New York State of Politics reports that the Rensselaer County election for sheriff is a little odd this year. Former Troy Police Chief Brian Owens, a member of the New York Conservative Party, is running with the backing of Rensselaer County Democrats against a Republican opponent, Kyle Bourgault. Owens said, “I’ve never run for office before, so all of this is a little bit unusual to me.” Incumbent Sheriff Pat Russo is not seeking re-election, so the race is more wide-open than usual. Bourgault, the Republican candidate, is campaigning to continue the county’s existing agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is called 287(g). Owens has questions about the program. He said, “There’s… a lack of information that has been publicly available. I’d be curious to know who’s been trained, what is the cost to the county, and then is this useful in terms of both protection of county residents, but also is it useful in terms of federal immigration enforcement.” Bourgault did not respond to multiple requests to have his side heard. Voting this year begins at limited locations Oct. 28 through Nov. 5, with all precincts open on Nov. 7. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.