Mike Stalter To Seek Independent Line in November Race
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZELMILFORD
Mike Stalter, a former sheriff’s deputy who is challenging his old boss Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. for Otsego County sheriff in the Republican primary in June, has told AllOtsego he also plans to pursue an independent candidacy in November. To date, no Democratic candidate has been announced.
“I fully intend on having an independent campaign as well, regardless of what happens in the Republican primary,” Stalter said in an interview at a candidate meet and greet at the Cooperstown Cheese Company on Saturday, March 28. “I truly want my Republican brothers and sisters to get behind me and to support me. I am a Republican. Always have been, that’s just a fact, and I want their support.”
Only registered Republicans can vote in the June 23 primary between Stalter and Devlin. The last day to register to vote in the primary is Saturday, June 13.
Stalter said he did not want political party to prevent people from supporting him.
“I don’t want somebody to feel left out or to feel that there’s a political affiliation and they have difficulty. I want somebody to look at me and vote for me because they believe in me.”
If Stalter were to lose the primary to Devlin, who has already earned the endorsement of the Otsego County GOP, its leader County Board Chair Edwin Frazier Jr., and many local GOP leaders, it would set up a November rematch where all registered voters can pick a candidate.
