Monday, October 19, 2009
Editorial: Brian Keenum for Roanoke sheriff
Sheriff Johnson has an indefensible record. Keenum has the experience, vision and temperament to do the job right.
From the RoundTable blog
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Roanoke's residents have a clear choice in the three-way race for city sheriff. Brian Keenum has the experience, the intelligence and the vision to lead the office.
After four years in office, there is little doubt Sheriff Octavia Johnson has overstayed her welcome.
She cost the city unnecessary money defending an illegal policy of withholding mugshots of inmates no longer in the jail's custody.
Johnson endangered her own personnel and lost Roanoke the use of county training facilities when she allowed dangerous training that put officers down range of live fire. She hired her sister, who had no law enforcement or experience with the press, as her public information officer.
We invited Johnson to defend her record, but she refused to meet with the editorial board.
Her Democratic challenger, Frank Garrett, has a long career in law enforcement and, as a current sheriff's deputy, some understanding of how the office is run.
He speaks convincingly about the downturn in morale under Johnson. But, despite 30 years in uniform, Garrett has no genuine management experience, and his argument that his role as a Drug Abuse Resistance and Education (DARE) officer makes him a "leader of the school" is unconvincing.
His vision for the sheriff's office was similarly uncompelling. He'd like to expand the DARE program and institute a recycling program.
Garrett has undoubtedly made many friends and contacts through his work in DARE. That does not mean he has the leadership or management skills the sheriff's office needs right now.
Keenum, an independent candidate, does. He has a varied law enforcement career, having worked in dispatch, rescue and corrections.
He was a deputy for the Roanoke County Sheriff's Office, but resigned as he contemplated a run for the city office.
Keenum demonstrates a finer grasp of personnel issues and a clearer vision of where he would take the office.
He wants to look into a money-saving program to place more inmates on home confinement using GPS tracking devices. He wants to invest in more staff training, including in-house training, to give deputies a better sense of ownership in the office.
Keenum pledges equal and fair promotional opportunities.
Both Keenum and Garrett want to eliminate or retask the public information officer position, saying the sheriff should be the spokesperson. Both should rethink that idea. Yes, the sheriff should be in the public eye, but there is value in having a point person who can speak to the public when the sheriff is busy dealing with emergencies, and who has a firm grasp of the Freedom of Information Act.
That aside, Keenum has the experience, the temperament and the vision to turn the sheriff's office around. The Roanoke Times editorial board endorses Brian Keenum.
