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Otsego County Sheriff

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Election
Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The sheriff is the county's chief law enforcement officer and runs the county jail.

Photo of Mike Stalter
Mike StalterCampaign photo — AllOtsego

Mike Stalter

Republican, Otsego United

The gist

  • Pledges to rescind the sheriff's 287(g) agreement with ICE
  • Proposes cutting jail overtime and boarding inmates out less
  • Pledges an open-door policy for residents to meet the sheriff
  • Opposes new incident-reporting requirements for deputies
More about Mike
View sources (1)
  1. Pledges to rescind the sheriff's 287(g) agreement with ICE

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “He later said he would rescind the office’s recently-signed 287(g) Warrant Service Officer Agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
  2. Proposes cutting jail overtime and boarding inmates out less

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “he wants to see fewer inmates at the county jail boarded out to other jails and less overtime assignments for corrections officers”
  3. Pledges an open-door policy for residents to meet the sheriff

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “My goal is to bring common sense policies and an open door policy which allows people to come in and speak directly to the sheriff”
  4. Opposes new incident-reporting requirements for deputies

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “Stalter was also bothered by recent changes to incident reporting requirements for deputies, calling it “numbers driven” and “fluffing.””

Richard J. Devlin, Jr.

ConservativeIncumbent

The gist

  • Supports building a new Otsego County jail
  • Signed a 287(g) immigration warrant agreement with ICE
  • Supports complying with the state ban on 287(g) agreements
  • Supports sheriffs' lawsuit against the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act
More about Richard
View sources (3)
  1. Supports building a new Otsego County jail

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “Sheriff Devlin has been advocating for a new jail for years.”
  2. Signed a 287(g) immigration warrant agreement with ICE

    Former Sgt. Michael Stalter Announces Run for County Sheriff

    News coverage · AllOtsego · allotsego.com

    “In October, the Sheriff’s Office signed a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
  3. Supports complying with the state ban on 287(g) agreements

    New State Law Renders 287(g) Agreements, Including Otsego County's, Null and Void

    News coverage · AllOtsego · Aug 20, 2026 · allotsego.com

    “Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. stated that his office would comply fully with the mandate”
  4. Supports sheriffs' lawsuit against the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act

    Sheriffs File Suit Against Gov. Hochul's 'Local Cops, Local Crimes Act'

    News coverage · AllOtsego · Sep 3, 2026 · allotsego.com

    “he supports the sheriffs who have filed suit to challenge what they see as the governor’s overreach”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 4 issues covered in this race.