Democrat Ed Hughes, a 27-year veteran of the Hamburg Highway Department who is running for highway superintendent, has been a part-time police officer for the Village of Blasdell for 21 years.
So he was a little surprised to see a political mailer accusing him of wanting to defund the police.
"I am the police, I’ve never said that, I never will say that, we have a great police department in the Town of Hamburg," Hughes said. "Defund the police will never come out of my mouth."
From Hamburg to Orchard Park, Tonawanda to Niagara County and beyond, national rhetoric about defunding police has appeared this year in political campaigns in the suburbs, long known for touting their safe communities and praising their police departments.
Candidates of every party are coming out in support of police, even when public safety is not an issue.
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“Defund the police” has become an issue even in campaigns for offices that have nothing to do with police budgets, like the Hamburg highway superintendent.
And to drive the police message home, some Republicans also are running on minor party lines such as Support Police and Back the Blue.
Republicans in some suburbs also are trying to link Democratic candidates to Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton, a self-described Democratic socialist.
"It's kind of trying to tie all Democrats to some of their much more progressive elements that really are not that popular among the general public," said Shawn J. Donahue, assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo.
On the flip side, Donahue pointed out that Democrats in Virginia are trying to link the GOP candidate for governor to Donald Trump.
"When you have these off-year elections it gives parties a chance to test out things they're probably going to use in the midterm election or presidential election," Donahue said.
"Defund the police" became a rallying cry amid last year's protests that erupted following the murder of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer.
It's proved to be a divisive term. Activists against police misconduct say that police department have seen their budgets increase while other services, like education and mental health care, have lost funding. Some have shifted away from the term as it polarized the discussion and was criticized as anti-law enforcement.
In Tonawanda
Republicans have linked suburban Buffalo Democratic candidates to controversial progressive proposals – including defund the police – after they received the nomination of the Working Families Party.
Town of Tonawanda Republicans blasted three Democratic Town Board candidates for accepting the Working Families Party endorsement.
Town Republican Chairman Matthew Braun linked Democrats to two progressive figures: Buffalo mayoral candidate Walton and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Queens, who campaigned for Walton in Buffalo last week. And Braun urged the Democratic candidates to renounce the Working Families ballot line.
“It’s hard to believe that anyone would accept the endorsement of a party that openly calls for the end of police in our communities and the continued release of dangerous criminals from prison,” Braun wrote.
The Working Families Party emphasizes community programming, bail reform and efforts to address the root causes of crime over traditional policing. And some candidates, such as Walton, have advocated cutting police budgets.
But the three Tonawanda Democratic candidates disavow any interest in “defunding the police.”
“I have approved increases to the police department budget every year I’ve been on the board,” Councilwoman Shannon Patch said, including $75,000 for the proposed 2022 town budget. She also noted the town recently made a social worker available to assist police and the department is getting ready to fill three vacant positions.
And Councilwoman Jill O’Malley, who served as facilitator for the state-mandated police reform and reinvention initiative, said the town is working to provide bias training, peer support and other programs to help its officers.
“I believe in fully supporting our police,” said O’Malley, who accused Republicans of “fear mongering” in some of their claims.
In Hamburg
Republican Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw, who is running for Hamburg Town supervisor, is one of the Republicans who has accused his opponent, Democrat Randy Hoak, of wanting to defund the police. And he defends that strategy.
“He represents the party that will defund police,” Mychajliw said of the Working Families Party, which nominated Hoak.
Republicans obtained questionnaires two Hamburg candidates submitted to the Working Families Party seeking the party's nomination and used those to campaign against the Democrats.
"They can run but cannot hide from their own words," Republican Chairman Dan O'Connell said.
The questionnaire asked what steps the candidate will take to address inequalities in the criminal legal system and transition to a model that prioritizes community investment and public health over punishment.
Democrat Town Board candidate Carly Story had a four-sentence reply, but Republicans zeroed in on the last line that said she would "funnel funding away from our overstaffed police."
Her answer in full was: "This is an area of particular concern for me, and I plan to use my knowledge and skills as a social worker to educate and advocate for rehabilitative and restorative practices versus punitive punishment. As a member of the Hamburg Coalition for Equity and Inclusion, we have ongoing contact with our town police chief, the police liaison to our group. Being able to bring concerns of residents to his attention in a more informal setting has been eye-opening, and I plan to work to maintain that relationship. I also aim to advocate for funneling of funding away from our overstaffed police force to community organizations for preventative resources."
Story said the quote was cherry-picked and she wants to make sure all community resources are well funded, not just the police force.
"If we can prevent things from happening, then we don't have to ask police to respond to things outside law enforcement," she said.
"It's so frustrating to me that this has become such a talking point here in Hamburg because our police force is extremely well-funded. We have a very robust police force in Hamburg," she said. "Nobody's talking about defunding the Hamburg Police."
Meanwhile, in Niagara County, Republicans have urged voters to "stop the progressive socialists from taking over Niagara County courts."
"Whenever one party finds an issue that works, they tend to run with it – until it doesn’t work," Donahue said.
News Staff Reporter Stephen T. Watson contributed to this story.
