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Face to face

One of the most hotly contested political races in Hernando County this year is a rematch of the 2000 race for sheriff.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2000, Richard Nugent was a major at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and Eddie McConnell was a sergeant when they, along with a third candidate, squared off to see who would succeed longtime Sheriff Tom Mylander, who retired. Nugent won that race, with 49 percent of the vote to 46 percent for McConnell.

This year's race for sheriff is a rematch of that contest - without no-party candidate Michael Robinson.

At the invitation of the Times, Nugent and McConnell agreed to debate at the newspaper office on Wednesday. Each candidate was allowed to ask the other four questions of his choosing. There were no restrictions on the questions. They discussed crime rates, experience, the sheriff's budget and other issues. Here is a transcript of the debate:

McCONNELL'S FIRST QUESTION: Sheriff Nugent, I know that you started your law enforcement career in a relatively small town of Romeoville, Ill. And you came to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office in 1984. I realize the position of sheriff is administrative and does not have to make arrests. My question is, how many arrests have you physically made, or felony cases that you were lead investigator, during your 20 years of service with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office?

NUGENT'S ANSWER: The police department I came from was Romeoville, Ill., which had about 30 law enforcement officers, which was a medium-size police department.

The number of arrests in Hernando County, obviously I don't have those figures at my hands. But I've been involved in numerous arrests as a deputy sheriff, from armed robbery arrests where I did the interviews, pursuit and gotten confessions from those I've arrested, even while as a lieutenant. And as a captain I made arrests on strong-armed robbers that assaulted a lady over at the Publix shopping center during the no-name storm (of 1993).

The number of arrests are numerous, but I don't have the specific numbers, obviously, at my disposal.

McCONNELL'S REBUTTAL: Okay. So the fact that I gather from this - and I can't ask you questions - the fact that I gather from this is that you have made some arrests in Hernando County, but actually did not work as an investigator or lead investigator on a case. That's what I have to surmise from your statement.

NUGENT'S FIRST QUESTION: The efforts of the Sheriff's Office reduced crime by 4 percent in 2003 and 12.7 percent in 2004. You have stated that you are part of the administration of Brooksville Police Department. During the same time period, the crime in Brooksville increased by 25 percent. What new programs or initiatives would you implement as sheriff to continue the reduction of crime and ensure that Hernando County does not experience a significant increase in crime like the city has?

McCONNELL'S ANSWER: Well, No. 1, I'd open up a more positive relationship between the city police department and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office so we can work toward the positive goal of reducing crime. I've been at the Police Department two years. I'm not chief; I was not the second in command. But I feel as being part of the Police Department I will not shed any responsibility on the increase of crime because I was a part of it there.

But I will tell you that I firmly believe I can be a part of the process in reducing this crime, in working with individuals and basically the Sheriff's Office, because the basic thing is this: We're removing opportunity, which in fact means the fact that you get out, you get involved with the community, and that is exactly what I would do and see that this initiative will take place as the sheriff of Hernando County.

NUGENT'S REBUTTAL: In the four years I've been sheriff, we've reached out to the city of Brooksville on numerous occasions to work with them in regards to narcotics investigations and others. You are part of that organization, and what we've seen is that the city of Brooksville has refused to call us out in regard to assisting with crime scene investigations of the most magnitude, where there's a homicide involved, to do the more detailed follow-up as it relates to a homicide investigation.

We stand ready. I've opened up a substation in the city of Brooksville, at Hillside Estates, and we're currently breaking ground, hopefully in the next 30 days to 60 days, on the location's community center at Martin Luther King Drive, which may I add is in the city of Brooksville.

McCONNELL'S SECOND QUESTION: Sheriff Nugent, why do you approve the deceptive/disguised (deputies dressed as county workers) approach to catch speeders when the marked patrol unit is a more proactive and educational solution to the problem?

NUGENT'S RESPONSE: Eddie, what you are referring to is when we allow the District 2 deputies, at their request, to try and handle additional problems they see as it relates to traffic enforcement, particularly on a five-lane road that has a curve, utilizing marked patrol cars. While in fact it is a deterrent, it has not been the deterrent we hoped for. We have written over 16,000 citations.

So what we're hoping to do is not only change drivers' habits, but not always be looking for a marked patrol car to do that. When marked patrol cars are in fact out there, you have drivers driving by flashing their headlights to warn other motorists. While this may be deceptive, it is perfectly legal and it is an acceptable program that they use in more urbanized areas.

I know that you don't have a lot of experience in regard to traffic control, particularly in an urbanized area. But you look around the state, from St. Petersburg to other urbanized areas, they use that type of enforcement because it is just an additional tool to keep drivers, obviously, paying attention. And roadside workers account for a lot of fatalities throughout the state of Florida. So if they see a roadside worker, particularly wearing a Sheriff's Office vest, one would hope they would slow down if they saw any pickup truck parked out on the side of the road.

So whether it's a county truck or Sheriff's Office truck, it really has no impact as to what they're wearing other than the fact that the drivers are in fact violating the law. So we're trying to get the strong message out that - not only through enforcement where we used decoy vehicles that are fully marked, that there is no driver - we park those in areas to try and keep people on their toes and constantly watching traffic regulations. And speed is one of our biggest issues in the county. So when District 2 personnel came forward with this idea, and this is the deputies who are out on a daily basis doing traffic enforcement, it was their recommendations. And as the sheriff, I supported their ideas, that they're thinking outside of the box to try and make our streets safer.

McCONNELL'S REBUTTAL: Well, number one, the proactive approach, there's no proactiveness to that. I cannot see that. There is no educational value to that.

And not being involved in urban traffic control as you referred to, the fact is, where does the liability lie? You got an individual there in a surveyor's uniform, and someone is speeding up to that point. What if that person speeding had an accident, and a patrol vehicle, marked vehicle, they would have seen that and may have slowed down. So where is the liability there?

You've got somebody in the roadway, and not only that, you have the liability of the individuals that have to go back and work those streets that are county workers and they have to catch the brunt of the fact that the individuals were upset because they were stopped by a surveyor, and they are actually a county worker. Where's the liability there?

NUGENT'S SECOND QUESTION: Eddie, you have stated that the STARCOM program that I initiated is a waste of time, even though the program stresses accountability and progressive law enforcement, which has helped to reduce crime in the county, improve response times, improved customer service, increased arrests and has facilitated more crime reduction programs than ever before. What will you do as sheriff to replace this highly successful method of law enforcement that has proven to work all over the country, including Hernando County?

McCONNELL'S ANSWER: Well, I appreciate your opinion on that, sheriff. But I feel strongly that the STARCOM program does not hold accountability from the top to the bottom. I feel the STARCOM program now, the way it is in place, we do not have the population nor the manpower to make it work properly.

We're broken down into three districts (in) which response time is terrible right now within the Sheriff's Office between some of those districts. Now, if you want to say your average response time, then you want to compare to district response time, then I want to see the response time for District 1, District 2 and District 3.

Now crime prevention initiatives, spinning out from, like you said, with STARCOM, the way I look at it is like this: Those initiatives have to be presented by individuals, employees, deputies on the street. The way they are going from call to call, they don't have a lot of proactive time right now under the STARCOM system. So I think that right now, with STARCOM, right now the way I look at it, we're not prepared for that in this county. And I feel that this could be a futuristic view, but right now we're not prepared for it, and it is costing us too much money to provide it.

NUGENT'S REBUTTAL: So, Eddie, what you're asking us to do is step back in time and go back into law enforcement as it used to be. Where STARCOM has increased responsibility and accountability from the top to the lowest employee level.

We have detectives talking to patrol officers, giving information back and forth with reference to crime. Our crime numbers, after seven years, we've had a successful reduction in crime, which I mentioned earlier. We have increased involvement. Our response times in the last four years, our average response times to nonemergency calls, have been reduced across the board. And that's also because the district's makeup response time is the response time.

Another thing. The districts were designed by deputy sheriffs and investigators and communications people within the Sheriff's Office. That was not designed by command staff. That was from input of over 16 employees that designed the number of employees that work within a district and how they're designed.

McCONNELL'S THIRD QUESTION: The Hernando County Fair Board asked the Brooksville Police Department to provide a proposal for the cost of off-duty security for the 2003 Hernando County Fair, and the department replied. Later, the Police Department was notified that you were taking care of the security and that their services would not be needed, because they stated that you would provide the service at no charge to the fair board. Being a member of the Hernando County Fair Board, do you feel that this action is fair to other nonprofit organizations that have to pay for off-duty security?

NUGENT'S ANSWER: Eddie, you're correct. I am a member of the fair board. And prior to that, the fair you're referring to in 2003, I had just gotten onto the board. The problem that the current fair board had was the lack of security that the Brooksville Police Department provided. When in fact they were paying for law enforcement officers, they were getting clerks and firemen to do security.

It is not true that we provided all the security at the fair for free. They paid for overnight security, and they also paid for traffic control. As sheriff, I am responsible for the health and safety of individuals that attend the Hernando County Fair. This is not something new. The prior sheriff had provided free - not free, okay, free - law enforcement protection at numerous events from time to time.

This one was unique in fact that it was not free, but we got additional services so the Sheriff's Office didn't have to pay the fair board when we utilized that facility. Just like most recently where we used 40 hours for our mounted patrol training. We did not have to pay for that. So it was a quid pro quo kind of relationship so we didn't have to use tax dollars at a different point in time.

The other thing is, you know, we're in it for the kids. Had that fair not made money, back in 2003, that fair was going to close. And if it closed, the venue that children have in this county to show their swine and their cattle, their chickens and their rabbits would have evaporated and been gone forever. So, we felt it was in the best interest for public safety that we provide security because of the lack of security the Brooksville Police Department had given them in prior years.

McCONNELL'S REBUTTAL: Well, I appreciate your opinion, and I cannot comment on the prior years of the Brooksville Police Department since I was on there two years, as far as their capabilities. But I will say this. There is a precedent set for nonprofit organizations at this point in time that I feel that now they feel this obligation from the Sheriff's Office to provide free security at times for some of the reasons you just mentioned, and I think all around it should be fair for the whole county and all the nonprofit groups. If you set a precedent, you have to follow through with it.

NUGENT'S THIRD QUESTION: While at the Sheriff's Office, the highest rank you attained was technical sergeant, which is a noncompetitive position, and you supervised less than six full-time employees. What specific qualifications do you have, such as command experience, department budgeting experience, or college degree that would make you more qualified than Sheriff Nugent to be the top law enforcement officer in Hernando County?

McCONNELL'S ANSWER: Thank you for the question, sheriff. I appreciate that. I worked my way up within the Sheriff's Office ranks. Not only being involved as a deputy sheriff and detective, I understand the need (for) good supervision. I understand the need (for) understanding the budget process. I went through crime prevention courses that talked about budget processes. I was involved in training as far as line supervision and middle management, where you learn how to command.

I was involved in command in 1982 as sergeant of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. There were times I was in command of the whole department at that time. Yes, granted, it wasn't a large department (at) that time, but I was in command of the department at that time. I understand the need of supervision. And I understand I have the capabilities and education to do that. I have 2,500 hours of certified law enforcement. I have dirt under my fingernails. I know exactly what these guys are doing, where they've been and how they've gotten there. I worked my way up. I'm a self-made man within law enforcement.

And I will say this: Supervision itself is two words being missed right now in this current administration - super vision. That means vision to look ahead. And number two is the fact that the first thing supervision is in my definition is service. Service to the subordinates that you're working for, not just overseeing and directing. That's service. That's also missing under the current administration. And I feel that I have the qualifications and the abilities, the people skills, to put this in place.

It's fact that as a technical sergeant I took the test, I passed the test, sergeant's test, and I was given that rank by the previous sheriff, Tom Mylander, because he believed that I had the skills to make sure that I was involved in the Sheriff's Office at a managerial level. Not only that, but I've overseen it with 20,000 residents in this county, bringing forth the first crime prevention programs within this county. I understand the need and concerns of this community, from the east to the west. Yes, I am definitely qualified to hold the office of sheriff.

NUGENT'S REBUTTAL: So the answer to my question was that you do not have any command experience or department budgeting experience, or any education other than the basics as it relates to 2,500 hours of training, which most police officers with 27 years of experience should have. With none of that, though, have you shown any leadership as it relates to crafting a budget, actually leading over 340 full-time employees, which is different than going out and doing community programs, talking to residents. There's a big difference. There's a giant gap between the first level supervision that you were involved in versus actually running an agency.

NUGENT'S ANSWER: Well, Eddie, you're wrong again. Because it was 70 percent. What we changed with the sergeant's exam was that it went from a percentage as it relates to the number of points they get to be promoted to sergeant to a pass-fail.

What we're trying to do is level the playing field with those individuals that may be better test takers than necessarily looking at knowledge. Our goal is to see whether or not the person had the minimum level of knowledge to do the program and get promoted. It's amazing that that would be an issue with you because the employees really, that are promotable, liked it.

The other thing is we are strong in education, because in my first year as sheriff we re-established the tuition reimbursement program to encourage employees to go get their associate's degrees or bachelor's degrees in a related field as it relates to law enforcement. I think it's a strong indication as to my level and what I feel about education.

You know, Eddie, it takes a lot to get a bachelor's degree, which I did while raising a family. It takes a lot to get the extended degrees, which I did, to get my master's degree. That's a commitment to education. That's not just talking about going to mandatory schools that you have to go to for training purposes to get ahead in regard to your chosen field.

There's a big difference between the two, and I feel that we have stood behind talk, and encouraging employees to get their education, giving them the incentive to do that, is exactly where we want to be.

McCONNELL'S REBUTTAL: I understand that you are committed to education because you received your education. And I understand that you look for that. And I understand that you have people in command positions as captains with no degrees. Now that is a fact.

Now also, if you're so strong on education, and you're so strong to direct that, to not only me but to the public, you know it seems like that you'd have the people under you in those command positions with the proper credentials that you are placing the need for me to have or someone else to have in order to run the department. Because these individuals are on staff, and they are running this department under your command.

NUGENT'S FOURTH QUESTION: You have stated publicly that if elected sheriff, you will save money by eliminating Major Royce Decker's and Major Mearl Letts' command positions. Major Decker and Major Letts combined have over 62 years of law enforcement experience, with over 43 years of that service to the citizens of Hernando County. Major Letts is a Vietnam veteran, and both of these staff officers possess college degrees. How can you explain your political decision to terminate the careers of these two dedicated and highly professional law enforcement officers who have given the majority of their professional lives to the service of our community?

McCONNELL'S ANSWER: Thank you, sheriff, for that question. I have never publicly said that I was getting rid of either person. I said I was going to eliminate the positions. I never said I was going to eliminate the person. Just the position.

And those two positions, it was basically shown to me, the last time I ran for office, I felt they were needless positions. And now I guarantee that feeling within myself they're needless positions. Over $200,000 spent for those two positions. Not the people; it was the positions. And why should the county pay, okay, for positions because qualified people hold those positions? The people we're not talking about. So why should they pay for those positions if qualified people hold them?

We're talking about reducing the budget. We're talking about reducing the budget within the Sheriff's Office so we can better provide service for the citizens of Hernando County. We're not going backward. We're just not spending a lot of money trying to look over the fence for the future. We are preparing. Preparing for the future doesn't mean you have to spend today. It's to save today to be projected tomorrow. That's what I intend to do. Not eliminate people.

And I take a personal look at that when you said that I'm eliminating these dedicated people with all this experience, because I never said that. Never once did I say I was going to eliminate the people. Just the positions.

NUGENT'S REBUTTAL: Well, Eddie, it doesn't make sense what you're saying. If you're going to eliminate the positions, are these people going to work for free? If you're going to save $200,000 - your words - are they going to work for free?

I don't think either Major Letts or Major Decker would have to work for free because of their experience and their educational background. Obviously, they could get jobs at other places. You're contradicting yourself in regard to how you're going to replace them. You haven't even given a direction as to how you would replace what they do, other than your point to save money. And to save money, then you have to eliminate their jobs and you have to eliminate their ability to work. Otherwise you save no money. It's as simple as that.

PERSONAL: Born May 26, 1951, in Chicago. Served six years in the Air Force and Illinois Air National Guard. Married his wife, Wendy, in 1975. Three sons: Ryan, 22; Kyle, 17, and Casey, 16. Lives on Florian Way in Spring Hill.

EDUCATION: Troy State University, Saint Leo University.

POLITICAL: Was elected sheriff in 2000.

PROFESSIONAL: His 32 years in law enforcement began in 1972 as a police officer in Romeoville, Ill. He began his career at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office as a deputy in 1984 and climbed to the rank of major before being elected sheriff.

HIGHLIGHTS OF NUGENT'S PLATFORM:

Expand the Sheriff's Tracking Accountability and Responsiveness to Crime Suppression Management, or STARCOM, program to other parts of the agency.

Boost the investigative staff in the areas of computer fraud, identity theft and exploited children.

Expand crime prevention programs and crime watches.

Expand the DARE drug education program into the eighth grade.

PERSONAL: Born July 25, 1953, in Brooksville. Lifelong resident of Hernando County. Divorced three times, he has been married to his current wife, Lisa, since 1997. Four sons: James, 34; Randall, 31; Curtis, 22, and Austin, 11. Lives on Nicholas Avenue, south of Brooksville.

EDUCATION: Hernando High School.

POLITICAL: This is his second try for the office of the sheriff. He lost to Nugent in 2000.

PROFESSIONAL: At the time he left the Hernando County Sheriff's Office in 2000, McConnell was a sergeant. He had worked at the Sheriff's Office since 1978. He was a detective at the Crystal River Police Department for two years, until 2002, when he became a detective at the Brooksville Police Deparment.

HIGHLIGHTS OF McCONNELL'S PLATFORM:

Re-establish trust among the rank and file.

Determine needs vs. wants when establishing a budget for the Sheriff's Office.

Place an emphasis on employees to ensure impartial promotions and discipline.

Reduce violent crime by increasing patrols and crime awareness programs.