Today, I am happy to announce my candidacy for the position of Sheriff of Chatham County.

I am a 40
year law enforcement veteran. I began my law enforcement career in the United States Army and
continued in civilian life. I served 29 years with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, retiring as Deputy
Director and commanding officer of the Investigative Division of that agency. I continued to work in law
enforcement following that retirement, and taught for the University of Georgia, and Columbus State
University at the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College. In 2007 I came to Savannah to assume
command of the Counter Narcotics Team. The Commissioners wanted a change of direction for the
team, moving from enforcing primarily street level narcotics violators, to major violators. They
recognized the need for this move to better disrupt the drug supply lines coming into Chatham County.
They also saw the need to increase CNT's coordination with area police agencies and Federal law
enforcement. That was accomplished, and CNT today, under the leadership of a very experienced
director, continues to be a model agency for task force operations around the state.
In 2011 Sheriff St Lawrence asked me to assume the job of his Chief Deputy. He also wanted change.
Sheriff St Lawrence relied heavily on the recommendations of his command staff to make promotions
and budgetary requests. This style of command served him well for many years. However, he
recognized the need for changes that was affecting all of law enforcement. Change is never easy and
agency staff members must buy into the change for it to work. What worked twenty, fifteen, or even
ten years ago may not work today. Technology, public demands and crime trends mandate we change
to do the job the public expects of us.
One area we had to change was the way promotions were made. So, we contracted with the University
of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government to conduct professional assessment centers for
promotions. This removed the "good ole boy" system. We also began to nurture future leaders and
became open to new ideas from the ranks. Modern law enforcement agencies simply cannot continue
to operate in the last century. We must embrace and adopt national "best practices" in our profession.
Next week, UGA will be at our facility to conduct assessments for the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant,
Lieutenant and Captain.
We realize we are facing many issues in our operations. Finding, hiring, training and retaining good
employees is difficult when all area agencies are drawing from the same pool. We asked Chatham
County Human Resources to come to our aid, and they have stepped up and done so. We are looking at
raising our entry level salaries and giving raises to all employees. We now have a very strong
management team in place. When I say team, they are just that. They are working together to handle
problems as they arise, and planning for the future. They are mentoring our future leaders. They
encourage staff to make recommendations for improvement. Haveing a coherent team like this in place
is critical for any organization. I am very proud of the one we have.
This command staff (Majors, Lieutenant Colonel, and Bureau Commanders) are very experienced
professionals. Together, they have 229 years of law enforcement experience, approximately 15,500
hours of police training and 21 years of college. Most of all, they are a TEAM, one committed to making

the right, moral and ethical decisions each and every day. They value excellence, show genuine respect
for others and go the extra mile. I am humbled and honored to be associated with them, and all of the
men and women at this great agency. The citizens of this county can be proud of their Sheriff's Office.
I ask for your vote on March 1, 2016, so we can continue to improve our service to you.
Let's continue to move forward!