Tim Klock
Timothy “Tim” Klock is a candidate for Herkimer County Sheriff, who resides in Herkimer and has 27 years of law enforcement experience.
He said he is seeking the office of Herkimer County Sheriff because he enjoys working for the public and serving it. “Making sure our County is safe and respected is a top priority of mine,” he said.
Klock said he is confident he can bring needed leadership to the county’s law enforcement agency.
“We need to start working with the other law enforcement agencies in the county and work on some of the drug related problems, public assistance abusers, be more active in youth programs and be more active in community awareness programs,” he said.
Klock said a top priority he has is to participate in the ongoing county discussions involving the building of a new jail, and to help bring the issue to a resolution.
He also said he doesn’t believe it is in the county’s interest to build the proposed facility, but rather to explore other options. “I am very open minded as to working with Oneida County and to listen to what they may have to offer in respect to a regional facility,” Klock said.
“This is of course depending on the offer, the cost and what our taxpayers will gain or lose by the offer,” he added. If a deal cannot be reached, then Klock said he would propose that the current jail be made to suffice somehow, by repairing, renovating and fixing its known deficiencies.
“I would like to bring it up to standards and possibly expand on the current site. I am still not convinced that this cannot be done,” he said. Klock said he understands that several people have described further investment in the old jail as fiscally unwise. “[But] we have yet to see any official report from any engineer study stating the exact reasons why we cannot do this,” he said.
Klock said it’s his belief that updating the existing jail would result in huge savings for taxpayers. “To see a 34-year-old jail get to a point where we have to look into the option of building a new one is simply unacceptable. It tells me that the maintenance and preventive maintenance program has failed and or has been overlooked and not kept for over the last 8 to 10 years.
This I blame on the current Administrator of the Jail. This alone shows a lack of leadership or commitment to our taxpayers,” Klock said. “My experience along with my qualifications as a police officer would be a positive move forward for the Sheriffs’ Office,” he said.
“I have served in a small department up to a very large department; the resources that I have gained through the years can be beneficial to our County Sheriff’s Office,” he added.
Timothy Klock will be facing Republican incumbent Christopher Farber in the general election on November 8th. His name will appear on the Democratic, Conservative, and the Working Families lines.
