The campaign for Carroll County sheriff pits incumbent John H. Brown against challenger Kenneth L. Tregoning in the Republican primary, in a replay of personalities and issues mirroring the 1994 race.
About the only thing that's changed in the past four years is Tregoning's party affiliation. He's been a Republican for about two years. As a Democratic newcomer to politics in 1994, Tregoning lost by about 2,300 votes to the sheriff.
The party switch makes Tregoning, a state police lieutenant, an opportunist trying to win the votes of the county's Republicans, Brown said. Of the more than 75,000 registered county voters, Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 8,600.
Tregoning counters that he is a realist who discovered his niche among county Republicans.
"I found the Republican philosophy to be more in line with my personal philosophy and family values," said Tregoning, a 54-year-old husband and father of four who lives near Union Bridge.
"There is no conflict in switching parties," he added, citing several other political figures who have done so, including State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes -- and the sheriff.
Brown's conversion occurred in the 1970s, so long ago that Brown says he can't recall what prompted the change.
Brown, who has 25 years of law enforcement experience in Baltimore, said he is running for a third term on his record. At 69, he considers himself a workaholic in good shape, with no desire to retire. He prefers his office to his home in Uniontown.
"I laid out my policy in 1990 and I never deviated from what I promised," said Brown.
"Politicians on every level are bought and sold every day. I'm no politician; I'm a policeman. I handled major crimes. My opponent handed out speeding tickets. Even as a barracks commander, he did what Pikesville [state police headquarters] told him."
A 30-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, Tregoning has commanded the training academy and four barracks, including Westminster's. He currently commands the Frederick barracks. He has held several administrative posts and led planning and research efforts for the state police superintendent.
"The training and professional development you get with the state police is among the best in the nation," he said. "We are recognized for our skills and our knowledge of law enforcement."
Tregoning calls Brown's record "full of boondoggles" and criticizes the sheriff's attempts to build a tent city to relieve crowding at the Carroll County Detention Center, create a civilian posse and force jail inmates to appear in court in their prison stripes. Brown said those ideas were among his finest.
He takes full credit for the two-piece uniforms. Prisoners, now clad in bold black and white stripes with a large orange "P" on their backs, walk to the court house.
"You know who they are. I put them in the stripes. It is a deterrent that works. This is a jail, not a hotel," Brown said.
Tregoning prefers a one-piece jumpsuit, which he said is easier to keep track of and clean.
"I believe prisoners should wear clothing that identifies them as an inmate," Tregoning said. "The sheriff chose a costume."
Inmates have changed
Brown was criticized in 1996 after the Carroll County Times published a photograph of the sheriff and a handcuffed suspect during a drug raid at a Finksburg motel. Brown's finger was on the trigger of a .45-caliber pistol, which he held to the back of the man's head -- an action Tregoning called unsafe and unprofessional.
"The sheriff has lost a lot of credibility and public confidence in his ability to manage his office with professionalism and integrity," said Tregoning. "It seems to me Brown's style of management centers on flamboyance, gimmickry, stunts and the bizarre."
Brown makes no apologies. The sheriff's department has vastly improved from eight years ago, when it was "Andy of Mayberry and loaded with Barney Fifes," he said. In 1990, the detention center housed about 65 inmates. Nearly three times that number are incarcerated today.
Brown is strict with his staff of about 100 deputies and correctional officers. Shortly after he moved into his office in 1990, he posted his favorite saying on the wall: "NEW INCENTIVE PLAN -- WORK OR BE FIRED."
His staff deals with an inmate population that is younger and more combative than a decade ago. Some are under 18, but waived to adult status because of the severity of their crimes. In ++ eight years, the number of prisoners has tripled, stretching the limits of a facility built for about 100. Brown has established drug rehabilitation, library, religious and educational programs.
"I am not going to coddle them, but I will see that they get everything that is coming to them," he said. "This is not some cute little country jail with a tank for the town drunk."
Controversy over jail
The latest jail population statistics include many prisoners charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and felony drug offenses. The facility is crowded, with inmates sleeping in basements and day rooms.
Tregoning charges that Brown has precipitated jail construction delays and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. A $2.2 million expansion originally funded by the state and the county in 1989 was only recently begun. Brown projects expansion costs of about $7 million for basically the same size building planned nearly a decade ago.
"The county continues to grow by 3,000 people annually, with large increases in the teen-age population and juvenile crime," said Tregoning. "In six years, the expansion will be filled and we will be facing the same problem."
Brown attributes much of the delay to disputes he has had with the county commissioners, who at one time wanted the jail relocated outside the city.
"I fought to keep the addition here." said Brown. "It would not be cost-effective away from the courts. You would need additional personnel and vehicles to transport. The risk element for escape or injury would increase. The politicians hold the purse strings, but I fight them all the way."
Brown has insisted on a stronger foundation and walls, making extra floors a possibility. The expansion will work for at least 10 years, he said.
The one point on which the opponents agree is that drugs are rampant in the county and drug enforcement must be a priority.
"If drug use is not held in check, there will be increases in breaking and entering, petty theft, larceny," said Tregoning. "Drugs drive about 80 percent of the crime. If the sheriff's office does not become more involved with the state police, we will see the problem worsen."
"The sheriff always claims an interest in fighting drugs," Tregoning said. "He should give more thought to committing resources to fighting what is the county's No. 1 crime problem. In Carroll County, we need the commitment of all law enforcement working as a team, attacking drugs as a group rather than fighting by ourselves."
The drug task force was disbanded three years ago. Brown said the county would not pay for more personnel for court protection, forcing him to reassign deputies assigned to the drug force to those positions.
Attacking drugs
Tregoning said he would re-create the task force to allow pooling of information and resources as well as in-depth investigations. He also would intensify programs in the schools.
"Drug smuggling and use are problems in the jail," said Tregoning. "Correctional officers are not trained to recognize drug use. Every corrections officer should receive that training so you can look at an inmate's eyes and test right away, if necessary."
Tregoning, who has commanded barracks with staffs of more than 100, said the sheriff lacks management skills. A good professional manager makes effective use of the resources available and always recognizes the most valuable resource is personnel, said Tregoning.
Yet Brown consistently transfers trained road deputies to duties at the detention center, Tregoning said.
"It costs $5,000 to train and certify a deputy to be out on the road," Tregoning said. "Why would you then assign him to the detention center?
"The most effective leaders are those who do not have to advertise themselves and the job they are performing," Tregoning said. "People who work for you are the best and most meaningful advertisement."
Neither candidate has any interest in converting the sheriff's staff to a county police force. Both favor increasing the number of law enforcement officers to a ratio of one officer for every 1,000 residents. There are now about 140 patrol officers in a county of nearly 150,000, a ratio of one officer for every 1,071 residents.
Tregoning says he would keep the resident trooper program -- in effect here since 1974 -- as long as it is cost-effective and serves the needs of the county. He also would encourage more cooperation and less competition among police agencies to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement and would make deputies available to supplement state police operations.
For the primary victor, there remains one more battle against the Democratic candidate, Mervin L. Spiwak, a Westminster resident who, like Brown, is a retired Baltimore City officer.
Pub Date: 8/23/98