Letterto the Editor:

August L9,2OL3

County from within the Livingston SheriffsRaceprogress I havequietlysat by and watchedthe upcoming years after 26+ pleasure For full disclosure, the Sheriff. of at the Major. I serve I am an appointed Office. Sheriff's give some opinionsand observations. career. I can now I am goingto retireto pursuea 2no with the agency, my whole careerand Tom Dougherty Jim Szczesniak for manyyears, I haveworked with both candidates hiswhole career. Both are fine and honorablemen. Both comefrom good families. Both havevery good work Jim has26+ yearswith the officeand ethicand striveto do the best at whateverthey are tryingto accomplish. positions. and administrative to includesupervisory Tom has7. Jim hasheld almosteverypositionin the agency positions.Jim led the or administrative with no supervisory Tom hasheldtwo, Deputyand Investigator, Investigator. Tom hashad the most and Sergeant he was a Deputy, when and arrests departmentin investigations We copswould be an understatement. To saythat they are both excellent as a Deputyand Investigator. arrests and skillset to training,experience a great cop we are electinga Sheriff.Jim hasthe education, are not electing position or administrative to makesupervisory run the agency.Tom doesnot. Tom has neverbeenin the or Jim has. Thisalsoseemsto be a knockon Jim in this race. Jim has been in the supervisory decisions. is battling the careers. 5o Jim starting their prior agency even of the most the members role to of administrative Very the administration. THEMmentalitythat existsin everywork place. lt is the worker beesagainst USagainst of neverhavinghad Tom hasthe advantage made by the bosses. few peopleagreeor are happywith decisions He hasno the agency. decisions affecting He hasnot made that effect subordinates. made any decisions that he doesnot havethe are very concerned in this area. lt is very obviousthat Tom and his campaign experience himself literaturehe hasself-titled experience to be Sheriff. ln his campaign supervisory and administrative portion to Thereis no suchpositionin the SheriffsOffice. He hasaddedthe Sergeant Investigator Sergeant. peopleinto thinkinghe hassupervisory experience. He hasappointedMatt Beanas his Undersheriff, deceive on the bill. He alsotakes experience shouldhe win. Thisis anotherattempt to get sometype of supervisory over all. Hisliteraturestatesthat he has 16 yearsin the publicand privatesectors.16 libertywith his experience yearsago he was a high schoolstudent. Properly stated,he hasbetween8 and 9 yearsof privateand public consists of workingat a limousine experience.Tom hasstatedat an open meetingthat his privateexperience scheduling of driversand customerservice sales of vehicles, where he was a driver,sold advertising, service you give to run a knowledge or expertise the experience, (Complaint not this does resolution).I would submitthat The PublicSafetyAgency. A private enterpriseoperatesunder a completelydifferent set of circumstances. or intervention freely without oversight of a privateenterprise hasthe abilityto makedecisions administration whateverthey want wheneverthey want to and do not answer can do basically from anyone.A privateenterprise County to anyone. The Sheriffs Office is a public SafetyAgencythat is regulatedby the Board of Supervisors, policies Federal, and procedures, rulesand regulations, numerousFederal, Administrator, Stateand localagencies, County to leadthe Livingston and expertise experience knowledge, State,locallaws. Jim hasthe education, Office. Simplyput, Tom doesnot. Thisis not a knockon Tom, he just hasn'tgainedthe necessary Sheriff's to careerthat would makehim qualified brief law enforcement in his relatively training,education or experience run the Office. campaign are so proud of. The that the Dougherty I must makea few commentson the endorsements and is the Jailofficers,Court SecurityOfficers,dispatchers Livingston County Deputy Sheriff s Association three way vote, pushedby Dougherty secretaries.They have in excessof 90 members. In a controversial or not to endorse at all. 32 votingfor Szczesniak Dougherty won with 33 votingfor him and a suspect supporters, puts a lot of stockin an endorsement from a third of a membership.I can tell you that there are a The campaign Troopersendorsement:Theystatein or still undecided. The NYS lot of membersthat are either for Szczesniak they madetheir endorsement.Theyalsosaidit was in part announcement that after "Carefulconsideration"

it too carefully because Tom doesnot have because of his supervisory experience. Theyobviously did not consider positionin the agency.I find it hard to consider any supervisory experience.He has not held a supervisory The Szczesniak campaign was not even something carefully when you only consider one of the candidates. is cloudedby the fact that a memberof the contacted.The Dansville Police Officers Association endorsement so there is that administration of their Association was a memberof the SheriffsOfficeand was askedto resign, little animosity is the road patrol services to include there. The Livingston CountyCoalition of PatrolServices the Investigations Criminal division. lt hasvoted not to endorseanyoneeventhough I havebeentold that Tom and Matt participated in the discussion all that is beingput forth about Law and vote. So you can't believe and supportedby his peers,which happento be Enforcement endorsements. Jim Szczesniak is a well respected the administrators agencies.Again,it is the USagainst THEM and supervisors of other State,Countyand Local phenomenon.Peers supportpeers. The Dougherty campaign hasa lot of supportfrom big money businesses.I would submitthat thosebig business ownersthat are trying to selleveryoneon Tom as the one for the job, would not hire him to take over You see,the big business ownersknow that they would needsomeonewith and run their own enterprises. experience to take overtheir education, knowledge, and supervisory training,experience / administrative enterprises to a personwith a similarresumeas businesses. Theyabsolutely would not turn over their business Tom. lf they tell you that they would they would be lying!Theymay hire him and bring him up throughtheir interests to him organization over time but they would not walk out the door today and hand over their business at this point in his career. SheriffJohnYorkwith whom he Tom'sreason for getting into the racein the first placewas to run against had personal issues with. Tom and his campaign continueto run against"TheAdministration".Theycontinueto is p[ JohnYork. Jim hashis own try to portraythat Jim Szczesniak is the sameasJohnYork. Jim Szczesniak knowledge, visionof how the SheriffsOfficewill proceedin the future. He hasthe experience, education and expertiseto lead the Sheriffs Office well into the future. his goal of change.The Livingston SheriffYorkis retiringand no longeran opponent. Tom accomplished CountySheriffs Office has been a leadingagencyin not only the County but the State and Country. The Livingston CountySheriffsOfficeis an awardwinningagency try to emulate. that is a modelthat many other agencies person person. Administrative itself is not in need styleschange from to The SheriffsOffice of a whole lot of changes is the man to leadthe SheriffsOfficeinto a new but everything can be improvedupon. Jim Szczesniak era and makethe SheriffsOfficeeven better than it is.. I am votingfor Jim Szczesniak in this race. I would encourage everyone as the only qualified candidate to qualifications educatethemselves the the and make an educated choice for Sheriff based on true of candidates on facts,not on propaganda, high schoolhysteria or prominentSir name. Thiselectionis not about who can raisethe most money,put out the most yard signsor look the beston the most billboards, it s about electing the person job. good good that is rightfor the Tom is a well spoken, looking, well mannered, cop. He is not howeverthe right personfor this job. He doesn't havethe training,education, knowledge base,skillset or experience neededto take over and run the Sheriffs Office. We are electingthe 50thSheriff in Livingston County History,not the high schoolstudentbody president.Jim Szczesniak is the only man for the position!