The race for sheriff in nearby Tompkins County took on special significance for the Keuka College community last week as Democratic candidate Derek Osborne announced that, if victorious, he would select SUNY-Cortland police officer Jennifer “Jenn” Olin ’M13 as his undersheriff.
Olin, who earned her master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Keuka College, would become the first woman to serve as either sheriff or undersheriff in the county’s 201-year history.
“I think it’s long overdue,” Osborne said in a news release.
Olin, a former member of the Ithaca Police Department, is a lieutenant at SUNY-Cortland, where she has worked since 2010. She graduated from Keuka College summa cum laude.
“For me the decision was easy,” said Osborne. “Jenn is highly educated and has the experience, talent, and energy needed to help support my goals for the sheriff’s office.”
The Osborne/Olin ticket will face Independence Party candidate Ken Lansing – the incumbent sheriff whom Osborne defeated in the Democratic primary – and an independent candidate in the general election.
Olin isn’t the only Keuka College graduate whose name will be on election ballots Nov. 6. Jake Ashby ’02 is running for his first full term in the New York State Assembly.
The Republican, a former Rensselaer County legislator, won a special election this past April to represent the state’s 107th Assembly District, which includes most of Rensselaer County and portions of Washington and Columbia counties in the Albany area.
Ashby, who majored in Occupational Therapy at Keuka College, is a former Army captain and combat veteran who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
