Sheriff candidates tackle issues at forum

The performance of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office grunt work is stellar. The top brass could use some polishing.

More specifically, they should work on getting along better with others.

That was a common theme of Tuesday’s forum for the four sheriff candidates – two Republicans and two Democrats – who are seeking to oust incumbent Phil Redmond this November.

Mark Nicholson and Phil Blocker will vie for the Republican nomination against Redmond in the May 4 primary. The highest vote-getter will square-off in November with the Democratic primary winner, Jeff Cheek or Bill Stamey. A second primary would be necessary if the highest vote-getter in the May 4 primary does not secure 40 percent of the vote, said Jeff Corbett, who moderated Tuesday’s forum in Barium Springs.

At the heart of Tuesday’s forum was the Iredell County Sheriff Office’s (ICSO) relationship with other members of the law enforcement community; all the candidates – with the exception of Redmond – said the relationships are strained.

“Unfortunately right now, the relationship” between the ICSO and other agencies “is not too good,” said Stamey.

Stated Cheek: “There is no relationship between the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement in Iredell County. Those ties have been severed, and it will take a tremendous amount of work to restore those relationships.”

Nicholson, a detective with the ICSO, said that the relationship between the sheriff’s office and other agencies “is strained at best.” He said while working cases and talking with detectives from other agencies, the “common theme” he hears is that “they wish there was some better cooperation between” their respective agencies and the ICSO.

Blocker said he believes communication between “the troops on the ground is pretty good” but that “the further up you get, the less the communication between the agencies.”

Redmond disagreed, however, saying while communication “can always improve,” he has established three joint task forces on drugs, gangs and sex offenders with the Statesville Police Department and holds monthly meetings “to interact” with the chiefs of police for Statesville, Troutman and Mooresville. “The higher up you go, we have a good working relationship,” he said. “I think the chief of police would back that up.”

Why should you vote for him?

Throughout the forum, the candidates’ comments were peppered with reasons they believe they are the better man for the job.

When asked specifically why he’s running for sheriff and why someone should vote for him, Redmond responded: “I’ve been sheriff for the past 16 years, and I think Iredell County deserves a progressive, forward-thinking sheriff who has the ability and the experience to meet the challenges that’s facing law enforcement today and facing Iredell County.

“I didn’t have any illusions when I ran for sheriff of what the job consists of,” Redmond said earlier in the forum. “I knew that I’d have to have a vision, an agenda, a strategy to make Iredell County a safer place for you to live, work and raise a family. I also knew I’d have to have short-term goals and long-term goals and I’d have to have a plan. I had to have a management team in place that had the same commitment and dedication that I had to the citizens of the county. I’ve got the management team in place now. It’s a good team.”

Stamey kept his response short: “The desire has always been in me to be in law enforcement. I’ve served in every each capacity except sheriff, which I really want to be. I have the experience, the ability, the training and the desire.”

Cheek said being sheriff “has been a goal of mine for 25 years at least.”

“I feel the sheriff needs to be approachable, available and reach out to the community and be available to them to express their needs, be present, be visible,” said Cheek. “And I am all that. I have the abilities to reach out to various agencies and people in the community to bring this community together to work for a common goal, and that is to make Iredell County a good place and a safe place to live.

“We are at a crossroads in this sheriff’s election,” said Cheek, “and we, the voters, are going to have some serious decisions to make in May and November.”

Said Blocker: “The reason I want to be sheriff is to get all the agencies and the resources together to communicate with one another. I know through my experience, training and leadership classes that it can be done. It’s very simple. Communication is so powerful. By talking with someone or smiling at someone, it tells you something.”

Working together, Blocker said, “is just so easy to do. All you have to do is put an effort forward, and it can be done. We’re all cops. We all want to catch the bad guy. That’s what we do. And working together to catch more bad guys is better.”

Nicholson said he wants to be sheriff because “I’ve always enjoyed helping people.”

He said “there’s so much good that can be done” through the sheriff’s department. But mistakes are currently being made, he said: “I know where the mistakes are being made, but more importantly, I know how to fix them.”

In his introductory comments, Nicholson said: “The sheriff has to have integrity and honesty. He has to be fair. He also has to know that the law applies equally to everyone. The sheriff has to be willing to get out and work with his people and be in the field with them. He also has to get along with other agencies in the county and work with them.”

Nicholson said he has all the traits that a good sheriff needs, including the ability to get along with other agencies. “I’ve got a good working relationship with Mooresville, Troutman, Statesville, and the Highway Patrol,” he said.

Measuring success

Blocker said if elected sheriff, he would measure his own success by how safe people feel in the community. Opening the door for citizens and law-enforcement agencies to communicate with one another, Blocker said, “is crucial.”

Redmond said: “If I made Iredell County a safer place to live, work and raise a family, I feel like I’ve been successful.” He cited his accomplishments as sheriff and his quality staff. “If I left now, I’d be satisfied,” he said.

Stamey said he would measure his success by knowing that all citizens feel safe in their own homes and that employees of the ICSO are enjoying their jobs.

Nicholson would measure his own success by fewer parents having children experimenting with or using drugs. He mentioned his three children and the stories they told about drug-use in their schools. Also, Nicholson said: “People talk about the ‘known drug houses’" in Iredell County. "There’s no excuse in there ever being a 'known drug house' in Iredell County," Nicholson said. "If it’s known, it needs to be corrected. The unknowns, you need to find.”

Cheek said there are a number of ways a sheriff could measure his success at the end of the term; for instance, he said, by reducing the crime rate and break-ins and increasing drug arrests. However, he said, “Increased drug arrests may mean you have more of a drug problem than you had when you started.”

Cheek said he would like to be remembered as “the individual who was available and approachable and I enforced the law to everyone equally.

“You’re only as good as the legacy that you leave behind," he said. "I would want to be known as the sheriff of the people of Iredell County.”

Top Crimes

The candidates were asked their opinion of the two top crime problems in Iredell and how they would fight to resolve one of those problems.

Nicholson, Cheek and Blocker all agreed that drugs and gangs were the top two crime problems in Iredell County, while Redmond and Stamey cited drugs and break-ins.

Nicholson said eradicating drugs from schools is his passion. He pointed out, again, that the ICSO must establish strong, cooperative relationships with other law enforcement agencies and school officials/staff to curb the problem. “Kids intermingle between schools on weekends and holidays,” which demands a county-wide approach to fighting the drug problem, Nicholson said.

He pointed out that most drug addictions begin in high school and that drugs supply gangs with money, which makes gangs and addictions grow. “There’s nothing we can do as important as getting drugs out of schools.”

Cheek said gangs “are the problem of the future.” He said local law enforcement is already working on the drug problem and “may or may not be able to be more aggressive” on that. Citing the Statesville Police Department’s gang initiative program, Cheek said it is a proven fact that “to combat gangs, you have to be very proactive.

“You may not stop (the gangs),” he said, “but if nothing else, you relocate them.”

Blocker said drugs and gangs “are generally one in the same.” He said a strong narcotics unit and a focus on “targeting repeat offenders” will help with the problem. Blocker also said he would start a citizen review board to help foster communication between police and citizens, which would help to fight crime.

Law-enforcement agencies “must work together to combat this problem,” Blocker added.

Redmond said experts state that drugs are behind 70-80 percent of all break-ins and that “Iredell County has more drugs in federal court than all the 31 western counties combined.”

He said the ICSO has “a very good relationship” with the Iredell County Schools. “We’ve got gang teaching going on the school system, we’ve got DARE going on in the school system, and so the gangs sound good, but the major problem is drugs and break-ins,” Redmond said.

Stamey said he believes an aggressive crime-prevention program and more community policing would help by building up citizens’ trust in law enforcement officers. That, in turn, would inspire more citizens to work together with police to fight crime, Stamey said.

Current jail conditions and priority improvements

All the candidates talked of overcrowding.

Redmond said he “made a deal with the State of North Carolina a couple years ago” to lease the prison camp for $1 a year. He said he is currently negotiating with the Department of Corrections “to secure the rest of the location that they’ve moved out of.” Redmond said “there are two large buildings there,” and while it could take “a year or two to work out,” he could bring in portable cell blocks to add to the available facilities.

Stamey said he hasn’t been in the jail in a while. He said because of current economic times, the county likely would not fork over money to increase jail capacity, “so I think we’re going to have to rely on the state, and I have to commend the sheriff for that,” he said.

Nicholson said the current jail was built too small. “It should have been built with a lot more beds in it,” he said. “I think the trends were clear at the time that the inmate capacities would rise far beyond its capabilities.

“The old prison is an excellent way to save money to try to house some of these inmates,” Nicholson said, “but I’m afraid sometime in the near future, it’s not going to be enough.” He said the county will likely have to consider “building on to the existing jail or possibly building a new site.”

Cheek said the jail is not only overcrowded but “antiquated.” While overcrowding is a problem, he said he is very concerned about staffing at the jail. He said the county needs to recruit specialized, professional staff which will help with turnover.

Blocker said he has not been to the county jail. To combat overcrowding, however, he said he would review the people who are in jail – and why they’re there. “I’ve seen folks who have been locked up in jail for a worthless check who just couldn’t make their bond,” Blocker said.

“Of course I would not release dangerous individuals,” but if someone who is locked up is “not a threat to the community,” he said, “maybe we could work with the DA’s office and the judges on releasing them.” Blocker also said that the “banding bracelets that track offenders” would be another option he would consider.

To watch complete video footage of the forum, visit http://www2.statesville.com/video/2010/apr/14/iredell-sheriff-candidates-forum-90156/