Two vie for Delaware County district attorney

Jun. 21—The acting district attorney and the county's public defender are running against each other for Delaware County district attorney in the Republican primary June 27.

Shawn Smith became acting district attorney in January when former DA John Hubbard became county court judge and is running to fill the position. Delaware County Public Defender Joe Ermeti is also running for the position. Smith sat down for an in-person interview Wednesday, June 14, while Ermeti responded to questions via email.

Smith said he has worked at the district attorney's office since 2017, working his way up from driving while intoxicated prosecutor to chief assistant district attorney in 2020. Smith, who grew up in Jefferson, said he dropped out of high school in 11th grade to work at his dad's transmission shop.

Smith said while he likes working on cars, he decided he wanted to do something else so went back to school. He is a graduate of SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Albany and Albany Law School. "While going to law school, I worked at the Schenectady County District Attorney's office," he said.

Smith said he moved to Grand Gorge and started working at the district attorney's office in 2017 after five years working as an attorney in private practice in Schoharie County. He said he is running for DA because "I have worked my way up to this office. I owe it to the people of Delaware County to run."

He said he also likes the administrative side of the job. The DA's office has in its budget one part-time and three full-time positions, and is in need of another attorney.

Ermeti said he is running for district attorney "because we need a seasoned attorney leading the District Attorney's Office for the next four years. When criminals break the law, it is the D.A. that chooses what crimes to charge, how to approach the prosecution, when to utilize plea bargains, drug court and other alternatives, and mostly importantly, leads the prosecution when cases go to trial."

Ermeti said he became the county's public defender in 2019 after several years as a private attorney and serving as the town of Sidney and village of Bainbridge attorney, and also as assistant public defender for Otsego County.

The office has a staff of five attorneys and handles 700 cases per year, he said. "In this role, we provide the Constitutionally guaranteed right to a defense to those accused of crimes," he said.

Ermeti grew up in Schenevus and graduated from Siena College in 1987. He then attended and graduated from Albany Law School in 1991, he said.

"During law school, I took a year off and worked bridge construction to earn enough money to finish school," he said. After passing the bar exam, he moved to Sidney and worked for a lawyer before starting his own practice in 1993. He has practiced criminal law, family law, divorce, personal injury, civil litigation and special prosecutor assignments, he said.

Both Smith and Ermeti said they became attorneys because they liked to and wanted to help people.

"What I like about working in the DA's office is helping victims of crimes get justice," Smith said. "Somebody who was raped or abused or their house was burglarized, they are all grieving. It's very meaningful to work to make someone be held accountable for something they did."

Ermeti said "I love working as an attorney because it gives me the opportunity to help local people get through what may be the toughest times in their lives — whether it's a criminal matter, divorce or custody proceedings, or a litany of other circumstances."

Both candidates said they believe bail reform should be changed to give judges more discretion at arraignments.

Ermeti said the state legislature didn't listen to the opinions of prosecutors, defense attorneys or the police when crafting the bail reform legislation. "They didn't consider the fact that some drug offenders need to be jailed to 'dry out' so the system can get them into a rehabilitation facility and Treatment Court so we can save their lives and keep them from getting into further trouble while their case is pending," he said. "Local judges are in the best position to determine when confinement is required."

Smith said it was disconcerting because there was no way to put people in jail that will probably be repeat offenders. "A person could be charged with burglarizing a house and given an appearance ticket," he said. "The next day he will burglarize another house."

Smith said by prosecuting cases, and releasing the outcomes of those cases in media releases, he hopes to reduce crime in the county. "If people see the serious consequences of a DWI conviction, maybe they'll think about getting a ride home," he said. "People I don't know see an article [about a case] in the paper and come up to me at the diner to thank me."

Ermeti said his goal as DA is "to make Delaware County safer every day." That includes making sure drug dealers are held accountable. "Fentanyl and meth are killing people," he said. "For individuals selling these drugs, there must be severe consequences. For defendants who sell drugs to children, there must be severe consequences."

Smith said he also wants to send drug dealers to prison.

Early voting continues until Sunday, June 25, at the county Board of Elections' new office at 97 Main Street, Suite 5, in Delhi. The polls will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 22, and Friday, June 23, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 24, and 25.

Polls will be open at town polling sites from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 27.

Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Maria Kelso said no one is running on the Democratic or on an independent line, and Smith will be on the Conservative line on the ballot in November's election.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.