A teenaged Joe Price had just gotten his driver’s license and was “hot roddin’” around when a state trooper pulled him over.
“Even though I was, you know, 16, you know, a kid, this gentlemen, the trooper, approached the car and was like, ‘Sir, could I see your license and registration’ — real professional, you know. And it just set an impression with me,” Price recalls.
The impression, he said, eventually led him into a career as a sheriff’s deputy. Now he wants the top job as sheriff.
Price, a deputy sheriff, is the Democratic nominee in the race for Onondaga County Sheriff. He is running against the 16-year incumbent Sheriff Kevin Walsh, a Republican, and fellow deputy Toby Shelley, who is running on the Working Families Party line.
Election day is Nov. 2.
The sheriff’s office is oversees the county jail and law enforcement for 827 square miles and more than 450,000 residents. It has a budget of $46,130.411.10 and 650 employees.
Despite Republican Walsh’s 16-year tenure, the voter enrollment in the county favors the Democrats. There are 111,450 registered Democrats in Onondaga County compared to 94,701 registered Republicans, according to the state board of elections. The Working Families Party, for which Deputy Shelley is the candidate, has 1,168 registered members. There are 74,803 voters who do not have a party affiliation.
In his campaign, Price faces a controversy that has cost him the Democratic Party’s resources and support. He had defeated Shelley, the party’s choice of candidate, in the rimary on September 14. Shortly after that, The Post-Standard reported a series of offensive posts made on Syracuse.com under his username, modman97. The paper cited 60 posts with what it described as “racist, sexist and homophobic overtones.” Price initially denied writing any of the posts before admitting to typing three of them. He apologized to those offended by his comments and vowed to stay in the race.
After the paper’s revelations, the Onondaga County Democratic Party said it could not support his candidacy. State election law requires his name to remain on the ballot as the Democratic Party candidate. Price continues to campaign.
Price has worked in the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office for 17 years and has 20 years of experience in law enforcement. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Brockport with a degree in criminal justice. He also graduated from Herkimer Community College, also with a degree in criminal justice. Price also graduated from the Central New York Police Academy.
Price grew up in Liverpool. His father, Joe Sr., was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force who later worked in sales. His mother, Brenda, was a “stay-at-home mom” until he went to college, Price recalled. Then she took over a Napa Auto-parts store in Herkimer. He is an avid auto-sports fan and was a professional racecar driver for six years.
His brother Justin, his campaign manager, credits their military father with instilling a sense of duty. “You understood things like loyalty, and the honor and code and all that was instilled in you. So you know, you knew you had things to do growing up and things that were expected in you, and you didn’t get out of line,” said Price.
For example, Justin recalled how Joe helped him out with a childhood bully. The nine-year-old bully picked on Justin, who was seven at the time. On behalf of his younger brother, Joe, then 13, challenged the bully’s 15-year-old older brother.
“Joe went over the house, knocked on the door,” said Justin Price. “And when the big brother came to him he said, ‘Look, your brother picked on my brother, so I’m going to have to pick on him. You might kick my butt, but fair is fair.’” The bully never picked on Justin again.
For the Price family, auto racing has been a tradition. Price’s grandfather, father and uncle all raced in Central New York. Price started racing in 1998 and retired in 2003. Younger brother Justin was part of his crew. Price’s career included both dirt tracks and pavement, and races from Onondaga County to Boone, Iowa.
On the track, Price drove a red and yellow I.M.C.A. modified Chevy, decorated with the number 97 and a Superman logo on the hood.
Robert Keller of Liverpool got to know Price on the racing circuit, driving against him “at least 60” times. “Joe was super smooth, not overly aggressive, but aggressive,” said Keller, who runs an insurance agency in Liverpool.
In 1993, Price graduated from the central New York Police Academy Price and started working in the sheriff’s office. Most recently, he’s been a member of the sheriff’s emergency response team.
In 2006, recalls Price, he got into the sheriff’s race at the request of Stan Matthews, the president of the deputy sheriffs union. In that election, Price won 40 percent of the vote.
In his 2010 campaign, Price calls for:
- Eliminating the running of two separate police academies, both city and county.
- Restructuring the sheriff’s department’s “take-home car program,” which allows deputies to take home and use cars from the sheriff’s department on off-duty hours. Price argues it is an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.
- Exploring the possibility of a county wide METRO police agency, which would merge the city police with the sheriff’s patrol. From there, police departments from other towns and villages could also join in on the program, Price said.
- Raising the department’s hiring standards, such as requiring county police officers to have at least an associate degree or 60 college credit hours.
He’s running, Price said, to promote changes in the sheriff’s department. “Getting into this wasn’t about ego for me. It’s not about stars on the collar and being the coolest guy at work. It’s about, I saw some changes that need to be made, I saw a lot of deficiencies,” said Price.
(Michael Contino is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and international relations. )
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