Gerry said there is “systemic inequality,” and if elected, it’s her role to have an awareness of the racial disparity when making sentencing determinations.
Brown described the New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act as a way for judges to “impose a reduced or alternative sentence” for a person accused of a crime, if that person can “demonstrate their domestic abuse significantly contributed to their criminal act,” and asked the candidates whether that person should receive a reduced or alternative sentence.
“Of course,” McLoughlin said.
“That’s what the statute’s for,” he said. “It’s a consideration.”
Gerry agreed and said the act also recognized the “hidden injustices” within the criminal system that “sentencing law had previously failed to recognize.”
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: These Dutchess County candidates met for a debate. Here are the key takeaways
Reporting by Nickie Hayes, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
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