Et Tu, Sheriff Baxter?

Sheriff Baxter joins Jeff McCann in embracing the far-right’s endorsement.

Several days after Democratic Deputy County Executive Jeff McCann who is running for Greece Town Supervisor accepted the Conservative Party line¹ in November, you could hear a pin drop among Democratic Party insiders.

Sadly, that’s exactly what I predicted.

Now, it turns out Sheriff Todd Baxter also filed a certificate of acceptance² for the Conservative Party line. Like McCann, Baxter is also a former Republican, and it shows. He has waged a legally-dubious lobbying campaign from inside his own office against criminal justice reform.³ He’s been far from transparent on immigration enforcement. His values have never quite aligned with the Democratic Party platform.

But here’s the twist: Baxter is running unopposed. He doesn’t need the line. So why accept it?

The answer may be as cynical as it is calculated: to give Jeff McCann cover, as Baxter is believed to be popular among voters. A friend told me that in defending McCann, County Executive Adam Bello lumped him in with Baxter, calling them both "the best candidates." That’s not a defense. That’s deflection. Good candidates don’t need to play these games.

Baxter accepting the Conservative endorsement—when he has no opponent—is a deliberate thumb in the eye to Democratic voters. It’s a move rooted in arrogance, made possible because Bello and Rep. Joe Morelle are betting that the rank-and-file won’t notice, and the media won’t care.

Since I raised concerns about Democrats accepting endorsements from the Conservative Party—a party aligned with far-right ideology—not a single Democrat has mounted a serious defense. The only people insisting I’m wrong are hardcore Trump supporters.

That’s telling.

Because when Democrats can’t—or won’t—defend their own values, it’s not just disappointing. It’s dangerous.

That’s not hyperbolic. We are watching democracy collapse before our eyes.

Let’s review the New York Conservative Party’s platform:

• Against legal protections for transgender people.

• Against reproductive rights.

• Against cashless bail.

• For stop and frisk.

• For conceal and carry.

• Against Red Flag laws.

• For fracking.

• Against incentivizing alternative energy.

• Against Green New Deal Agenda, Climate Superfund, the Climate Leadership & Community Act and Cap and Invest.

• Against DEI programs.

• Against “good cause” tenant protections.

• Against regulations for gig workers.

• For making NY a right to work state.

• Against no-excuse mail voting.

While I’m sure there are a few positions on the Conservative Party’s website that a Democrat might agree with, it is not possible to claim allegiance to both parties. You don’t need to accept a ballot line to welcome votes from people in other parties.

Appearing on both lines is not about broad appeal. It’s about abandoning principle.

At a time when Donald Trump and his allies are actively working to dismantle our democracy—through reckless trade wars, mass layoffs, extrajudicial deportations, and attacks on free speech—the decision by McCann and Baxter to align themselves with Trump’s enablers should outrage every Democrat, every independent, and every voter who believes in justice and democracy.

This isn’t just political maneuvering. It’s a moral failure.

We can’t afford to stay silent while our own candidates blur the line between Democratic values and far-right extremism. The Democratic Party should be a firewall—not a doormat.

1. As I wrote in my last post, I believe Democrats traded a Monroe County Water Authority seat for McCann’s Conservative Party endorsement. Petitions filed by the Conservatives show Scott Nasca, the Conservative Party official reappointed in the deal, collected signatures for McCann.

2. The last day to decline a nomination is April 7, so they could walk this back.

3. I filed an open records request for all documents related to Consortium for Safe Communities. The records make it clear this is in effect an unregistered lobbying organization run out of the Sheriff’s office. This past week, the group blasted State Senator Samra Brouk for her support for sanctuary cities, under the guise of her refusing to support their agenda. This raises a lot of legal questions, which I’ll have more to say about in the near future. The use of the Sheriff’s office for this purpose directly contradicts a campaign pledge made by Baxter to keep politics away from his office.