With respect, communication and diversity we can all progress.
"I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."
Barack Obama
Paid for by Friends of James Brown
. Has been serving Charlottesville/Albemarle over 15 years in the Criminal Justice field.
· B.A. in Sociology (Pre-Law concentration) from Longwood College in 1992.
· Advanced Studies Diploma from Charlottesville High School in 1988.
· Current Law Enforcement Officer with Albemarle County for over 5 years.
· Pretrial Investigator/Case Manager and Probation Officer with Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) for over 7 years.
· Deputy Clerk with Albemarle District Court for one year.
· Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Certified Instructor.
· Thomas Jefferson Area Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Trainer.
· Cultural Diversity Instructor.
· Spanish Interpreter. (Speaks, reads, and writes in Spanish.)
· While in college, volunteered with the Minority Mentor Program and the Security Escort Service.
· Worked with DePaul’s Children’s Center as a chaperone for conferences.
· Worked with People Places as a mentor.
. On Quest Advisory Board for Charlottesville City Public Schools.
Responsible, Trustworthy, Honest and Fair. These are just some
of the qualities we should look for in our leaders as well as ourselves.These qualities plus my education and my varied criminal justice experience are reasons to vote for me as the next Sheriff of Charlottesville.I grew up here in Charlottesville.I remember standing in line to see “Star Wars”
at the Barracks Road movie
theater when it was in the North Wing.I
remember going Downtown (pre-bricked) and shopping at the various stores and
eating in Timberlake’s and Woolworth’s when it was beside Roses.Sometimes after eating, we would get a piece
of candy and pay at the back register and exit to Water
Street.I
remember going to Reid’s Supermarket across from the Market
Street garage and parking in the basement garage
of the store to get groceries before it caught fire many years ago.I grew up in this wonderful community, and
now my children are growing up here too.
As most of you know by now, I am a Democrat and I am not
going to mislead people or deceive people by saying I am anything other than my true political preference.I have a great
appreciation for the people all over the world that have lost their lives to have
the rights we have.I am humbled by
stories elders have shared with me.So,
I choose to exercise my right of political choice.Those who choose not to affiliate with a political
party are free to do so, but I am a Democrat. I have friends and supporters that represent
various political groups, Republicans and Independents and they support me, not
because of my political choice, but because of me being the person I am.Sure we have some interesting debates, but a
certain respect is given when a stalemate is reached and often with that open
communication we find a common ground.They
often tell me I am not the “usual Democrat” and say that unlike some people in
politics, I do think for myself and I do not blindly follow.Being affiliated with a party does not mean that
you are to treat people differently.“With
respect, communication and diversity we can all progress.”I have always been fair and treated all
people with respect, and I will continue to do so, regardless of any political
affiliations.
In 1988, I graduated with an Advanced Studies Diploma from CharlottesvilleHigh School before going off to
college and earning a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology. After graduating from college, I returned to Charlottesville
and started my Criminal Justice career. My
various studies in college helped to give me an understanding of community
relations before beginning my career, and it has helped me over the16 years I
have been working in the Criminal Justice Field here.The combination of my education and experience
makes me the clear choice to be our next Sheriff and Charlottesville
deserves a leader that has realistic ideas for the future.I want people to vote for me because I am the
candidate that is in touch with the community and most qualified to be the
Sheriff of Charlottesville City.
My career has been about much more than just arresting
people in the community.Since
graduating from college, I have spent many years helping law violators get back
on their feet while working at Offender Aid and Restoration as a certified
Pretrial Case Manager and a certified Local Probation Officer.I have been responsible for organizing papers
for the General District and State Supreme Court as a certified Deputy Clerk.Currently, I am a Police Officer and I am a
certified Instructor through the Department of Criminal Justice Services.I train fellow Officers and Deputies from law
enforcement agencies throughout Virginia
to handle calls for people suffering a mental crisis.I also train these Officers in Cultural
Diversity.I have participated in
Spanish Community Fairs to work with local Hispanics and to assist them and
fellow Officers as a Spanish translator. I have worked hard to make the Charlottesville
community better by working with youth and volunteering with the city public
schools.I have worked with people of
various races, genders, ages, cultures, religions, sexual preferences and
political affiliations.I am not here to
judge people for choices they may or may not have made in life.I am here to help people.As a Police Officer, this may require me to
place people under arrest and I am thankful to my fellow Officers doing the
same.My varied Criminal Justice
experience and my track record in working with the community are reasons to
vote for me.
The Sheriff’s Office responsibilities include the processing
of civil papers, court room security, and the transport of inmates and mental
patients.When the budget allows, I will
look at adding a more secure transfer area to get inmates from the transport
vehicle into the courthouse.I will see
that all of the Deputies are trained in Crisis Intervention to deal with people
with mental health issues.I will be
looking at ways to improve the environment and community.This is why I am looking at introducing
Hybrid vehicles to the Sheriff’s Office if elected.I also believe that we should look at
alternative sentencing, not just jails as punishment.Being on the jail board as Sheriff and having
worked with OAR, I think we could find ways to increase alternative
sentencing.This would reduce the costs
for housing inmates and would have non-violent offenders be productive members
of the community while paying for their own punishment.It would also give us more bed spaces to keep
violent offenders off of the streets.These are additional reasons to vote for me.Environmental issues and alternative sentencing are things that are
often associated with Democrats, so people know beforehand what I am about
before I seek a position of influence as a community leader and role model for
the youth.
I would continue to work with TRIAD, an organization to prevent the criminalization of the elderly in the
community, and I would also look at doing a program to work with the youth to
get them involved in positive activities before they get into criminal trouble.One possible program is PAL (Police Athletic League) which is a National program that works with
youth.Another possible program is
X2rep (Time to Represent) which is based out of WashingtonD.C.I met with the founder of that program and we
discussed the youth problems in Charlottesville.An explanation of these programs and links to
their website can be found on my Mission page of my website. I would also like to see something done with
the drop-out rate of the youth.I am
hoping that being an example of higher education and implementing some of the "American Promise Alliance" ideas on making youth successful can help this situation.I think it would be good for the local Sheriff's Offices and Police Departments to work together on some issues, but not by duplicating services. These are reasons to vote for me.
Many can “talk the talk” but few can “walk the walk” and as
you can see from my qualifications, I have been able to “walk the walk” during my career. It’s not
just campaign talk.I plan on making
Charlottesville a better and safer place for all of its residents, so I need
your support to continue to “walk the walk” at a higher level, as the Sheriff of
Charlottesville City.I ask you to compare my
opponents past and present activities, future plans, education, varied Criminal Justice
experience and involvement in the community to mine and make your choice.I thank you for your time and ask for your
support.