by Dana Wilbourn
posted March 24, 2008
Rep. Vince Dean, Fred Fuson, Tim Carroll, Jim Hammond and Ronnie Dodd stood before the Hamilton County Republican Party delegates on Monday evening at Westview Elementary School in East Brainerd and made their pitch for why they should be the party’s nominee to run for Hamilton County sheriff.
Last week, the party elected over 300 delegates whose job will be to vote on Thursday night for the Republican nominee to run for sheriff. Delegates turned out in large numbers to hear from the candidates.
The eventual nominee will face Democrat candidate Greg Beck in the Aug. 7 special election to replace former Sheriff Billy Long. Jim Winters is running as an Independent.
Each candidate was given 12 minutes to state their qualifications and plans for the sheriff’s office. An additional five minutes was allowed for questions from the delegates. The candidate speaking was the only candidate allowed in the room.
Each candidate touted a strong resume with experience in a variety of police work, education in criminal justice, special training in weapons, administration and management, and military service.
Each candidate, after their speech, was questioned by the delegates in the room on three main issues:
What will be their top priorities when elected sheriff
What experience do they have with budgets
What is their position on school resource officers (SROs)
Rep. Vince Dean was the first speaker and said his priorities will be to get the sheriff’s department back on track. The men and women in the department have broken hearts, he said. He hopes to be able to heal the hurt that the department took with the arrest of Billy Long. An additional priority, he said, would be to improve service to outlying areas of the county.
As to preparing a budget, Rep. Dean said that the budget for next year will be set before the election and he will work within it. He cited cost of fuel as a big concern. He assured the delegates that as a former mayor of East Ridge, he knows how to make a budget and live within it.
Turning to SROs, Rep. Dean said that they are in the schools for a specific purpose - to investigate and suppress crime - not to discipline children. “The municipalities with jurisdiction for a particular school will have to investigate any crime, so they should be the one to provide the SRO in the school.”
Fred Fuson spoke second and said his first priority will be to meet with the men and women in the department and assure them he is there for them. He said he is proud of the officers and staff within the department and thanks them for not dropping the ball after what they have come through.
When asked about the budget for the sheriff’s office, Mr. Fuson said, “I will sit down and go over it with my number cruncher. Law enforcement is my thing not number crunching. I would be responsible for (the budget) and I would be looking at it.”
On SROs, Mr. Fuson said he is 100% in favor of them and that it is unfortunate that they are needed. His hope is to have SROs in all middle and high schools in the county and possibly the elementary schools later.
Tim Carroll was the third candidate to speak and, when asked about his priority as sheriff, said he would work to restore the integrity and trust to the sheriff’s office. He said he trusts the men and women in the department and would meet first with his command staff and then visit the officers on patrol and the corrections officers in the jail.
On his experience with budgets, Mr. Carroll cited his experience as a supervisor in the Chattanooga Police Department where he learned to cut fat and keep people.
Without being asked, Mr. Carroll said he supports the budget for SROs in the schools.
The fourth candidate to speak was Jim Hammond. He said his priorities are, “to be the sheriff you want me to be. I promise to never embarrass the county commissioners or the people of Hamilton County. I will endeavor to make this a safe county.”
Mr. Hammond addressed the SRO question by saying, “I can only work with what I’m given in the county budget. I plan to meet with the superintendent of the schools and, together, look for solutions.”
Ronnie Dodd was the fifth and last candidate to speak. His priorities, he said, will be to make the sheriff’s department an office to be proud of and to make the county a safer place. “I will hold meetings with all of my officers and tell them, if an officer makes a mistake I want them to tell me they made a mistake. Don’t lie to me.”
Mr. Dodd also said he expects that the department would have the best trained officers in the Southeast. “I am a training fanatic.”
“I know how to draw up a budget. I know how to work a budget. I know how to stay within a budget,” Mr. Dodd said.
On the SRO question, Mr. Dodd said, “I think it’s a shame that our society has gotten to the point that we have to have an SRO. Yes, it’s a very viable need for the schools and they will be in the schools. From what I can see, I don’t see any reason they can’t be in every school in Hamilton County without a tax increase.”
Each candidate was asked to pledge not to run as an Independent if they are not selected to be the Republican nominee. Every candidate made the pledge.
Dana Wilbourn
dbwilbourn@yahoo.com
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