Rensselaer County residents will soon be casting their vote for a new sheriff, and candidates have been going door to door campaigning and making their case.  

County Sheriff Sergeant Kyle Bourgault has been with the department for the past 16 years. He’s endorsed by outgoing sheriff Pat Russo.

“I'm running because I genuinely care about my community. I genuinely care about my agency, the men and women that I work with. The safety and security of the residents of this county is my number one priority,” said Bourgault. 

Also in the race is former Troy Police Chief Brian Owens, who is an enrolled Conservative but is endorsed by county Democrats. Owens has over 30 years of military and law enforcement experience, serving as a corrections officer with the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office and chief with the Troy Police Department.

“I deployed to Iraq and led soldiers in combat, and so I have an understanding of what it takes to motivate people to a common goal. In this case, it's keeping the residents of Rensselaer County safe,” said Owens.  

A focal campaign point for both candidates is improving retention and recruitment rates throughout the department. The sheriff's office correctional field is down a significant number of staff, Bourgault said, which is leading to some people working 16 hours. Bourgault is hoping to connect with schools to educate students about career opportunities in the field.  

“It’s incumbent on our elected officials to understand that if we want qualified, trained people that there's an importance on putting in enough pay — salary, competitive benefits — so that we can attract qualified candidates that we want working in our community. It's absolutely a challenge. My experience in Troy P.D., we were able to fully staff up the department and even get elected officials in the city to agree to increasing our staffing,” said Owens.  

Owens is hoping to diversify recruitment efforts while also implementing improved training initiatives. Another top issue is school safety.  

“The safety and security of our children and those that educate our children shouldn't be second to anything. If that means staffing a school resource officer at every school in the county, then that's what we're going to do.” said Bourgault.  

Owens said school safety involves working with school districts and community members to help limit school encounters, bullying and drug use.  

If elected, Bourgault is hoping to tackle bail reform and work with the New York State Sheriff’s Association to fight against it. He also says the migrant crisis and need to protect Second Amendment rights are major concerns.

“That's a big issue for this county. And although we don't legislate or make laws as sheriff, we have a right to uphold and continue to voice our concern against people that are trying to take away our Second amendment rights,” said Bourgault. 

Owens stresses the importance of strengthening ties with the community to reduce violence.  

“Most of our interactions are at critical incidents. So the high-stress, high-consequence environment. And so, there's not always a lot of time for dialog or discussion or even understanding. People have concern, certainly, about school safety, traffic safety, illegal drugs, concern about enforcement of gun laws and support for our constitutional rights, particularly the Second Amendment,” said Owens.