Dear Editor:
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is a fairly unique work environment in that every four years a few people from the agency or law enforcement community compete for the opportunity to lead the agency.
Typically, the candidates for Sheriff have known each other for many years. They have been together through tragic calls for service, risked everything to bring criminals to justice, and are usually pretty good friends. All candidates are typically new to running a political campaign and observations of State and National campaigns do not provide a good example of how to run a positive campaign. I suppose there’s some evidence that being negative works, or they wouldn’t do it so often.
The problem with the Sheriff’s Office race is we all will go back to work together on May 9. The people will have spoken, but rifts between my supporters and other candidate’s supports will have grown wide. Whomever the people decide should lead the Sheriff’s Office on May 8 will be responsible for healing the divides in the agency and moving forward as a united law enforcement family.
To this end, I have a plea to all concerned with the outcome of this race. Please be civil and respectful with one another. I understand as a candidate; all candidates have people within the campaign who can control official messaging to the public and supporters who are working on their own outside any control of the campaign.
I call on all people supporting me or my campaign to focus on my message of the five pillar plan that will keep Hamilton County safe today and provide a strategic plan for the future.
If you want to help, but are not sure how, contact me and I will provide guidance. Please do not think you are helping me through negative, anonymous letters to the editor. There are problems within the Sheriff’s Office, and I will resolve them with transparency should the people elect me. I decided early in the campaign I would remain positive and focused on what I will do as Sheriff.
I ask all the other candidates join me in this message of unity and pledge positivity and honesty. Remember that as individuals we are like a string, weak and breakable, but many strings united together can form a strong rope. There is ONE Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and it needs to be the rope, not a bunch of individual strings.
Bill Clifford
Westfield
Thank you Bill for your leadership.
I applaud Bill Clifford for his call for civility in the campaign, especially after he and his wife Sheryl were personally attacked on social media by one of his opponent’s supporters (who doesn’t even live in Hamilton County). As the Republican County Chairman, I ask those involved in all of the primary races to do the same – the voters in our county deserve better.
Great leadership
I also applaud Bill Clifford for his leadership. Thank you Bill
Well said Mr.Clifford, Hamilton County is unique and does not have to fall prey to the temptations of negativity prevalent elsewhere.
From the beginning of this campaign our campaign has been a paragon of civility. Every open seat election for Sheriff in my 30 years has been filled with anxiety for the employees of the agency. I chose to NOT to involve the employees. I made no promises of positions. I only spoke to one person with regard to being the chief deputy as I felt this would be a question asked.
I spoke with both Bill Clifford and Dennis Quakenbush and expressed this concern and asked them to not “recruit” inside of the agency for the reason of this causing a rift within. This conversation happened with Bill at Big Apple Bagels early in his campaign and the same thoughts were expressed to Dennis when speaking with him about the strategy of our campaign.
It seems neither took heed and now the already stagnant culture has become contentious and dysfunctional. It will take leadership to bring the agency together again in a quick manner. This means the elected Sheriff will need to understand and be well-abled to lead an organization through conflict. This is where my masters degree in organizational leadership separates me from the field.
I am glad to hear Bill Clifford ageees with me.