Sheriff Article

N-J Endorsement September 23, 2008 Flagler sheriff's race should go to Manfre The race for Flagler County sheriff gives voters a three-way choice: Republican Don Fleming, who's nearing the end of his first term; Democrat Jim Manfre, who was sheriff from 2000 to 2004; and Independent Ray Stevens, a retired deputy and city police officer who's never sought office before. The sheriff is a constitutional officer who serves four years. It's not as broad a selection as it seems. None of the candidates stands out as the unquestionably best choice. Stevens is sincere, energetic and clearly relishes police work. But he has no experience in leadership and has limited familiarity with Flagler County or Palm Coast, where he's lived for four years. Fleming and Manfre contend with the baggage they've accrued as sheriff. Neither lived up to promise. Neither got along with other government agencies, an essential component of the job. Neither made good on transparent budgeting. Yet neither harmed the office, either, as each improved deputies' pay and equipment during his tenure while upgrading equipment. Manfre instilled a sense of professionalism lacking in the 17-year tenure of his predecessor, Bob McCarthy, winning the agency's first state accreditation. Fleming reinforced that professionalism, maintaining that accreditation even as he and Manfre have been targeted by anecdotal accusations of favoritism and the less anecdotal fact that they never instituted the career ladder they'd promised. What differentiates them is how they evaluate their tenure. Fleming considers his four years successful in most regards, downplaying conflict almost to the point of denial, especially with Palm Coast, while overemphasizing deputies' job preservation. Manfre, on the other hand, admits to having mishandled his relations with other government agencies -- his conflicts were with the County Commission -- and admits to mistakes in running a less-than-transparent operation. He was no friend to the openrecords law. Fleming promises to be what he's been. Manfre promises to be better than he was. That's the difference in this race. Manfre should get a second chance. Manfre was a former prosecutor in New York who's worked in real estate since losing his reelection bid in 2004. The Flagler County crime rate, which takes into account

population increases, went down in three of the four years he was sheriff (it has gone up three successive years beginning in 2005). Manfre's relations with Palm Coast, thanks to his precinct captain there, Mark Carman, were steady (Carman, whom Manfre defeated in the Democratic primary for sheriff, has been working as Palm Coast's law enforcement coordinator since 2006). The county commissioners Manfre clashed with are gone or outgoing, and he says he has better relations with the commission's newer members. Manfre now promises to make public records accessible automatically by computer, budgets -- and monthly expenses -- included. His ideas on making mental health services for inmates more accessible, moving the sheriff's offices to more central, visible locations in Bunnell and Palm Coast and improving relations with Palm Coast are progressive. Fleming, who was a police chief in a small New Jersey town before retiring to Palm Coast, has been a fair sheriff who's nevertheless clashed with all three major local governments -- Palm Coast, the commission and the School Board, with whom he had a showdown over Tasers. (Fleming wanted his deputies in schools armed with Tasers. Board members did not. Board policy won out. Fleming then reduced the Sheriff's Office's share of school deputies' cost, shifting it to the board, thus forcing the cashstrapped board to reduce the number of deputies in schools.) Voters know what they get with both Manfre and Fleming. Both are burdened by errors of judgment and temperament. Both are well prepared for the job. But Manfre's willingness to admit errors, adapt and address the county's needs energetically makes his bid for a second term more convincing than Fleming's reliance on a checkered record. · RECOMMENDATION: Jim Manfre for Flagler County Sheriff.