June 06, 2002

Conservatives back DuBois for sheriff

By Timothy O'Connor
Times Herald-Record

Goshen - When Orange County voters step into the polling booth in November, they will see Carl DuBois's name on the ballot.

The candidate for sheriff will be there regardless of the outcome of his September Republican primary face-off with incumbent Sheriff Frank Bigger.

That's because the retired Middletown police lieutenant this week received the endorsement of the Orange County Conservative Committee.

"We just felt like it was time for a change," said John DeLessio, chairman of the Conservative Committee. "DuBois was presenting the change we were looking for."

The committee interviewed the two Republicans - as well as Democratic candidate John Whiffen, police chief in the Town of Highlands - before making its endorsement.

DeLessio said controversies that have dogged the sheriff's office over the last several years may have hurt Bigger's bid for the endorsement.

"It probably didn't help," DeLessio said.

Bigger has been sued by the state attorney general's office over fund-raising scams conducted by certain volunteer sheriff's deputies. He has also weathered an independent study that blasted his administration of the office.

The Conservative Committee endorsed Bigger in 1994 during his first run, but sat out the 1998 election when Bigger bested Whiffen.

Bigger last week received the overwhelming endorsement of the Republican Committee. But DuBois has promised to run a primary against him.The Conservative backing, DuBois said, will help him win the Republican primary.

"It will help me make the case to the rank-and-file Republicans that I'm the best chance of keeping the sheriff's office in Republican hands," he said.

Bigger said he was "not deterred" by the endorsement, noting he won in 1998 without it.

There are 3,625 registered Conservatives in the county, according to the most recent Board of Elections numbers. That pales in comparison to the 71,000 Republicans, 56,000 Democrats and the 36,590 voters registered as independents. But few dispute that the importance of the nod in conservative Orange County outweighs the numbers on the voting rolls.

"It's like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," DeLessio said, "People like to see who's on that line on the ballot."