PLATTSBURGH — Already the longest serving sheriff in Clinton County’s history, David Favro is looking to add four more years to his record.
Favro, who has been the county sheriff since 2003, has announced he is running for his seventh consecutive term in office.
He already said he’d run again but waited until after his name was officially on the ballot to hold a press conference Thursday morning.
“If you ask my wife, she’ll probably give you one answer, but if you ask me, it’s pretty simple — it’s really simple — I love this job,” Favro said about his decision to run again.
“We’ve had great success for the last 23 years, and I’m convinced we can continue to have great success because we have wonderful people working for us now, and we’re continuing to recruit wonderful people to work with us … I want to continue to be part of that and make sure that we continue to grow, continue to improve and continue to make Clinton County the wonderful place it is.”
Favro will be facing off against Republican challenger Brent Davison, former Troop B Commander for the New York State Police, in November’s general election.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Favro touted a long list of his accomplishments, including the installation of the Tek 84 full body scanner, CV-TEC being on site offering GED programs and providing certificates, bank representatives coming in to provide financial training and, on the patrol side, in 2025, investigating over 4,000 complaints, conducting over 1,000 sex offender registries and starting the AED program.
He said one of his biggest accomplishments is the Special Response Team, which began as the Clinton County Special Response Team and has expanded to include Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties.
“There’s a lot of good things that are happening here. There’s a lot of activity that happens here at the jail. The mission of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, again, is to provide a quality of life safety for the residents of Clinton County while working in partnership with the members of our community,” Favro said.
“We have an attitude here that if something goes wrong, it’s sad, it’s unfortunate, but we need to learn from it. We need to grow. We need to make sure that we own it and that we step up and we fix it. And we have done that on many, many counts.”
‘I’M DOING IT’
Favro said these are more than enough reasons for voters to choose him this November.
“Two decades later, this is where we are. We’re a force to be reckoned with. We have a strong SRT team. We have a strong, well-trained patrol unit that has extensive, as testified by the State Fire Chiefs Association, medical training to save lives. We have made Clinton County a better place, and we will continue to make Clinton County a better place,” Favro said.
“I’m not promising anything. I’m doing it. I have done it, and I’m going to continue to do it. That’s why they should vote for me.”
CONTROVERSY, INVESTIGATIONS
Favro also addressed some concerns surrounding the sheriff’s office over the last few years.
One recent controversy was the death of Margo Diaz, who died in jail after only five days from late December 2025 to early January.
The cause of death, as reported by medical examiner Dr. D. Bell earlier this year, was “natural causes of bacterial endocarditis of the tricuspid valve.”
Favro said Diaz’s autopsy was attended by the New York State Attorney General’s Office and New York State Police at his request.
“She was in our custody less than five days, so it was an unusual circumstance. And we wanted to make sure if there was anything outlying in that situation, that it was covered,” he said. “So between the AG’s investigation and the New York State Police BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) coming with us to the autopsy, we covered those bases.”
All evidence surrounding her death was turned over to the Office of the Attorney General for a formal investigation in January.
The report for Diaz’s death has still not been revealed.
“These investigations take time because we’re not the only case that they’re working on,” Favro said. “So I can’t talk on any details because it is a pending investigation until we have a final report. I don’t anticipate any confusions or any problems.”
Clinton County and its insurance company also settled five lawsuits with former female employees of the sheriff’s office in 2024 who had claimed allegations of harassment and misconduct while working there.
Favro reiterated he did not agree with the decision to settle, claiming he anticipated those lawsuits going to trial, but it was cheaper to settle.
“That’s a decision I had no part in whatsoever. I didn’t participate in the talks, didn’t even agree with the concept of it,” he said. “That was a choice that the insurance company made because of value. It’s easier to pay people to resolve the matter than to spend the money on attorneys and court fees and meals, etc.”
JAIL CHANGES
Additionally, Favro said incidents at the jail have resulted in changes, including to its medical staff.
“I want to thank the members of our legislature because I have lobbied them on several different occasions to get increased pay for our medical staff, which has allowed us to have, right now, four totally new people in our medical staff than what we had just a year and a half ago,” he said.
“They’ve increased the pay to allow us to be able to bring in people that are more skilled, more professional and able to handle the changing dynamics that we’re seeing with medical care needs of the inmates that are coming into the facility.”
Those changing dynamics include dealing with more inmates coming into the jail’s care with severe mental health issues and addiction.
“We are responsible — make no mistake — we are responsible for the care, custody and control of every inmate that comes in here. Our officers take that very seriously. They take it to heart. They do a phenomenal job. They do their work with pride and integrity,” Favro said.
“When we have an unfortunate outcome of an inmate death, it’s traumatic. It’s traumatic on the families; it’s traumatic on the officers and on their families as well.”
Through work with the OAG, Favro said policies, procedures and training are also being revamped throughout the department.
“It’s necessary, and it should happen,” he said.
DAVISON
Davison said in a statement Thursday he believes his prior police work will help him be a successful sheriff in Clinton County.
“I served a successful, lifelong career in law enforcement, ultimately finishing my career as a troop commander. In that role, I worked closely with local agencies, community organizations and leaders across the county and beyond, building relationships that will add to the network needed to be a successful sheriff,” Davison said in the statement.
“This campaign is about the residents of Clinton County and what they deserve. I’m committed to running a sheriff’s office that is highly productive, transparent and accountable to the people it serves. Over the coming months, I look forward to connecting with voters, sharing my vision and demonstrating how my experience and leadership will deliver results to the community.”
Davison plans to hold a press conference of his own at a later date.