What kind of sheriff do you want for Goochland?

There’s been a lot of heated rhetoric around the Goochland sheriff’s race. At the end, it comes down to what kind of a leader we want in the sheriff’s office.

Goochland is a big county—its land area is a little larger than that of Henrico. Our neighbors live in mansions, single wides, and everything in between. The rights of all citizens, including property rights, must be safeguarded. Everyone must be treated with dignity and respect.

Do we want someone who panders to the prosperous and puts down the rest of us; who mongers fear about vague threats but has little experience in handling traffic, budgeting, or situations with people experiencing mental health crises?

Or, do we want someone who will treat everyone with dignity and respect their rights while protecting all of us? Do we want someone who understands that tax dollars are a precious resource to be managed wisely or someone unaware of the fiscal consequences of his actions?

“Authority speaks, but real power whispers and carries a bazooka,” observed author Juno Rushdan. 

Loud- mouthed bullies have no place in law enforcement at any level, or here. Goochland taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for police brutality or wrongful arrest lawsuits. We need someone with well-honed diplomacy skills, that come from, say, serving as a dispatcher and dealing with angry people whose issues have nothing to do with emergencies.

Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. Stupidity is doing the wrong thing in front of an audience and pretending it didn’t happen (This sentence was written in September 2019).

A sheriff’s office is headed by an elected official. A police department is headed by an employee of the jurisdiction who serves at the pleasure of the governing board. Law enforcement in urban areas is different from that in rural or suburban locales.

Goochland is growing, but not “exploding” to become the next Short Pump or Henrico. According to the Weldon Cooper Center of the University of Virginia, https://demographics.coopercenter.org/virginia-population-projections Goochland’s population is predicted to grow from the 2020 projection of 23,547 to 29,451 by 2040. That number may be revised upward after next year’s census, but it will still be far behind that of Henrico. New types of housing, including apartments, town homes, and senior living communities will bring different challenges to law enforcement, but will not become hotbeds of urban crime.

Goochland LEOS (law enforcement officers) never quite know what they will deal with during a shift. They could be chasing cows or bad guys; searching for a missing or abducted child, or a lost and confused senior citizen. They could be investigating criminal activity at a construction site or making arrests for illicit drugs, or DUI.

Whenever they interact with citizens, our LEOs must be courteous and respectful. Sometimes they need to diffuse a domestic dispute before it escalates with deadly consequences. Sometimes, LEOs attend events like yesterday’s Goochland Fall festival to be the face of local law enforcement in the community.

The best, most effective leadership is done by example. Goochland must have a good sheriff. (Good seems like a simple term, but the dictionary has a long list of positive words including honest, ethical, reputable, skilled, trustworthy, stable, gracious, dependable, brave, and more, so “good” is appropriate.)

 We need and want a sheriff who knows Goochland from one end to the other and all its people through personal experience. We need a sheriff who has developed cordial working relationships with surrounding jurisdictions. We need an educated sheriff who holds, in addition to extensive training certifications, a bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice to understand the changing landscape of law enforcement.

We need a sheriff who recognizes and understands the qualities needed to best serve Goochland when hiring deputies and “have their back” with excellent training and a supportive work environment to keep them here.

We need a sheriff who will listen to the citizen concerns, keep our schools safe, and build positive relationships in all parts of the county.

In case there was ever any doubt, GOMM wholeheartedly and without reservation, endorses Steven Ned Creasey as the next Sheriff of Goochland County.

Sgt. Steven Creasey

If you need additional information, please visit https://www.creaseyforsheriff.com/ and don’t forget to vote on November 5.