Sheriff candidates respond to audience questions
By LISA CARNLEY Staff Writer

Joe Lorette, left, and David Whitis respond to questions posed by members of the audience at Monday night's candidate forum at the Lampasas County Courthouse. The event was sponsored by the Conservative Club and Lampasas Dispatch Record.

Candidates for Lampasas County sheriff, Joe Lorette and David Whitis, agreed on a number of topics during Monday night's forum, but they had their own ways of dealing with other topics.

The forum, sponsored by the Lampasas County Conservative Club and Lampasas Dispatch Record, was held in a packed courtroom, as numerous residents turned out to hear the Republican candidates respond to audience questions.

Each candidate was given time for an opening statement.

Lorette touted his 22 years of Army service and his nine years of duty with the Lampasas County Sheriff's Department, where he worked everything from patrol to investigator.

Lorette resigned to run for sheriff after longtime Sheriff Gordon Morris announced his resignation.

"I have the leadership abilities to do this job for you," the candidate said.

PHOTOS BY LISA CARNLEY

Whitis, a 19-year law enforcement veteran and currently chief deputy for the Sheriff's Department, began his career at the Lampasas Police Department.

"I have had the desire for the last 15 years to follow in the footsteps of Gordon Morris," he said. "It has been my dream, and I have patterned my career toward that."

Candidates were then asked a series of questions submitted by audience members. A sampling of those queries appears below in bold.

Both candidates have worked or currently work at the Sheriff's Department. How would you run the department differently?

Whitis: "I work for the best boss in the world. He runs a good agency. I would make minor administrative and budgetary changes, but maintain it has he has run it to the best of my ability."

Lorette: "I concur that Gordon has done a tremendous job. I also would make minor changes, and we need some more decisive leadership and better response time in the county."

If the jail is built, how many beds should it accommodate?

Lorette: "With 37 beds and overcrowding, we need a larger jail. I'm not sure if we need 144 beds, though. In the immediate future, we should look at doubling the capacity. We haven't exceeded that yet."

Whitis: "It was recommended in 2006 that we build a 92-bed facility. We're overcrowded. We would be remiss if we did not build a structure to hold over 92. I think a 144-bed facility is currently needed to carry us 10 to 20 years into the future."

Can you describe your community involvement outside of law enforcement?

Whitis: "Community involvement plays an impor- tant part in my life. I am a past Kiwanis club member and past hospital board member. I have served with the United Way and Community Chest, and I am involved in my church, First United Methodist Church. It's very important to me to be involved. This is our home."

Lorette: "I spend most of my time working. I am a member of the Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board. I prefer to concentrate on a few things."

If elected, will you have a public open door/access policy and what will it be?

Lorette: "I will have an open door. There is nothing better than two-way communication with the public. We need to know what they are thinking, and they need to know what we are thinking and that we care about their concerns and we are here to serve."

Whitis: "We are public servants, and we work for the public. We need to take their input, but at the same time, they elected us to do a job, and they have to trust our intelligence to make decisions and move forward on those."

How will you manage the spending of funds resulting from forfeited property?

Whitis: "Most of our forfeited funds come from seizing of a vehicle and auctioning it off. The funds can be utilized back into law enforcement. We use it now to purchase equipment, which helps with our budget."

Lorette: "Funds should not be used for the purchase of assault weapons, but for storage of records and to assist the smaller communities with their needs."

Two of the three incorporated cities in Lampasas County cannot afford around-the-clock law enforcement. The citizens within these counties pay county taxes just like everyone else. What is being done or can be done to ensure equal protection to all citizens in the county?

Lorette: "I have not seen direct response to their needs currently. I would like to coordinate with Kempner and Lometa officials to ensure they have round-the-clock protection."

Whitis: "The sheriff is responsible for law enforcement all over the county. It's his responsibility, and he should continue to do that. We should continue to have a visible presence in those communities, and we do respond to their needs."

Do you plan to make any changes in the law enforcement coverage in the east or west end of the county if elected?

Whitis: "Changes in coverage are dictated by funding. Under our current system, we are operating at full staff. The east end is growing tremendously, and I can see a day coming where we have to have more of a permanent substation in that area to provide 24-7 coverage. I can also see that happening in Lometa."

Lorette: "When we look to provide additional coverage we have to coordinate with the smaller communities and work with them."

Do you think the land deal south of town for the construction of a new jail was in the best interest of the county's voters?

Lorette: "I wasn't involved in that. But the voters have spoken when they shot down the bond issue. I do not believe it was done in the best interest of the county."

Whitis: "I was involved in the selection of an architect. The land purchase was controversial. The county owns the land at this time, but the bond issue was defeated. The county, in the future, should look at all its options to build a jail. The public has spoken and voted down the bond issue. We should continue to house our prisoners out of county until a better solution for our overcrowding surfaces."

What leadership training or experience to you have?

Whitis: "I started as a police officer, and am now second in command at the sheriff's office. I am involved in my community, with its local youth and with my church."

Lorette: "I have 22 years in the Army, with 20 of those in military leadership positions and have attended numerous trainings and schools."

What would be your thoughts about purchasing land around the existing jail for a new jail? This would keep all jail operations in one place and be close to the courthouse.

Whitis: "It's a viable option. One issue in adding on to the current jail is that we operate under numerous variances, and the current jail would have to be brought up to code, and that could be cost extensive. Also, the amount of money it would cost to house all our prisoners out of county during construction would be high. We should explore that option and look at all the details."

Lorette: "It merits looking at. We could build a separate facility on the same land that is not connected to the current jail, and that could keep us from having to move all the prisoners out of the county during construction. And we could sell the land on U.S. Highway 183 to recoup some of the losses."

Do you feel the north and west ends of the county are patrolled enough?

Lorette: "Manpower constraints and the loss of Hiram Jones in Adamsville leaves us not well covered currently."

Whitis: "We have a lot of territory to cover, and we have manpower constraints to deal with. The county is growing so much. And we are out there doing all we can to just cover the calls coming in. Our deputies do respond and give proper service."

What will happen if Lampasas County does not get a new jail?

Whitis: "We have no options. If there is no new jail, we will have to continue to house our inmates out of county. But a new jail costs, too. Out-of-county housing and maintaining the current facility are also expensive."

Lorette: "The population of the jail fluctuates daily. There are days where it is overcrowded, and inmates have to be farmed out. We will have to continue to send inmates out of county and pay the costs to house them there. We have to do something."

Why are you the best candidate for sheriff?

Whitis: "My law enforcement experience and experience through the ranks as a patrol officer, narcotics agent, sergeant and investigator allowed me to build a tool box of skills that I can use to build a good sheriff's department."

Lorette: "The sheriff needs to concentrate on the leadership of the department. He should have good investigators who investigate, good officers on the streets who can respond and have good deputies who can perform their duties."

How can you save the taxpayers dollars?

Whitis: "I can certainly try. Working with the budget has certainly opened my eyes. We can't control fuel costs or inmate services, but we can streamline some of the operational costs."

Lorette: "We are going to continue to grow, especially in the east end. As growth continues, we have more taxpayer dollars coming in. I can't promise a cut in the budget, but I can try to manage the budget and hold costs in place."

There is widespread discussion about drug dealers and users within the county. What is being done or will be done to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our children?

Lorette: "The safety and wellbeing of our children is of the utmost importance. We have a major crimes task force that is supposed to be addressing that. We need better supervision and control of the task force to better address these issues."

Whitis: "When the Rural Area Narcotics Task Force dissolved, we took a tremendous hit, as did many of the rural communities around us. Everyone suffered. We have gone from six agents to two. They are working the best they can. Ensuring the safety of our children is a passion of mine, and it will be addressed and addressed aggressively."

What are the three major goals you want to accomplish, in order of importance, in your first term of office?

Whitis: "First, I want to streamline the budget to operate efficiently. Then I want to get the department and staff more fully involved in the community. Finally, I want to address the jail issue. We are going to have to address it and see what the public wants."

Lorette: "My first goal is to implement a proactive administration and have the department out there patrolling the streets instead of waiting for a report to come in. The jail issue, because of its impact on the budget, is my second priority. And the budget."

What makes you different or better qualifies you for the job?

Lorette: "My leadership and integrity. It's all about doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons."

Whitis: "My budgeting experience, my community involvement and my upbringing."

What is the sheriff's current budget, and what will you do to control it?

Lorette: "In 2007, the budget was just under $2.5 million for the entire sheriff's office. We have to control and manage the budget effectively and cut any fat, although I do not see much fat in the budget."

Whitis: "Controlling the budget is a difficult issue. Look at the gas prices. We never dreamed we would be paying between $3 and $4 per gallon, but we are. We are operating efficiently at this time. Our salaries are not excessive. We can't control jail costs and other issues, but we can streamline as much as possible."

What will you do to ensure the hiring of the best qualified rather than your friends?

Lorette: "There will be specific job descriptions to be sure everyone is in the right place doing the right job. We need the best-qualified, best-trained people out there protecting the public."

Whitis: "All law enforcement struggles with recruitment. We need a thorough background check, interviews and for them to appear before an independent board. It's the sheriff's duty to make the final determination on qualifications to continue to get the type of officers who will serve us best."

What do you think about the current situation with two lots and no jail, and the cost of one at $41,000 per acre?

Lorette: "There's obviously something wrong. I do believe the citizens committee wants and deserves more input, more answers and better communication. A lot of people deserve answers to their questions."

Whitis: "We found ourselves in a land-poor situation. The county possesses a lot of land at this time. We now have several options, and we have to take a good look at the situation. The voters have spoken and for the foreseeable future, we need to continue to house inmates out of county and address the situation in that manner until this is resolved."

Both candidates were given a time for closing remarks.

Lorette said the public deserves law enforcement that will act and make the best decisions on their behalf. He added that he has a conservative philosophy.

"I will have a proactive administration. I will investigate and follow up as appropriate and will treat everyone fairly and equally. I am willing to listen and work with the public. I will establish and enforce an open-door policy and make a plan for betterqualified officers."

Lorette said he also will consider jail overpopulation issues.

"We need to look forward and not back, but we need to consider the past to make sure we don't make the same mistakes.

"The sheriff's office requires leadership, respect, courage, compassion and integrity," he said.

"The badge should not define the person; that person should define the badge. I am aware of the importance of being able to live in a county with honest and fair law enforcement for all."

Whitis closed by reiterating his dream of becoming a sheriff. "I followed Gordon Morris with what he's done and learned tremendously from him. He has some big boots to fill. I hope I can be half the man he is and half the sheriff he was."

Whitis said he can't promise huge budget cuts or getting deputies on site in five minutes.

"But what I can promise is to do the best job I can do and be the best sheriff I can be and continue to move this county forward."