St. Marys county race for Sheriff

[Oz (Premo)]

David,

I don't disagree with your assertion that you will make a smooth transition. But, during your transition, that change will be facilitated by the same professionals who are currently doing their jobs every day. Your deputies won't stop investigating cases they are working on right now. Deputies won't stop responding to calls for assistance. I'm sure you have people within the department who will be immediately reassigned to assist you, but the work will still get done no matter who is there. That's just how a professional organization operates, which is why the argument and scare tactics used against bringing in an "outsider" won't work. I think all of the people in the department have more pride than to allow that to happen to you or any other candidate. You've been in the department when a new sheriff was elected, and you didn't stop doing your job.

At the same time, there are things that you know about the job, that we could never know as a private citizen. I can easily make broad statements based on general organizational structure, and the professionals serving therein. But, what aspects of the department would be negatively effected by an outsider being elected to the office that would fall solely on an inexperienced sheriff.

I am a registred Democrat because when I registered here, the Republicans rarely filled out a ticket on the right, and most elections were determined in the primary. I am the specific person you need to talk to and influence my vote. Even though I have made my statements in previous messages, I am still open-minded about you and your opponent. So, I really appreciate you taking the opportunity to address those of us participating here.

[Tonio]

Originally posted by Nodnarb
Actually Blue, and I can't believe I am agreeing with Tonio because normally, he's way out there (IMHO) but even a stopped watch is correct twice a day, and Tonio hit it right on the head.

Not offended, but curious as to how I'm "normally" way out there. Out of all my posts, the only things that come across as extreme to me are my suggestions that Osama and child molesters be tortured. I don't apologize for being beet-red angry at monsters like those people.

True, I can't stand either political party, but a lot of other people feel that way. If you're a diehard Dem or Rep, then obviously we can't agree on the value of these parties. I consider myself a middle-roader politically. Some of my views may seem "liberal" and some may seem "conservative." I put those terms in quotes because they are used so much these days as political epithets instead of ideological definitions.

[chuckster]

Originally posted by David Zylak

There will be "alliances on one side, and enemies on the other," for ALL the candidates. It's just the nature of politics. In my 19 years, I've seen it at every election (even when Sheriff Pettit was the Sheriff).

David Zylak
Democratic Candidate for Sheriff [/b]

David, how can the politics of the department be changed unless you change some of the people involved. Are you ready to clean house or are all the players going to stay the same? This is something that I would ask all of the canidates.
You know as well as anybody that there might be some that should not be wearing the badge.

[Oz (Premo)]

Tonio,

I was mostly referring to the statement that it was "weird hearing that the Enterprise is lefty" and anti-business. When you read the editorials written by the publisher, the Enterprise is extremely anti-business. But, they're the only game in town, so businesses must advertise with them. The Osama and child molesters I would tend to agree with, and you could throw rapists in there as well. There was another thread where, in my opinion, I thought you had made some radical statements about zoning, strip malls, I don't recall exactly, and I can't find my contribution to that thread either. We're talking probably 4-6 months ago. And, your statement that you're not affiliated with either party. Like it or not, we live in a society that is a 2-party system. It's still America, so you can do what you want but the 2 party system is still reality. I am registered as a Democrat, and if you looked at my voting record, you would think I'm a Republican. But, that's the way you did it in St. Mary's county when I registered because the major races were decided in the primary and the Republicans rarely fielded a full ticket. That changed in a big way in 1990. So that is the basis for my "jab" and I apologize for that.

Forgot to mention the "all deputies should be replaced" comment you made? And for the record, I don't agree with that statement, and I don't think a statement like that is based in reality.

Politically, I would probably best fall under a Libertarian point of view, being fiscally conservative but wanting to keep government out of our personal lives. Realistically, true Democrats wouldn't have me because I don't believe in redistribution of wealth, and Republicans wouldn't have me because I don't think abortion belongs on a party platform. (So I guess I can never run for office!) But since we're in a 2-party system, I picked one (for the reason above) and registered.

And now, back to the Sheriff's race... Paging David Zylak...

[David Zylak]

Originally posted by chuckster


David, how can the politics of the department be changed unless you change some of the people involved. Are you ready to clean house or are all the players going to stay the same? This is something that I would ask all of the canidates.
You know as well as anybody that there might be some that should not be wearing the badge.

Chuckster,

To "clean house" is not a realistic term when speaking of merit system employees. No candidate, whether he tells you so or not, can get in office and remove all the present commanders. They are merit system employess and cannot be fired or demoted without cause.

The Captain position is an appointment and yes that person will definately change under my administration. The other commanders will have to get on board with the direction I want the agency to go and share my vision. Should they decide otherwise, then changes can (and will) be made. I still contend that I can lead the Sheriff's Office in the right direction and change the political atmosphere of the Administration. I feel there will always be certain divisions in the rank and file, but those too will be minimized by the right leadership. That leadership being someone the officers have known and trust to be fair and consistant.

As far as those who should not be wearing a badge, I like everyone will have to wait for the outcome of the State Prosecutor's investigation. I will say that if officers are found to be involved in misconduct, they should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. Those kind of issues don't effect only the officers involved, they effect everyone who wears a badge across the nation. The public needs be able to trust law enforcement to do the right thing. Quite frankly, I am very proud of the uniform and badge that I wear and I feel we should be held to a higher standard.

David Zylak

[Tonio]

Originally posted by Nodnarb
I was mostly referring to the statement that it was "weird hearing that the Enterprise is lefty" and anti-business. When you read the editorials written by the publisher, the Enterprise is extremely anti-business. But, they're the only game in town, so businesses must advertise with them.

Maybe it's because I've never been a business owner myself, but the editorials have never struck me as anti-business, or pro-business for that matter. In fact, whoever writes the editorials seems to be trying TOO hard to acknowledge that both sides have good points. So hard, in fact, that the editorials lack any real passion.

There was another thread where, in my opinion, I thought you had made some radical statements about zoning, strip malls, I don't recall exactly, and I can't find my contribution to that thread either. We're talking probably 4-6 months ago.

For the record, I urged the county commissioners to work out a compromise between the 1-in-5 proposal and the 1-in-20 proposal. One-in-10 sounded right to me.

I believe most of the business owners and most of the environmentalists share the same goal--to preserve the area's quality of life. Both sides acknowledged that the county needs some controls on growth. Unfortunately, neither side wanted to budge from its position. Part of politics is hammering out compromises. When one or both sides take an "all-or-nothing" attitude, the whole community loses.

Like it or not, we live in a society that is a 2-party system. It's still America, so you can do what you want but the 2 party system is still reality. I am registered as a Democrat, and if you looked at my voting record, you would think I'm a Republican. But, that's the way you did it in St. Mary's county when I registered because the major races were decided in the primary and the Republicans rarely fielded a full ticket. That changed in a big way in 1990. So that is the basis for my "jab" and I apologize for that.

No problem. What really bugs me is the "team" mentality, when politicians put party unity ahead of voter desires. Since I'm still an idealist in some ways, I believe that it's possible for the voters to force the Big Two to be interested in something other than their own survival.

Forgot to mention the "all deputies should be replaced" comment you made? And for the record, I don't agree with that statement, and I don't think a statement like that is based in reality.

Again, I can't stand the "team" mentality in politics. Because of that mentality, we've had deputies being taken off cases for fear that the "wrong" faction will get the glory for solving those cases. We've had commanders being shifted to less visible assigments so as to weaken them politically. These shenanigans have been going on for a long time, under several different sheriffs.

To be honest, I don't see ANY new sheriff being able to lessen the power of the entrenched factions in the department. If a current deputy wins, he'll just continue to be part of the problem. If an outsider wins, he'll be hopelessly outnumbered. No matter how well he does his job, he can't see everything that goes on. The factions exists because deputies are rewarded for belonging to them. They will fight any effort to change the status quo. (That doesn't sound very optimistic, does it?)

And yes, I admit that removing all the deputies may not seem rational. I would listen to any other ideas for waking up our deputies to the fact that their job is to serve and to protect, not to feud and to squabble.

[David Zylak]

To all those interested in hearing what all five sheriff candidates (St. Mary's County) have to say, there is a public forum at the Smeco building in Leonardtown on Thursday, August 15th. Doors open at 7:30pm and opening remarks begin at 7:45.

David Zylak