Bail reform, immigration, car thefts discussed in Erie County District Attorney debate between Mike Keane, James Gardner

You can view the full debate in the media player above.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Bail reform, immigration, car thefts and more were discussed in the first and only debate between Michael Keane and James Gardner for Erie County District Attorney on Thursday morning at St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute.

The debate comes as the two candidates will vie for the position of Erie County District Attorney on Nov. 5.

Keane (D) has served as Acting Erie County District Attorney since March 2024, taking over after John Flynn. He previously held the position of the first deputy district attorney under Flynn since 2017.

Meanwhile, Gardner (R) has pursued a legal career as a prosecutor and law clerk over 14 years, according to his website. He served as Erie County’s assistant district attorney from 2010 to 2017.

Bail reform

Keane said that there were flaws to the 2020 bail reform law that was passed in New York state, which has been edited three times since it was passed. He emphasized that the DA’s office can only make recommendations when it comes to what bail would be set to, even for violent crimes and repeat offenders, but it is up to judges to make the final decision and the DA’s office sometimes disagrees with the decisions.

Meanwhile, Gardner said “the bail law in 2020 was one of the most disastrous pieces of legislation that has happened in this state, certainly in my lifetime, maybe ever.”

He stated that the criminal justice system makes more sense when judges and prosecutors can go on a case-by-case basis when setting bail, especially on misdemeanors when a defendant has a history of not showing up for court dates.

Immigration in the county

Gardner said he would be in favor Erie County adopting a 287(g) agreement, which would call for local police agencies to work with the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws. Erie County has never adopted this sort of agreement.

Keane said that his office prosecutes criminals regardless of their immigration status and said there would be consequences if a defendant is an illegal immigrant. He said this would include deportation.

The issue of teenagers without social security numbers being able to apply for a driver’s license at the age of 16 was brought up. Gardner said that if someone immigrates legally and obtains a social security number, there should be no problem with them getting a license.

Car thefts in Erie County

Car thefts caused by social media challenges became a significant issue in Erie County in recent years. Keane touted a statistic from the Buffalo Police Department saying that car thefts are currently down 39%, which he said is due to them successfully prosecuting teenagers who are part of the “Kia Boys” and other groups.

He said that “the decriminalization of most crimes from 16 and 17 year old’s has created some problems for us” and said he wanted the state legislature to address it.

Gardner said that there is an issue with appearance tickets that send teenagers back out into the streets after they are caught stealing cars.

Vehicular homicide cases

Last month, a judge dismissed charges against a Lancaster man in connection to a crash that killed two 19-year-old girls in 2022. Keane said he disagreed with the judge’s decision to dismiss the charges, two counts of criminally negligent homicide. His office appealed the judge’s decision.

Attorneys representing Ryan Stencel, the man accused in the crash, claimed the previous month that prosecutors misled the grand jury about the toxicology report. Gardner said the charges were dismissed due to an error within the DA’s office.

Ad about Keane’s arrest

In recent weeks, Gardner’s campaign has run a commercial about Keane’s arrest in the Albany suburb of Colonie nearly four decades ago while he was a student at Siena College.

Keane was 21 years old at the time and accepted a plea offer of DWAI, a non-criminal offense, while other charges including assault of a police officer were dismissed.

Keane said that Gardner’s campaign ignored a sealed record by a judge in his running of the commercial, but Gardner said it was legally obtained by freedom of information law.

Presidential election

Gardner says he supports and will vote for former President Donald Trump in the election and said that his criminal cases are a political tactic. Keane declined to comment on who he will support and vote for.

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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.

Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.

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