It's time for mending fences, Joseph P. Meadows said immediately after winning the Harford County sheriff's seat in Tuesday's election.
"I don't think there will be too many fences to mend," John J. Miner, president of Local 838 of the Harford County Deputy Sheriff's Union, said Friday. "Most of us supported Question A -- we wanted a police force -- but we also supported Joe Meadows."
Mr. Meadows, 36, was the first Republican in 40 years to run for county sheriff in a general election. He defeated Democratic incumbent Robert E. Comes, 40,752 votes to 21,391, with the highest winning percentage -- 65.2 -- in any of the county's contested races.
Mr. Meadows will be sworn in and take command of the sheriff's office on Dec. 5.
Question A, which called for creating a county police force under a chief of police appointed by the county executive and approved by the County Council, was defeated, 32,339 votes to 28,505.
Mr. Meadows said Thursday that some members within the sheriff's office may fear retribution or vindictiveness, but "it is not going to happen."
"Can I make everyone happy?" he said. "No, but they will have to get over it."
Mr. Meadows said he will form a transition team this week. "I want to be prepared to hit the ground with my feet running on Dec. 5," he said.
JTC Mr. Meadows said he will make personnel changes, but not for "political reasons."
"I am going to take the first 30 to 60 days observing personnel before making major changes," he said.
Short-range goals for the sheriff-elect include improving deputies' morale; restructuring some parts of the agency; and streamlining the sheriff's office to get more deputies on the road as quickly as he can.
As for the troubled county Detention Center, routinely a target during the campaign, Mr. Meadows said he will be meeting soon with Paul S. Hastmann, the warden.
"I have an open mind about the Detention Center and expect to get input from the warden and members of the staff," he said.
Mr. Meadows said his 30- to 60-day timetable for major changes likely will include installing his choice as chief deputy, the second in command under the sheriff.
"There are a lot of talented law enforcement officers already working in the sheriff's office," he said. "I know who some of them are, but not all, so I want to evaluate the talent there and then make decisions based on what will help the department most.
"I will say that the chief deputy will not come from outside the agency," he said.
The sheriff-elect added that he intends to monitor developments within each division of the sheriff's office. "No major decisions will be made within the department with out me knowing about them," Mr. Meadows said.
"And there will be no need for an outside consultant on an everyday basis."
The reference was to a Delaware criminal justice professor, Carl Klockars, who was paid by the Maryland Sheriff's Association to lobby against Question A, which would have taken away the sheriff's law enforcement powers.
Mr. Meadows said he would like to establish, as a long-range goal, a precinct house or substation -- "What we call it is not important," he said -- in the Edgewood-Joppa area.
"To do that, we would need help and support from the community, from the county executive and the County Council," he said.
Mr. Meadows also cited the Interagency Processing Center (IPC), where people who are arrested by any of the law enforcement agencies in the county are processed, as an area needing evaluation.
"There's a problem staffing it, because it keeps too many deputies tied up inside when they could be out on patrol," he said. "We may need additional help [from other agencies] to resolve that."
Two other areas needing immediate attention, Mr. Meadows said, are the budget and the entering of warrants in the department's computer.
"For the safety of the patrol deputies, warrants have to be entered in a timely fashion," he said, alluding to the warning a police dispatcher can quickly give to road deputies that a suspect may have a violent criminal past.
"And the overtime portion of the budget is already out of control. We'll need to get a rein on that very quickly."
Mr. Meadows also appealed to the voters, saying that "everything won't get solved overnight, but it will get solved."