 These are the candidates for sheriff The office of sheriff serves as the chief law enforcement officer for the county and is also responsible for all judicial support Including court security and oversees the operations of the beer County Adult Detention Center The candidates for this office are Susan Pomerlo Javier Salazar Larry Ricketts and James Dorsey We will begin with their two-minute opening statement starting with Ms. Pomerlo Good evening, and thank you so much to the League of Women Voters for setting this up and Arranging for us to be able to speak to you about the issues and This race is about public safety today and into the future and In the sheriff's office. We're in the midst of some exciting changes. In fact one week from today We will break ground for the first-ever Sheriff's substation after talking about it for 17 years we're also leaving behind the stubby pencil era and Moving into technology 30 years ahead of where we started when I became the sheriff Going from paper and pencil to an automated law enforcement state-of-the-art records management system Pay-in personnel system all those kinds of things that allow us to do the job better and put Deputies on the street and on the floors of the jail where they need to be working not spending So much time in terms of having to be inundated by paper But these changes don't just happen it takes leadership and from someone who has a proven track record Leading strategic transformation of organizations as I have done Rising to the rank of major general while I serve 32 years in the United States Air Force and As a senior vice president at USAA So it's someone who has experience and leading a large organization of almost 2,000 people and managing a budget of close to $200 million so this election is about performance not politics. It's about Responsibility not rhetoric. It's about experience not e-blasts, and it's about the public. Thank you Your time has expired you Mr. Salazar Good evening. My name is Javier Salazar. I want to be your next sheriff I'm a Bear County native and I'm a 23 year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department For 16 years now, I've been happily married to a young lady named Sarah Salazar That is a kindergarten teacher on the south side of town and together We're raising two beautiful young women who are 14 and 21 years of age I love my family and I love Bear County. It's my home. I was born here We're raising our family here and one of these days a long time from now I'm going to retire here in the meantime. I want to continue to protect and serve as I've done for the past 23 years See nationwide My profession law enforcement is in crisis We're in crisis because many agencies are having a hard time connecting with the community they serve and quite frankly people are dying I've seen enough in my career I've seen enough dying and killing to last a hundred careers and it needs to stop now while I can't directly control what happens in the rest of the country what I can control is my little piece of the world right here in Bear County What I can do is I can make sure that those those relationships exist in plenty here in Bear County and that we cultures We cultivate those relationships and maintain them the way any relationship needs to be We need to serve as the example to be emulated across the country And that's how you attain long-term cultural change across an entire nation I'm proud to have served in many many different levels of law enforcement as a boot on the ground patrol officer making calls as Undercovering our products detective for ten years working against organized crime and human trafficking and narco terrorism I've done it as a supervisor Leading my officers into a calculated risk and making sure that everybody gets home at the end of the night And I've also done it as a member of the administration of one of the largest of the largest law enforcement agency here in the Police Department So I'm proud to say that I've served you for 23 years and I love the opportunity to serve for another 25 And I'm asking you for the opportunity to do it as your next sheriff. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Ricketts My name is Larry Ricketts Native Texan I've been married to the same lady for 45 years. We have three daughters 11 grandchildren We own a business in Southeast Bear County. We have a daycare center with that's been a business for 31 years I Served my country in Vietnam as a special forces commander When I came back from Vietnam, I went into the elevator construction trade where I spent 20 years installing elevators and escalators throughout South Texas. I Was on multi-million dollar jobs at all the military bases in Texas all these jobs were done under budget and Savings were given back to the company. I Started working the Sheriff's Department 1989 I worked in the jail for seven years Since I left the Sheriff's Department. I've been in the Cuspals Department I'm a captain and precinct for All my service has been 27 years in County law. I Look forward to the debate tonight and any questions you might have thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dorsey Well, thank you to the League of Women Voters. I Tell you guys If my Lord and Savior never does anything else for me, he's done enough My history speaks for itself. I was born in Raven, Louisiana To a woman who I lost at an early age. I never got to know I never understood Why the Lord would take her away from After that I was raised by my grandfather He took on me and five siblings and he had he already had ten himself Well the thing in his house with that You're gonna graduate and you're gonna go to college. I did that. I graduated Raven High School I went to college college wasn't for me. It's not for everybody But shortly after I joined the military I joined the military in 1982. I met my wife in 85 Joining the military was the best thing that ever happened to me and my hats off to all the veterans Be it retired active or disabled This country deserves to give you guys mega respect. I Served in the military under the power under the command of many many powerful general. I went to the desert in 1991 and served as shielded storm and also served during desert Khan while in the desert I had the opportunity to work with some very very professional individuals We did some things in the desert that most people never ever get to see So when I say there before you and I say I have the experience you can trust That mr. Dorsey have been through the valley and he have done just about everything that could possibly be done We have a crisis in San Antonio on all sides of the railroad We need to really really really think about the candidate that we put in office I ask you for your vote as the next bad county sheriff I will be the strongest sheriff that bear county has ever had we have had a crisis in bear county As far as I can remember. Thank you time has expired For our first question and we're gonna start with mr. Salazar on this one What are the most significant challenges in running a jail? Well, you're dealing with a Population that doesn't want to be there first and foremost or our current sheriff has Compared her position to that of being a landlord The only problem with that is that you have tenants that don't want to be there They're gonna they're gonna look to escape or they may look to commit suicide and in the past several months We've seen that the the current sheriff's administration has a challenge in preventing either one of those and so Those are the that is the what you're what you're dealing with You're dealing also with it with a population that has A higher than average Population within it of those that are that are mental health consumers And so you have to take a proactive approach to to preventing suicide and to dealing with those mental health issues At present that's not being done as proactively as it should and that's what I hope to bring to the sheriff's office Thank you, mr. Ricketts I'm proud to say that my seven years working in the jail. We never had a suicide The officers that work there were very diligent in doing their job and checking on these individuals constantly The old times still work Some of the new stuff is not working If you don't check on each body at a given time, you're gonna wind up with somebody who's wanting to commit a suicide Because they don't want to be there to begin with The morale at the jail right now is the lowest it's ever been and it's just gonna get lower Because the deputies are not being treated with respect that they deserve I plan on changing that Thank you Thank you, mr. Dorsey To know what's going on in the jail You have to have been there If you look at it from the inside out you'll have a different story a lot of people talk about it But I worked in the jail for eight years In 2012 I ran for barry county sheriff I ran against susan pamelot Lopez and a couple of other candidates Where after getting knocked out of the race in the primary I went over to miss miss pamelot and I told him that there are some things going on in the jail That needs to be taken care of four years later. That jail is worse off than it ever been I mean the officers on the street taking lives. There are such a mental crisis in the jail the use of Chemical restraint and it just keeps going and going and going We have to make the right decision Bear county we have to Thank you. Thank you miss pamelot Let me talk about the couple of the things my opponents have talked about One in every five inmates in the bear county jail has some level of mental illness. That's not just in the jail That's also a reflection of our community And we have worked from the beginning to establish multiple levels of mental health assessments And the one that we just started last year has already shown that we've identified 20 of everyone who is arrested In this county and are diverting them to treatment rather than to jail But through the work that we've done of correcting things that We're still undone at the beginning when I became sheriff We've reduced the number of suicides in the jail by 27% Over the four years prior to that and we continue to work in that regard to assure that inmates are safe Our officers are safe and we are providing safety for our community. Thank you Um The next question we're going to start with mr. Ricketts While san Antonio is far from being the most dangerous large city crime is increasingly a problem Particularly property crime What role do you see the share of taking in mitigating this problem? Back when I was with the department, we had an operation called so you special operations unit These deputies were highly trained in stopping burglaries and car thefts They knew it was going on and they stopped them after one example That unit was disbanded by a previous sheriff This is one of the biggest problems we have facing the deputies right now The county is so large and there's such a large area for them to have to drive around in It's hard for them to keep an eye on people's houses. And this is what I've suggested If you're in a certain district Look at the houses See what cars do not belong at that location Get out of your car and go up and talk to them and ask them what they're doing there Men and women want to come home of an evening with their possessions still being there Thank you Thank you. Mr. Torsi San Antonio is our home Barrett county is our home I tell you There is a saying that I used to say when I retired from the military SA will be like la Everybody know how la crying me is What we need to do in barrett county is try to challenge our commissioners challenge our leaders challenge those that handle the funds of barrett county sheriff and get More officers on the street I even were petitioning the governor that most of these officers in the state a lot of people don't know They are all of peace officers first and then they are sheriff and deputies and and police officers and so forth and so on If it was up to me, I would take all the patches off every Every officer in this state and I will allow these officers that sit next to your house to respond As opposed to having an officer come straight across all across town to get to your house The response time is too long and you'll never ever ever get anything done With response time over 20 minutes Thank you. Ms. Palmer look When I became the sheriff this agency was 30 years behind in technology in facilities and workforce development And as I said, not only are we having the groundbreaking for the first ever substation one week from today The second groundbreaking for the other substation will be on october the 21st We've added more than 40 additional law enforcement officers Over the since I've been the sheriff in working with the county commissioners in terms of property crime We established the sheriff's habitual offenders team and they have been able to solve 18 percent more property crimes Since that unit's been established And we will continue working with the commissioners court to make sure we have the resources to keep our community safe Including we've moved we've When toppled the number of cellular unpatrolling neighborhoods that have neighborhood Watches and making sure that they are our eyes and ears and partnering with us. Thank you, mr. Salazar While solving crime is is always a good thing Preventing crime is the better the better bet in my 23 years of law enforcement community policing and crime prevention have been my specialty And the best way to prevent crime is through a two-fold approach Of course, you have enforcement activities that need to be conducted. You need to be out proactively patrolling your neighborhoods But the second aspect of it is the public education aspect We need to be empowering our public on how best to take an active role in their own protection Until we get there and so that that means educating the public on on the best ways to to prevent crime from happening Many times it's as simple as just reminding folks to close your garage door Because that's an open portal to your house and all of your valuables It's a matter of taking taking advantage of Resources that are available like what the san antonio police department has Well, we'll come out and do a home assessment of your home and we'll teach you how to harden the target that is your home So i'm i'm a much bigger fan of preventing crime from happening in the first place That's the key to uh to uh preventing crime Thank you, mr. Ricketts. Oh, i'm sorry I'll do it again. Sorry, sorry, sorry I got behind myself Okay, this will be our final question What are the most significant challenges in running a jail and we'll start with mr. Dorsey one minute, please Is that the one I just asked Then we'll ask this one Um currently the sheriff's office is a two-tier system Are there any plans to make it a one-tier system where all deputies will be peace officers and we'll start with mr. Dorsey Great question great question My military background take me back to when we had security and law enforcement There was always a fight. There was always some commotion amongst both of the ranks in 1986 We decided to deplete the security part and to combine those forces Yes, there is a great need in this county to tear down the wall between the law enforcement officers and the detention officer All officers within the state once they get that peace officer license and if I was in charge of that jail Before they even came in to the sheriff department. I will ensure that their training that was involved peace officers instead of detention We have a great need for more officers in this county The commissioner just released 17 positions on the council constable And i'm not trying to throw the ball at all everybody, but we need to do something different We got to get more officers on the ground. We got to do better in barrett county San Antonio is our home as mr. Salazar say Preventive is the best way of fixing any type of crime and we need to get those officers on the street Thank you miss pomerlo When I became the sheriff It was obvious that people Deputies who served in the jail were treated as second class citizens If you weren't in law enforcement You just ain't And since that time we have raised the level of professionalism for our detention officers And more than a hundred today Are have national certifications as certified corrections professionals And that recognizes the role that they play in public safety They are two different types of professions But they also share a number of skills and responsibilities and both are important In our community to keep it safe It's a matter of making both parts of the profession Recognize for the job that they do and both are just as important in keeping our community safe Thank you. Mr. Salazar To answer your question, I don't believe that a one tier system where everybody's a peace officer is is the Solution to what we have going on While everybody needs a better trained Police officer, of course police training saves lives That's not necessarily the key here that peace officer training is something that's very expensive We're a government agency and it's not a bottomless pit of money So there the key is to make sure that everybody's trained on a continual basis within their own career path There are people that are perfectly happy being detention officers for 20 30 years And and they don't ever want to be police peace officers So to force them into that role is just not something that's there What we need to be doing at the sheriff's office is making sure that we're holding on to our current personnel We have an agency that's lost over 200 people through attrition over the past two years They're leaving to go elsewhere And so we need to definitely improve the uh the Morale and the environment that those officers are in so that they'll continue to stick around And protect and serve as as we need to within the current system that we have. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Ricketts We've been fighting this issue for 20 years What I propose Is to put on two classes Every day so that the deputy is working in the jail that want to become peace officers Will have the opportunity to go to these classes to become certified peace officers Once you do that You've got more highly trained officers working in the jail They can see a light at the end of the tunnel Where they're not going to be sitting there as detention officers rest their lives So when they become peace officers, then we can start taking them out and let them ride along with warrants or patrol So when it comes time for them to advance further, they'll already have the experience This is at no cost to the taxpayers. Thank you. Thank you We're now going to have the one minute closing statement. We'll start with mr. Dorsey And I would like to ask all of the candidates if they would mind If the student leaders came up and stood behind you and the college got a picture of the four of you with the student leaders Thank you. Okay, so um Michelle go ahead and mr. Dorsey your one minute closing statement, please In closing, I think it's very important that I make everybody understand that I have 31 years of law enforcement I have served at every level I know bad county bad county is my home I know those officers in that county in the county Those officers deserve better their family deserve better We have to do something bad county It led me as your next sheriff And I promise you again that my word is all I got and that I will be the strongest sheriff bad county I've ever had I speak from experience I speak from my military background And like I say all the families here. I thank you guys for your time tonight. Thank you and god bless each and every last one Thank you. Mr. Ricketts As I said in my 27 years of law enforcement. It's all been in the county level I live outside of municipality so we don't have The safety that people live in the cities do We have to wait half an hour to an hour for a deputy to show up I'm accountable. So I don't have to worry about that myself But the rest of the citizens of barrett county do I wish That you would all take time And look at the problems that we have and who had the solutions to them Go to my website and you'll see that there's more problems. That's been than what's been mentioned And I had the solutions to these problems Please vote the bible. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Salazar When you call 911 you don't ask for a democrat or republican to come to your house What you want is the most qualified best educated Best trained and most willing officer to come to your house and help you out in your time of need On january 1st 2017 i'm going to get up out of out of bed and i'm going to get dressed for work I'm going to put on a badge like i've done for the past 23 years and i'm going to protect and serve You the voters of barrett county are going to tell me what badge i'm going to put on that day On election day, you're going to be asked to make many decisions across all levels of government As far as the sheriff's office, you're going to be asked to decide who's most likely to fight crime in a meaningful way Who's most likely to form long lasting relationships with the community? And who's going to be the most likely to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars? I can tell you that that person is me My name is i've got Salazar. I want to be your next sheriff and i'm respectfully asking for your vote Thank you. Ms. Palmer. Love This race is about electing the best qualified to serve and protect the people of barrett county And in a 21st century sheriff's office It's important and this is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation It's important that one have a different set of skills than just law enforcement or jail operations It takes executive leadership To lead an organization of almost 2000 people and oversee a budget of close to 200 million dollars And the race isn't just about fixing past problems It's about looking to the future and making the kind of changes that are necessary to move us into the future I've been asked to represent barrett county in the state of texas by democrats by republicans In the state legislature in the congress and in the white house On issues of criminal justice in our community mental health and across the board Thank you. I will continue doing that as I continue to be your sheriff for the next four years. Thank you Thank you. Uh, will the student leaders come up now and have their picture taken with the sheriff's candidates? Well that picture is being taken I will remind you that uh Early voting begins on october 24th and ends on november 4th election day is november 8th Thank you for coming out tonight to learn about the candidates That concludes tonight's candidate forum. Please join me in thanking the candidates for their participation and thank you for attending