Errol D. Toulon Jr.

ERROL D. TOULON JR.

Democratic

BACKGROUND:

• Toulon, 59, of Lake Grove, is also running on the Conservative Party line. He was first elected Suffolk County sheriff in 2017, becoming the first African American elected to a nonjudicial, countywide office. He worked 25 years in two stints with the New York City Department of Corrections, retiring in 2017 as a deputy commissioner.

• He worked for County Executive Steve Bellone as an assistant deputy county executive between 2012 and 2014 before rejoining the city Department of Corrections.

• Toulon received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Monroe College; a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in educational administration, both from Dowling College; and an advance certificate in Homeland Security Management from Long Island University; and attended leadership courses at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

ISSUES:

• He highlighted concerns about increases in crime in the county, blaming bail reform, which he said let out too many charged with crimes that are "assaultive in nature." He seeks to enhance the Sheriff's Office's participation in state and local law enforcement task forces to battle crime.
• Wants to continue with a program initiated in 2018 to help identify female inmates who are victims of human trafficking and provide them with supportive services. He said it was the first human trafficking unit created in a jail or prison in the country.
• Wants to continue with multidisciplinary teams focused on intelligence gathering to combat violent crime, gang activity and human trafficking. Will focus on inmate rehabilitation, citing a program called START, for the Sheriff Transition and Reentry Team, where inmates being discharged are connected to local, town or county community resources they may need when going back to their communities.