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Two years ago, Sheriff Jeff Dawsy was unopposed in his bid for a second term, a clear indication of support within the community of his actions as the county's chief law enforcement officer.
This year, Dawsy has drawn two opponents, both of whom are raising concerns about the sheriff's performance but who offer little substantiation of their complaints.
Republican Hank Hemrick and "Big" Mike Eyes, no party affiliation, have made similarly alarming criticisms of the sheriff. Hemrick says the agency is "rife with cronyism and favoritism," that Dawsy's budget priorities "are way out of whack" and that morale is so low that there has been "a mass exodus of deputies," a claim that he later withdrew.
Eyes says that Dawsy "has no control over the office," and "there is no leadership there." As to whether county residents feel secure under Dawsy's watch, Eyes says the county "is an unsafe community. It's safer to live in Tampa, Miami or Jacksonville than Citrus County."
Pressed for examples and details, the two candidates respond with generalities, isolated incidents and some high-profile cases, the details and context of which are debatable.
Hemrick, for example, says Dawsy has a "spend, spend, spend" mentality as evidenced by the agency's rising budgets. Yet, he has never looked at the budget to understand where the money is going.
Are there too many employees, compared to sheriff's departments in similar-sized counties? Hemrick has performed no comparisons and sees no value in doing so. He says the department has too many Crown Victoria patrol cruisers but fails to recognize the savings in parts and labor that the agency realizes by having a fleet of like-model vehicles. He asks rhetorically whether the agency has too many substations but has no details on the cost of the offices or their value as visible outposts for the agency in remote locations.
Eyes is even more vague. He charges that the agency's response time is a half-hour to an hour and a half while not understanding that many of those calls, for, say, a barking dog, are given a lower priority by dispatchers who have sent deputies to more pressing emergencies.
He also is unaware that Dawsy in 2002 initiated a program in which public service officers handle routine traffic accidents and calls for minor crimes such as smashed mailboxes and well-being checks. The move has freed deputies' time to investigate more serious crimes and eased the need to hire more road deputies.
Eyes also vows to cut the budget by $1.5-million during his first year in office while hiring 18 deputies, a neat trick that ignores the realities that have driven recent budget increases - unbridled boosts in health insurance premiums and fuel costs - circumstances that are largely out of Dawsy's control.
Hiring 18 more deputies would surely add to those costs. How would Eyes slash the budget, hire more personnel and not cut services? His proposal to reduce the number of administrators and to make sure that deputies do not use cruisers for personal errands will not come close to bridging this gap.
In the area of qualifications, both challengers come up short as well. Hemrick, 59, a retiree from Inverness, has a bachelor's and master's degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He served for 16 years with the New York City Department of Corrections and attained the rank of assistant deputy warden. He has no experience as a road deputy, but feels that his education plus his years of work within the prison system have given him the necessary "street smarts." Besides, he says, not every commander in the agency today has road deputy experience.
Eyes, 62, of Hernando, claims a 30-year law enforcement career in agencies ranging from the Connecticut State Police to sheriff's departments in Lake and Sumter counties and service with the Wildwood police department. He has never managed any agency, certainly nothing of the complexity and size of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.
Dawsy, 48, of Beverly Hills, matches and surpasses his rivals at every turn. Besides his education, which includes associate, bachelor and master degrees, Dawsy brings the most essential qualification: experience.
Starting as a deputy in Pasco County in 1979, he moved to the Citrus County force in 1981 and has risen through the ranks since then. He was the county's Emergency Operations director before defeating a crowded field in 1996 to become sheriff.
During his tenure, Dawsy has worked to modernize the agency, raising training standards and acquiring needed equipment even as critics have accused him of reckless spending. Those complaints, however, are muted when emergencies such as the recent run of hurricanes develop and that equipment proves its worth.
Dawsy is well aware that the county is undergoing unprecedented growth and that the sheriff's department must try to keep pace. He has initiated programs to combat problems such as illegal drug sales, burglaries, car thefts and traffic enforcement. The agency is working closely with the school district to help with discipline problems, and despite obstacles from Tallahassee, Dawsy will continue to try to take over abuse investigations from the Department of Children and Families.
This is not to say that Dawsy's operation is above reproach. Certainly, there is room for improvement. Over the past few years, a number of incidents have occurred involving deputies and other agency officials that have raised suspicions that Dawsy has a two-tiered disciplinary system, one for his inner circle and one for everyone else.
While the sheriff can defend his actions in each of those instances, he must be attuned to the perceptions these cases have left among some in the community.
If nothing else, his two challengers this year are evidence that not every county resident is thrilled with his operation.
Dawsy's rivals, however, offer no credible reasons for removing an enormously popular and effective sheriff. The St. Petersburg Times recommends that voters re-elect Jeff Dawsy as sheriff on Nov. 2.
OPPORTUNITY TO REPLYCandidates who are not recommended by the Times editorial board are invited to respond. Replies must be received no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday. Replies are limited to 250 words. Deliver to: Greg Hamilton, Editor of Editorials, Citrus Times, 301 W Main St., Inverness, FL 34450; e-mail to hamilton@sptimes.com or fax to 860-7320.