After waging a semi-active campaign on the Conservative line, sheriff candidate Karen L. Healy-Case said Tuesday she has changed her mind and will not participate in a League of Women Voters debate Wednesday in East Aurora.
She is now supporting Democrat Kimberly L. Beaty, the retired Buffalo deputy commissioner and chief of security at Canisius College, in a move that could influence the dynamic of the sheriff election.
"I believe Kim Beaty has the experience from working in the Police Department and outside the Police Department," Healy-Case said. "She's done extremely well in both roles, she's intelligent, and I support her."
The former Buffalo police lieutenant gained the Republican endorsement last spring, but lost the party nomination to former Buffalo Det. John C. Garcia in the June 22 primary. Healy-Case was also nominated by the Conservative Party, where she continues to appear.
People are also reading…
At this late date in the campaign, however, she is unable to leave the minor party line. Though she has not actively campaigned since the primary, she previously told The Buffalo News she viewed as "important" the need to participate in the Wednesday debate as the Conservative candidate.
While sources indicate some Conservative and GOP leaders had urged her to avoid even the hint of an active campaign so as not to draw votes and diffuse opposition to Beaty, Healy-Case said Tuesday she now makes a "gut-wrenching" decision on her own.
"I decided to step aside because I had no chance of winning the election on a minor party line and I don't want to be a distraction to the process," she said.
The debate is slated for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the East Aurora Senior Center. It will include Beaty, Garcia and Ted DiNoto, am Amherst detective lieutenant running on a minor party line.
