WNBZ Article
The Essex County Republican Committee endorsed Kristy Sprague over incumbent Julie Garcia for district attorney Tuesday Night at its annual meeting, held at the Old County Courthouse in Elizabethtown. Three candidates addressed committee members and a crowd of over 100 registered Republicans.
Sprague, an assistant DA in Clinton County, Garcia, the one-term incumbent, and Brian Barrett, a Lake Placid attorney, all lobbied for the committee's endorsement. When the weighted votes were tallied, Sprague received just over 8000 votes, while Garcia got 3,600. 215 votes were cast in Barrett's favor. Read More
Press Republican Article
The Essex County Republican Party Committee got behind Kristy Sprague for county district attorney and incumbent Henry Hommes for sheriff Tuesday night. Three candidates for district attorney and two for sheriff sought the party's coveted endorsement to run for office.
More than 100 Republicans packed into the Old County Courthouse, taking seats in both the main gallery and the balcony. Read More
Open Letter to the Essex County Republicans
Dear Voters:
I wanted you to know that I am vested in Essex County and care deeply about what happens in this County. I was born and raised in the Town of Moriah and resided there until I moved away to attend college and then law school.
Unfortunately, to pursue my career and passion in law enforcement, after graduating from law school, I had to move to the adjoining county as a job position became available in Clinton County District Attorney's Office. This was as opportunity of a lifetime, as positions such as this do not avail themselves all that often in rural counties. At the time, the Essex County District Attorney's Office was operating at full staff. So, I choose to pursue my desire to be a prosecutor and moved to Clinton County. I moved to pursue my career in the field that was close to my heart. My desire was to be a prosecutor and this move allowed me to do just that.
The move to Clinton County provided me with over a decade of trial experience to include assisting on two double homicide cases, one of which took over three months to try. A trial of this level provided me with an experience that many prosecuting attorneys in rural counties never achieve during their entire careers. I have dedicated the last three years of my career to primarily prosecuting sexual abuse cases, a majority of them involving child victims.
The fact is I am a true native of Essex County. My ties here have always remained constant and strong. My entire immediate and extended families continue to reside here. I will never forget two very important life notions my parents taught me: (1) To never forget where I came from and (2) to never go through life wishing you had done something you wanted to do, but never even tried. I am asking for your support to be able to not only return home, but to return home and continue to do what I love to do, which is to be a prosecutor.
I hope you understand and appreciate my desire to gain your support and vow that with your help, we as a team can make our county a much safer place. We as a team can bring experience and dignity back to the Essex County District Attorney's Office.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing all of you as the campaign progresses.
Sincerely,
Kristy L. Sprague
ELIZABETHTOWN -- The Essex County Republican Party Committee got behind Kristy Sprague for county district attorney and incumbent Henry Hommes for sheriff Tuesday night. The endorsement for sheriff was sought by 12-year incumbent Henry Hommes and challenger Michael "Ike" Tyler of Westport.
Hommes is a retired state trooper, while Tyler currently serves as a state correction officer. Hommes received the endorsement with 11,369 votes, to Tyler's 723. Another 422 votes were voided. Read More
Open Letter to the Essex County Republicans
Dear Republicans:
The time has come for me to once again seek your support for the position of Essex County Sheriff. I want to extend my appreciation and gratitude to you for your support in the past and appeal to you once again as I seek this trusted position.
It is hard to believe how quickly the past four years have gone by and how much has occurred over these four years. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly touch on some of those items both on a professional and personal level. In terms of my health, as Mark Twain once said, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." As many of you are aware, I was diagnosed with cancer of my left lung in November of 2007. I immediately started treatment at the Fitzpatrick Cancer Center in Plattsburgh, and after missing a short period after surgery I returned to work full time and have continued to do so since.
As someone who has faced the battle with cancer, I understand how frightening this experience can be, but I have learned a far greater lesson from all of this. I believe we all wonder how we are going to react to the toughest challenges of life. When it does happen, I still find it remarkable that the love of family and friends is what really carries us thru. The outpouring of support that I received from my family, my friends and my colleagues is something which I will never forget.
It is ironic in many ways, that at a time when I have had personal challenges it was the busiest time for the Essex County Sheriff's Department. In June of 2005, we finally broke ground on the new Essex County Jail in Lewis. After more than two years of construction, NYS Commission of Corrections approvals, training and numerous inspections we finally, in October of 2007 moved into the new facility. During this period we where able to secure a contract with the US Marshal's Service to board federal inmates which will allow us to generate enough revenue to offset almost all of the $1.5 Million bond payments used to construct the facility.
The new jail is important but we continue to provide our other services as well. We are working with the Essex County Drug Task Force which includes the Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Ticonderoga Police Departments, the State Police and the District Attorney's Office. Our DARE program continues to serve the County Schools, and our Civil Department remains busy. With a new 120 cell jail and all of the current responsibilities of the department, I feel my experience is critical in meeting the needs of the department and I look forward to facing the challenges ahead.
In closing, I would like to thank you for your support and look forward to meeting with you as the campaign progresses.
Sincerely yours,
Henry Hommes
Essex County Sheriff
