NORTHAMPTON — Democrat Patrick Cahillane soared to victory Tuesday night, cementing his place as the next Hampshire County sheriff.
As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Cahillane had won 75 percent of the votes with nearly half of Hampshire County towns reporting, including Northampton, Easthampton and South Hadley. He defeated Republican challenger David Isakson of South Hadley.
A banquet hall at Union Station in downtown Northampton erupted in applause and cheers from supporters as Cahillane strode into the room.
“It’s been a long couple of weeks,” Cahillane said to the excited crowd. “I’ve spent a lot of time waving from the Coolidge Bridge,” he quipped.
He continued: “Hillary (Clinton) says we are stronger together,” he told the crowd. “But I also say we are better together.”
Cahillane, 58, prevailed over Isakson, a part-time Hadley police officer since 2008 and president of the Hadley Police Association. Cahillane is the assistant superintendent and special sheriff at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction. He has risen the through the ranks and held virtually every position over his three-decade-long tenure there.
Republican challenger Isakson said in an interview Tuesday evening, after the race had been called, that he intended to offer his assistance at the jail in the future however he could. For now, he said he plans to take the time immediately in front of him to return full time to his work at his restaurants and as a part-time police officer in Hadley.
“I’d be happy to help in the future with things,” he said. “We worked hard. We had a good campaign. Unfortunately, I didn’t get enough votes to win. I called Cahillane and congratulated him. It’s a good day.”
“I met a lot of wonderful people,” he continued. “I was trying to make change.”
Cahillane will step into the role that’s been occupied by Robert Garvey since 1984. Garvey announced in February that he would not seek re-election and retire at the end of his current term.
Throughout the night, Shannon Cahillane, 23, Patrick’s daughter — eagerly hovering over a laptop and clutching a phone most of the evening — oversaw efforts to cull voting results.
Patrick has been an employee at the jail for all of Shannon’s life. He’s the one, she said, who instilled in her and her sisters an unshakeable work ethic.
“It’s nice to know we really do work to get recidivism down,” Shannon said. The Hampshire jail, she added, is the kind of facility that is devoted to bettering and rehabilitating those who are incarcerated there.
During the Democratic primary, Cahillane clinched 58 percent of the vote, or 7,763 votes, defeating candidates Melissa Perry and Kavern Lewis.
Cahillane has said on the campaign trail that, if elected, he would prioritize sustaining and advancing educational and vocational programs for inmates.
The sheriff-elect said after the announcement that, on Thursday, he will attend an upcoming Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association meeting.
“I will work hard for the citizens of this county like I have in the past,” Cahillane said.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.