Voters oust sheriff in Columbia County
Republican incumbent Bartlett falls to Krapf by significant margin
Columbia County has a new sheriff after a bruising contest heavily influenced by the indictment of one of incumbent David Barlett’s deputies last year.
Don Krapf, who ran as an independent but was backed by local Democratic organizations, won by a significant margin, receiving 55 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results published by the county early Wednesday morning.
Krapf, a 23-year veteran of the Columbia County Sheriff ’s Office, ran against his boss, Bartlett, a two-term Republican who began serving in the police agency in 1984.
Though undersheriffs — the sheriff ’s second-in-command — are not elected and are appointed by the sheriff, Krapf campaigned with his selected undersheriff hopeful, Jackie Salvatore, a veteran of the State Police who ran that agency’s Employee Assistance Program for years.
In a brief statement, Krapf acknowledged his win.
“I am honored and humbled by this victory. Jackie and I look forward to serving the citizens of Columbia County and bringing honor, integrity and valor with us. I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
Krapf, a former Republican, was also cross-endorsed by Democrats, appearing on their party line on the ballot. The Columbia County Democratic Committee threw its weight behind the candidate, issuing news releases, doing opposition research on Bartlett and paying for Krapf ’s campaign site.
It was the first time in recent memory that a candidate backed by Democrats won the sheriff ’s seat.
Krapf ’s win was based on many factors, but comes among a partisan sea change in the county as Democrats outnumber Republicans by wider and wider margins.
Registered Democrats began outnumbering registered Republicans in the county in 2008, according to the state Board of Elections. By the 2017 election, they outnumbered Republicans 55 percent to 45 percent, a number that surged to just under 60 percent in this year’s election.
Even with larger numbers, Democrats lost the sheriff ’s race in 2017, when Bartlett defeated progressive Chatham Police Chief Peter Volkmann by a significant margin.
Though Krapf ’s platform was vague — based on being more communicative and transparent toward the community and getting more training for sheriff ’s employees — it was enough to defeat Bartlett, who was dogged throughout his candidacy by the Harold Handy case, which resulted in the arrest of people with ties to the department.
During a late-night July 4 party at Deputy Kelly Rosenstrach’s home in 2020, Handy, a local mechanic, was allegedly beaten by Rosenstrach, her husband, gym owner Alex Rosenstrach, and two others. Columbia County sheriff ’s deputies responding to the scene erroneously told superiors that Handy was not severely hurt, and that partygoers were too drunk to be interviewed, according to a deposition taken by State Police and obtained by the Times Union.
However, Handy was injured severely enough to be rushed by helicopter to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he was placed in the intensive care unit.
The investigation into the alleged beating lay in Bartlett’s hands for nearly a month without any charges being filed before the Special Investigative Unit of the State Police took over the investigation at the request of Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czjaka.
The Rosenstrachs, IRS law enforcement agent Bryan Haag, and Cory Gaylord, a contractor, were each indicted on felony counts of second-degree gang assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and other charges. The four are still awaiting trial.
The case rattled the county, and “Justice for Harold” signs appeared throughout Handy’s town of Kinderhook.