Bernard A. Tolbert, the 2017 Democratic candidate for Erie County sheriff, said Monday that he will not seek the post again this year.
A former special agent in-charge of the Buffalo FBI who also held major security posts in private business and had pondered another run, Tolbert said personal and family considerations figured in his decision.
His withdrawal winnows the large field of potential candidates seeking to succeed retiring Republican Timothy B. Howard to nine.
The race now features five Democrats and four Republicans.
Democrats include Dennis J. Richards, chief of detectives in the Buffalo Police Department; Brian Gould, assistant chief of the Cheektowaga Police Department; Rick Lauricella, a retired Erie County sheriff's sergeant who is now chief of the Village of Akron Police Department; Kimberly Beaty, a retired deputy commissioner in the Buffalo Police Department who now heads public safety at Canisius College; and Michael F. Reardon, first deputy supervisor of compliance in the Sheriff's Office.
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Republicans include John C. Garcia and Karen L. Healy-Case, both retired from the Buffalo Police Department; Steve Felano, a gun rights advocate; and Ted DiNoto, a detective lieutenant in the Amherst Police Department.
