Republicans choose Schiff over Dymond

Incumbent wins a hard-fought race

By Zoey McGee | Manor Ink

Sullivan County, NY – The Republican primary on June 24 marked the end of a high-stakes contest for Sullivan County sheriff, as longtime incumbent Mike Schiff faced a strong challenge from recently retired State Police senior investigator Tim Dymond.

Schiff, who has held the office since 2005, highlighted two decades of crime reduction, the creation of school resource and emergency-response teams, the introduction of drone operations and the construction of a new county jail. He continued to maintain a sizable campaign fund.

Dymond campaigned on what he called a “need for change.” He said that if elected, he planned to modernize the department, pursue state accreditation and focus on combating the county’s opioid epidemic. His mostly digital campaign raised $69,000, and launched over 55 targeted social media ads.

In early voting tallies, Schiff had a clear lead. By 11 p.m., the race was called, with the incumbent garnering 2,691 votes, or 59 percent, to Dymond’s 1,900 votes, or 41 percent. Write-in candidates received less than one percent of the votes cast.

“I’m very excited about the next four years,” Schiff said in a brief victory speech posted on the Sullivan County Post’s Facebook page. “Regardless of what everybody says, that this was my last term, we’ll see!”

Because he won the primary, it is very likely Schiff will win the general election in November, and will remain Sullivan County’s sheriff.