howeenterprise.com
Monday, February 8, 2016
Page #13
Tom Watt says trust should be key to Sheriff election By Tom Watt for Sheriff of Grayson official resigns pending an investigation, the public has an County expectation to know what the complaint was, or at least what the I hope this finds you enjoying a great start to 2016! It has definitely complaint is about. been an unusual week between Christmas and New Year’s Day in Early in my career as a law enforcement administrator I served as the race for Grayson County the Operations Commander at Sheriff. The big news is the resignation of David Russell from Sherman PD. My mentor, friend and supervisor, Chief Jerry Caylor, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office due to, in his own words, a engrained in me the understanding that difficult situations arise in law pending investigation. enforcement all the time. The public will judge you not in regard to the As a 32-year law enforcement officer and retired Chief of Police, difficult situation, but in how you handle the situation and whether it is I know that effective law handled openly and honestly. “It’s not enforcement requires that the people trust those sworn to uphold when the bad thing happens, it’s how the law and those sworn to uphold you respond when it does.” That has been proven to me many times the law must live up to that trust. throughout my career. The public Integrity, transparency, wisdom and competence all play a part in wants and needs the chief law enforcement officer of the county to establishing this trust. Secrecy, aborted investigations and veiled be a leader who can deal with explanations destroy that trust. For stressful situations in an open, honest and transparent manner. After all, as example, when a high ranking
public servants, we are doing the people’s business and the people have the right to know. I’ll be the first to acknowledge the major contributions Sheriff Keith Gary has made to our county. He has served the citizens with pride, dignity and respect. Unfortunately, his leadership team has not. His leadership team failed to fulfill their duties to the citizens of Grayson County. His leadership team has simply not lived up to his high standards. We have all witnessed their failures in the recent past. Whether it be the theft of confiscated weapons by the supervisor responsible for overseeing them, the falsified training reports made to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or the undisclosed investigation aborted by the recent resignation of Mr. Russell, it’s time for a reassessment of the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office leadership team. I will always respect Sheriff
Gary, but we must recognize the shortcomings of his current administration for the good of the people of Grayson County. I will continue to focus on my proven track record of integrity, experience and professionalism throughout the remainder of this campaign. I promise you I will never forget that my job as Sheriff is to protect and serve the people of Grayson County openly and honestly. If you would like to follow my campaign, please ‘like’ my page. Thank you for your support. I appreciate you. Political Advertisement Paid for by Tom Watt, Treasurer Robert Brady, Denison, Texas. Tom Watt subscribes to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices. Privacy Policy Tom Watt for Sheriff P.O. Box 104 Sherman, TX 75091
