RICH JAMES: Lake sheriff candidates are lining up
NWI Times
August 13, 2017
Updated - August 24, 2017
Whether Lake County Sheriff John Buncich wins or loses his fight for survival in federal court, it won’t be terribly long before the county will have a new top cop.
If Buncich is found not guilty, he can’t run again next year because of term limits.
And as Buncich has spent the last eight months preparing for trial, a crowded field has formed hoping to replace him either through a Democratic precinct caucus this year or primary and general elections in 2018.
A lot comes with the sheriff’s job — prestige, power and a salary that most of us can only dream about.
I guess we’d all like a sheriff who is honest and has had considerable experience in law enforcement.
Just as some recent candidates have done, Buncich first ran for sheriff in 1994 as a “policeman for a policeman’s job.”
It worked in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010. I guess people kind of like the idea of a cop being the county’s top law enforcement officer.
But, this is Lake County, and being qualified isn’t always a requisite for office.
I remember when Democratic precinct committeemen elected Rudy Bartolomei sheriff when Sheriff Chris Anton died. Then again, committeemen had to pick between Bartolomei and Anton’s widow, Anna. Neither one had any business being sheriff.
There are a few contenders and a host of pretenders waiting in the wings. Some have law enforcement credentials. Others are basing their hopes on politics.
Highland attorney Thomas O’Donnell, who was a police officer some 20 years ago, would make a good sheriff, but may have gone to the well too often with runs for state representative twice in the last six years.
Roy Dominguez, who served two terms as sheriff, has been running around the Lake County Fair telling people he’s going to be a candidate.
But Dominguez left office in 2007 under a cloud when his second in command was indicted on gun charges. Should Dominguez file, he would hurt the candidacy of county cop Oscar Martinez, a fellow Hispanic, who has run for sheriff.
While ethnicity can be a factor, so too can race.
County Clerk Mike Brown, a popular guy who is black, is a likely candidate who can’t run again for clerk because of term limits.
A Brown candidacy could make it difficult for Richard Ligon, who also is black and has run several times for sheriff. Ligon was in law enforcement with the United States Postal Service.
There are a few other pretenders who are running on a hope and prayer and inflated ego.
But it would be a crime if one other guy didn’t win.
Schererville Police Chief David Dowling is a lifelong cop and proven administrator. He would restore pride to the sheriff’s office.
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