Let The Truth Begin!!! Detective running for sheriff Posted: Friday, July 4, 2014 12:00 am By Mishele Wright mdwright@chronicle-tribune The Grant County Sheriff’s race this November will be contested. Marion Police Detective Larry Shaw II has put his name on the ballot and will run as a Democrat against Republican Party nominee Reggie Nevels, who is a detective sergeant with the sheriff’s department. Shaw said he decided to run after the primary race in May. During that race, Sheriff’s Capt. Kevin Pauley, Marion Police Detective Capt. Jay Kay and Marion Police Deputy Chief David Day competed against Nevels for the Republican nomination. A Democrat wasn’t on the ballot. “Several people I talked to in the community were kind of unhappy with the results and were looking for another candidate and asked me to run,” Shaw said. After talking with his family, the 20-year veteran of MPD decided the time was right. A lifelong resident of Marion, Shaw graduated from Marion High School in 1988. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Ball State University and was hired onto the force after he graduated in 1994. He has spent the past eight years as a detective working crimes against people, particularly child abuse and molestation cases. His experience also includes serving on the Joint Effort Against Narcotics Team, serving as a third shift corporal and working as a field training officer in the patrol division. Shaw also has been active in the Fraternal Order of Police for the past 19 years and has been in a leadership position with the union since 1999. He is the current president, a position he’s had for two years. He said he believes he can use his experience as a detective to create a better working relationship between the sheriff’s department and the smaller communities when it comes to child abuse and molest crimes. The crimes are the type that most law enforcement officers don’t like to work. Like Marion Police Department, the sheriff’s department has a specialized group of people who focus on those types of crimes, and he has worked closely with them over the years. “I think they can lend their experience to the smaller communities to make sure they get the proper treatment they deserve,” he said. “I think it’s a combination of manpower and the expertise when you’ve only got a small department with two or three guys, the main focus is working the regular calls. It’s hard to reach out and ask for help. I think they do a good job, but if you only get a couple cases a year, you don’t really have the expertise or experience to investigate it to the fullest.” Another goal Shaw has if elected is to take a serious look at the inmate population in the jail and how it is affected by the change in the criminal code that went into effect this week. He would consider ways to screen the offenders who are in the jail awaiting trial to see if there is a program low-level offenders could participate in until they are brought to trial instead of sitting in jail for a long period of time. Nevels said Shaw told him recently at the Grant County 4-H Fair the city detective planned to run against him, and Nevels said he welcomed the challenge. “We are going to continue to run a clean race, and we’re going to stay the course and keep the faith,” Nevels said. Nevels, also a Marion city council member, said he was expecting an opponent in November, and he doesn’t plan to change how he’s running his campaign. “We’re making ourselves visible in the community and continuing to work hard,” he said. “That primary race was a tough one, but all we’ve got to do is keep our focus and maintain our composure. I look forward to the challenge.” Nevels said he believes that by announcing his plans to run early, he has an advantage. “In my book, the way I look at it, being out there in the beginning and letting people know who you are and what your campaign stands for, I think that speaks volumes as far as any other questions they may have.” Republican Sheriff Darrell Himelick, who is ineligible to seek another term, supported Pauley in May. He said he now supports Nevels. “I question anybody getting in this late,” he said. “This has been 35 years of my life, and it’s serious stuff. It’s been a way of life for us for years. To just wake up one day and think you’re going to run for sheriff kind of makes a mockery of the job, in my opinion. It’s nothing against (Shaw.) We’ve worked together a lot of years.” The fact Nevels is a Republican makes no difference, Himelick said. But, it does matter to him that Nevels has worked at the sheriff’s department and is familiar with it. “At least he’s got some aspect about what’s going on here,” he said. “You’ve got to have some sense of what takes places and of the mistakes we’ve made in the past and how not to make them again. There’s going to be a learning curve for anyone who walks into. There was for me. But I look at it from a business standpoint and not whether Reggie is a Republican or anything else. I want the transition to be as smooth as possible so it doesn’t affect the taxpayers.” Lucinda Caudill, Grant County Democratic Party chair, said she is excited about Shaw. “He’s got a lot of experience at the police department, and he’s kind of a people person,” she said. “I think he can really handle the business at hand.” Because Shaw voted in the last primary election as a Republican, Caudill had to sign off on his filing as a Democrat. “I was happy to do it. We’re not holding it against him. I have Republicans in my family, and I love them,” she said with a laugh. Shaw said he voted on the Democratic ticket in college, but since then has primarily voted Republican. “I’ve typically voted for Republican candidates for the simple fact in years past that was your main option in Grant County,” he said. “I’m one of those that have kind of gotten despondent with the party and their lack of fiscal responsibility and decided to change over.” In the past, he said it’s been difficult for Democrats to get elected in Grant County, but he believes that is changing. “I personally think that given the situation as far as the finances within the city of Marion, a lot of people have become disgruntled,” he said. “I think the Democratic Party in Grant County has started attracting more people to it. I think our message is starting to get out there and the one- party system in Grant County is long overdue for a change. Several people out there just want to see some type of change.” Caudill said the party plans to run a clean race. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to bring up records,” she said. “I think if you look at Reggie’s record and the trouble in Marion, he’s voted every single time with the mayor to get us in this horrible situation, so I can’t see how he can handle the sheriff’s department budget,” she said. She said she believes Shaw has the business and administrative skills to run the agency. “Larry’s a really honest, down to earth guy, and I think when people meet him they’ll be impressed,” she said. “I am excited about this November election, and I’m really excited about Larry Shaw. I think with him at the head of the ticket, we’ll have a lot of wins this fall.” Shaw said he is a good decision maker. “I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon just because it sounds good,” he said. “I’ll make sure we’re working within the budget and not costing the county any more money. The guys there probably deserve a pay raise like we do at MPD, but the only way to do that is to work within the budget and make sure we don’t cost taxpayers anymore money.” Shaw said Del Garcia, a uniform sergeant with Marion Police Department, is his campaign chairman. Garcia is a former Marion city council member who served an at-large district as a Republican. Shaw’s father, Larry Shaw, is his treasurer. He said he hasn’t started raising funds, and the parade today in Gas City will be his kickoff event. He plans to start fundraising next week by hosting public events, walking around neighborhoods and having town hall meetings.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 05:17:51 +0000
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