Richard Schaffer arranges loans to aid Errol Toulon Jr. in race

Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, said he has arranged for $350,000 in loans from party supporters to help finance Errol Toulon Jr.’s last-minute entry into the county sheriff’s campaign.

Schaffer said he has gotten commitments from nine individuals to help fund Toulon’s campaign against Republican Larry Zacarese. Schaffer said he will pay back the loans immediately after the Democrats’ spring dinner next year.

Toulon, a former deputy commissioner of corrections in New York City, entered the race late last month when former Huntington town board member Stuart Besen gave up the Democratic nomination after agreeing to run for state Supreme Court on the Independence Party line. Toulon also is backed by the Conservative and Independence Parties.

Zacarese’s spokeswoman, Vanessa J. Herman, said the Democrats’ loans, “should surprise no one. Now they are trying to buy the election and fool the voters.”

Zacarese’s post-Sept. 12 primary campaign finance filing,his most recent, shows he has $31,802 on hand, spent $23,518 and raised $10,380.