Posted on 12/11/2002 7:12:28 AM PST by Willie Green
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:34:55 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey yesterday proposed slashing the number of elected row offices from 10 to 2, adding the sheriff to the list of officials who no longer would be elected.
Roddey's proposal, which he presented to a County Council committee, puts him almost in complete alignment with Citizens for Democratic Reform, a well-funded group that is gearing up to gather signatures for a row office referendum.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
If you believe that one, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for you!
Using Dumbya's logic, Roddy will probably use the "estimated" $5M savings to justify a $50M tax rebate plan to bolster his re-election campaign. A few voters were dumb enough to fall for that ploy in '00, so why not play it again in '03?
SD
She's gonna be a great source of entertainment for the next few years.
"Dumbya"...that cracked me up! Still can't get over the presidential election, huh? Probably believes Al "I Flunked Divinity School" Gore is genius. To his credit he DID write that book "Earth in the Balance" (the Unabomber's Guidebook), and that new one that no one is buying.
I'll bet the recent senate takeover really has MM going nutz! heheheheheheh
prisoner6
When I was much younger, people who believed it was good policy to support the federal budget with increased borrowing were called "liberals" and those who actually believe in a balanced federal budget were called "conservatives". Nowadays the sheeple supporting Dumbya still call him "conservative" even though he wants to cut taxes, including estate taxes that only the richest few thousand families pay, to support his permanent re-election campaign.
Go figure!
I'd be very surprised if any Dem can defeat Roddy next year, in spite of the Dems' huge registration advantage in Allegheny County.
And a liberal is someone who has to misstate facts to argue his or her case. Go figure.
As for the actual subject of this thread, while I certainly agree that county officials have to answer to the public, I'm really not sure why the sheriff should be an elective, political office. The job entails transporting prisoners and serving summonses, for the most part. Having worked for a county government in the midwest where positions like sheriff and circuit clerk (prothonotary, more or less) were appointed, my observation is that we had a more efficient operation that the mess on Grant Street.
What Is A 'Sheriff' Anyway?
By Sheriff Michael E. Cook
Published 4/2/2002I got an e-mail from a reader this last week asking me to try to give some insight into the office of Sheriff so that he and others around the nation could get more involved in the election this year. "Aside from asking questions about the Constitution and oath of office, what are some good questions to ask a candidate for Sheriff?", he asked. Well here goes.
First let me say that the office of Sheriff is different throughout America. Those who serve in the western states are full service Sheriff's. That means they provide law enforcement patrol and investigations as well as county jails and civil service. Many are also designated as the Emergency Services Coordinator for the county they serve in, and are responsible for search and rescue. In Oregon, the Sheriff is mandated by law to attend the court (do the judges bidding) also.
All Oregon Sheriff's are elected, as are most others in the west. I think this is the best system of selecting a Sheriff. This makes the Sheriff responsible to the people. In areas where the Sheriff is appointed, they are more like a Police Chief or the head of the State Police. They are appointed by an elected official or a body of elected people and many times subordinated to a city manager or the governors aids. This removes them from direct accountability to the people.
President Thomas Jefferson is reported to have said, that the Sheriff is the most important elected representative that the people vote for. The Sheriff is the only elected official that people put into office with the specific duty to protect their Constitutional Rights. This is why it is important to elect this person, their power comes from the people and to the people they owe their allegiance, not some bureaucrat. The Sheriff is the highest law enforcement official in the county and possibly the nation for this reason.
The Sheriff doesn't answer to the FBI, DEA, Customs, or any federal or state law enforcement. If these people come into the Sheriff's county and try to do business they are supposed to ask for the Sheriff's blessing. The Sheriff has the duty and obligation to protect the people from all enemies foreign and domestic. If any federal or state officer violates a citizen's rights, then it is the Sheriff's duty to arrest and bring that person to justice.
You see the importance of picking a good Sheriff who knows their power, this person must also have good common sense and a feel for the people served. The Sheriff must be fair minded and able to understand the laws that need to be enforced. The Sheriff must also have the respect of the people in case they need to be deputized to serve the public need by the Sheriff. Those were called posses and that power is still in place today.
In this day and age, the Sheriff must also know and understand labor law and keep up to date on many court cases that dictate how laws are enforced and how the office must interact with people. To this and other ends the Sheriff must surround themselves with people who know these laws and can give good sound advise. So the Sheriff must know people and how to deal with them.
Above all the Sheriff must hold the trust of the public and be honest to a fault. The Sheriff must demand the same from those that are hired to serve the public as his deputies, with the standards set very high.
The candidate for Sheriff should have a great deal of law enforcement experience and administrative background. He must be looked up to by those who serve under them. Just because someone is elected to the office doesn't mean they can lead the deputies. The deputies will not put their best effort into the job unless they respect him.
One of the best ways I know to find out how to vote for Sheriff, is to ask the deputies who they like. Not the Sergeants, Captains, or Administrative people. The deputies will give you an honest answer and it is legal in Oregon and I am sure in other states for a deputy to give their opinion. They can't campaign politically while on duty, but they can give you their opinion when asked. Deputies no longer serve at the pleasure of the Sheriff as in the past. They have job rights now, so whoever you elect must be respected by these deputies in order to function. Remember it is about public safety after all.
God Bless America.
Michael E. Cook, Coos County Sheriff, Retired.
Kinda like Clinton, huh?
SD
Over the decades, the rights of the People have been eroded in many, many ways. It may seem rather "quaint" in our complex, modern society, but as a matter of principle, maintaining an elected sheriff is important for the very same reason that our Founders protected our right to keep and bear arms with the 2nd Amendment. The nationwide movement to gradually eradicate the office in the name of "efficiency" should be viewed with extreme skepticism.
I agree that the sheriff should remain an elected official answerable to the voters.
Now, MM, you are showing how naive (or more likely, disingenuous) you really are. The richest families don't pay estate taxes...they pay estate planners several thousand dollars to set up trusts which protect them from ever paying a penny of estate taxes. Because they are "super-rich" they can afford to pay the legal fees to set these up. Its the small business owners and family farmers who get screwed. Their business may have a value in excess of $750,000 (which I believe is the federal exemption limit), but they don't have the discretionary income to set up the trust funds to prevent the taxes from hitting them. Because they don't have the cash on hand to pay the federal estate taxes, they have to sell the business (or close it and sell the assets) just to pay the taxes.
Eliminating the federal estate tax does not amount to a gift to the rich as they aren't the ones paying it. In any event, why should the government get a piece of an individual's personal assets just because he died? Estate/death taxes on the state and federal level are just plain wrong.
Yeah, well that's starting to get back to WHO gets elected rather than the actual organizational structure of government and elected office. And, unfortunately, Pittsbughers have proven themselves quite capable of voting for dumb jagoffs year in and year out. Perhaps there are some benefits to be gained by looking at reorganization of some of the other row offices. But an elected sheriff is a position I'd be strongly inclined to retain.
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