Garcia ad in Erie County sheriff's race based on lie, Democratic chair says

“Kim Beaty has never advocated ‘dismantling’ the Sheriff’s Office, and any claim to the contrary is a lie, pure and simple," said Jeremy Zellner, the party chairman.

The Garcia advertisement says Beaty "will dismantle the pillars of community protection in Erie County." It then shows a confident-looking Garcia and calls him the candidate who can prevent the county from becoming "another failed socialist public safety experiment."

The ad seeks to link Beaty with India Walton, the democratic socialist who won the Democratic primary for Buffalo mayor and is being challenged by incumbent Byron W. Brown in a write-in campaign.

Walton established her public profile during the local protests against police brutality that arose after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers. The ad brings in pictures of mass demonstrations around the country and throws out the term "defund the police."

Beaty, however, has little connection to Walton, Zellner says. Zellner says she has not endorsed Walton or the mayor, she wants to increase the Erie County Sheriff's Office budget and has never taken a "defund the police" stance. He said lawyers will send a letter to the Garcia camp insisting the ad be discontinued.

Said Beaty: "John knows that I took very good care of Buffalo police officers, and it's a shame that he is lying to win an election. I believe that law enforcement officers should have all the resources they need to get the job done." 

Both Garcia and Beaty spent the majority of their law enforcement careers with the Buffalo Police Department. Garcia worked as a detective in narcotics, homicide and as a crisis negotiator. He now has an ownership stake in a private security firm. Beaty rose through the ranks and left the department as a deputy commissioner. She is public safety director at Canisius College. 

The Garcia camp shows no sign of backing down. A spokesman linked the two by saying they are part of the same Zellner-supported Democratic slate of candidates and provided a picture in which Walton and Beaty appear at the same party event.

"Jeremy Zellner has endorsed both India Walton and Kim Beaty, and he is now saying they have opposite views – typical political party boss doing the political two-step," said campaign manager, Mitch Martin. "Jeremy Zellner is also the largest donor to the Kim Beaty campaign, so this isn't surprising.

"There is a reason why all three unions representing the Sheriff's Office have endorsed John Garcia's candidacy along with the Buffalo PBA, who know firsthand Kim's record," Martin said.