Glascott for county sheriff
Jail problems haven't been solved, responsibility rests with incumbent
The buck stops at Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard's desk. The vote should go to his challenger, Cheektowaga Police Capt. John A. Glascott. The department needs change.
To some extent, Howard may be the victim of circumstances beyond his control. He doesn't set his own budget; the county does that. He can't build a new jail on his own; again, that's the county's responsibility. It wasn't his direct negligence at the jail that allowed two prisoners to escape, one of whom then shot three state troopers and murdered one.
Still, Howard was the man at the top when the escapes occurred and when the county was sued by the state and federal governments over civil rights violations at the county's jails. He was in charge when a double-murder suspect was found starved and dehydrated in the Holding Center, and he was in charge when a registered sex offender was mistakenly released and, police allege, raped a Buffalo woman. Responsibility, ultimately, is his. At a minimum, people in his charge committed lapses that have had negative — even catastrophic — consequences.
That, mainly, is why we are endorsing Glascott for sheriff. Too many problems have occurred on Howard's watch for county residents to have the necessary level of confidence in the Republican candidate's leadership. Someone new needs to take over. In terms of top-executive experience Glascott is not the perfect candidate, but we believe he can do the job.
Glascott, making his first run for political office, has spent 35 years in law enforcement, all but the first few at the Cheektowaga Police Department. He began his career as a corrections officer at Attica State Prison. As a captain, he ranks high in the department's organizational chart, but he has never been in charge of a large operation, which the Sheriff's Department plainly is.
Glascott, a Democrat, approaches the campaign with some common-sense ideas about what to do at the office. With 80 percent of the budget related to jail management, he says, the jail needs to be a large part of the sheriff's focus. Picking up on one of Howard's habits (and an essential one, at that), he adds that reading reports is not enough.
"You need boots on the ground," he said. He believes in the concept of "management by walking around" — that is, seeing for yourself what is going on and, equally important, being seen by your employees.
It seems clear that jail employees need to know someone is watching. After Ralph "Bucky" Phillips escaped from the Alden jail in 2006 and shot three state troopers, killing one, common sense says oversight of county jails would have become a high priority. Yet, just this month, an inmate escapes from a Holding Center cell to the rooftop, where he is filmed by local news stations.
Glascott says he opposes metro policing, but supports consolidating police services. He also wants to consolidate the Sheriff's Department, itself. "How may chiefs do you need?" he asked. He wants to eliminate some of those positions and move the money into training.
Glascott says among his reasons for running is that he wants a new challenge. If he wins this election, he'll have it.
• • • Endorsements by The News editorial board are intended to aid voters in their own evaluations of those seeking office. Whether you agree or disagree with our recommendations, we urge you to vote and take part in our democratic process. Comments on our endorsements can be posted on the Matters of Opinion blog at www.buffalonews.com
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