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ALBANY - Bethlehem Police Chief Gina Cocchiara is running for Albany County sheriff.
In a post on Facebook Tuesday, Cocchiara said she had filed paperwork with the Board of Elections to form a campaign committee to succeed Craig Apple as county sheriff after he announced last week that he would not be running for a fifth term. He has served as sheriff since 2011.
She said he would pick up his mantle if elected.
"Sheriff Apple has been a role model to me and so many others in local law enforcement for decades," Cocchiara, a Democrat, said. "His leadership, integrity, and dedication to Albany County have set the standard for what this office should be."
Veteran Democratic political strategist Libby Post will manage her campaign. In an interview Wednesday, Post said a formal campaign kickoff event would be held in September.
Cocchiara has led the Bethlehem Police Department, which has around 60 sworn officers and staff, since 2020. She started at the department as a patrol officer in 1998 after serving as a sheriff's deputy in Rensselaer and Greene counties.
Cocchiara hopes to take over a county sheriff's office with some 700 employees that has broad law enforcement responsibilities throughout the county, including within the city of Albany. She would also oversee the county jail, which houses hundreds of prisoners.
"She has the experience and the fortitude to be able to take on these kinds of law enforcement challenges," Post said. "She's not cowed by it." Post noted that the suburb of Bethlehem is "not small" and has "its own crime issues."
Institutional support for Cocchiara appeared to coalesce quickly after Apple made his announcement last week. Two people with knowledge of the matter told the Times Union that County Executive Daniel P. McCoy, County Legislature Chair Joanne Cunningham and Apple were expected to back Cocchiara in 2027 Democratic primary for sheriff.
So far, no other candidates have announced plans to run for the office.
"She's somebody who's been in law enforcement for a long time and recognized a new opportunity," Post said. "And she's going to take it."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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