Name: Kim Bogart
Age: 60
Residence: New Port Richey
Occupation: owner of Bogart & Associates Consulting and Training
Political affiliation: Democrat
Political experience: none
Office being sought: Pasco County Sheriff
Why are you running for this office?
The fundamental mission of a law enforcement agency is public safety. For too long, the administration of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office has placed politics and political paybacks above public safety. I am running for Sheriff because I have the experience and knowledge to implement time-tested programs to ensure citizens feel safe in their neighborhoods, and I will eradicate the political atmosphere permeating the sheriff’s office. I will focus on the safety and security of the residents, visitors, and businesses of Pasco County, and return the sheriff’s office to its fundamental mission — public safety.
What are your top three priorities?
1. Stop the Exodus of Employees. Employees leave organizations for four reasons: lack of leadership, reputation of the organization, lack of advancement opportunities and pay. From 2008 through 2011, 125 deputies resigned, voluntarily, from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. There is a tremendous cost associated in screening and training deputies. To watch them leave is a failure of leadership.
2. Make the Sheriff’s Office Transparent. Transparency enables the public to hold the Sheriff accountable for how tax dollars are spent. As your Sheriff, I will provide a comprehensive annual report to the public.
3. Increase Focus on Drugs Problems. The most serious problem facing our county is the epidemic of synthetic drugs. Until laws are in place to ban synthetic drugs — public awareness, education, and prevention are the most powerful tools available in the fight these drugs. As Sheriff, I will take an active role in promoting collaboration to fight them.
Why should voters choose you?
For me, law enforcement is not just a profession, it’s a calling. My duty, my mission is to see Pasco County protected every day. Our community should be a safe and desired destination for individuals to raise their families, run their businesses and see their hopes realized. As a 28-year resident of Pasco County, my commitment to our community runs deep. As a community leader and public servant, I’ve experienced the best in our area and I understand the challenges facing us. Together we can transform our neighborhoods — and together we can build a legacy and transform our communities.
What qualifications do you bring to the job?
With over 30 years of law enforcement experience, I am a recognized and committed leader in fighting for a safer Pasco County. I have dedicated my life to fighting for your family’s safety and for promoting a strong criminal justice system. One of my exclusive qualifications is my years of experience in assessing agencies. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing many excellent community-oriented programs and evidence-based solutions for the problems that every law enforcement agency faces. For the last 10 years, I have assisted over 100 public safety agencies in Florida resolve the vulnerabilities in their agencies to become transparent and accountable to their citizens. I have a solid plan and the needed experience to make your community safer. When you review my record, you will see a lifetime of law enforcement experience that is rooted in dedication to the criminal justice profession, and a deep commitment to our community.
Name: Roger Fortney
Age: 59
Residence: Elfers
Occupation: retired
Political affiliation: Republican
Political experience: no response given
Office being sought: Pasco County Sheriff
Why are you running for this office?
I am tired of the political atmosphere that surrounds the sheriff’s office and the way that it affects the staff. It is my belief that Tallahassee politicians are greatly influencing choices made at the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. I believe the sheriff should only have to answer to the citizens who elected him, thus giving him more time and motivation to focus on the issues at hand. I chose to run for sheriff to take state politics out of the picture and make the necessary changes to run the sheriff’s office as efficiently and effectively as possible.
What are your top three priorities?
1. Drugs: We need to continue working on the drug problem in this county, focusing on neighborhoods plagued by drug issues. While campaigning across the county, several residents complained about drug houses in their neighborhoods. One example is a woman in Hudson who has been harassed by a drug house for four years. An agency with an $86 million budget and 1,200 employees should be more effective in protecting citizens.
2. Gangs: When I started working at the Pasco Sheriff’s Office in 1986 there were only one or two known gangs. Today, we now have six or more. Historically, little has been done concerning this serious issue.
3. Traffic: I have heard numerous complaints concerning chronic traffic violators. Our traffic units have been understaffed for years. It seems some sheriffs are afraid of losing votes by issuing too many citations. I will direct my staff to enforce the law consistently.
Why should voters choose you?
I would like to reiterate that I’m not a politician and I have no friends in Tallahassee. Because I am not politically connected, my focus would be on the problems that face Pasco, not promoting the agenda of other politicians. I would not be using this position as a stepping stone to further my career or ambitions. My family has resided in Pasco for approximately 30 years and my only motivation is to do what’s best for the county. I would devote my time in making this a better and safer place for both my family and yours.
What qualifications do you bring to the job?
I am currently Florida State Certified as a Law Enforcement and Corrections officer. There are only a few dual certified sheriffs serving in Florida’s 67 counties. This dual certification and the experience it brings means that I am well versed in the challenges faced by both our patrol and corrections divisions. I have the ability to address the issue of crime in the county, as well as the issues faced when alleged criminals are housed within our jails.
I served Pasco County residents for 23 years working in several areas of the Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy, corporal, field training officer, in property crimes and the community policing unit. My experience working in these diverse areas has given me a vast amount of hands-on knowledge about the problem areas within Pasco County. This knowledge will allow me to address those problems in the most efficient and effective ways possible.
Name: Chris Nocco
Age: 36
Residence: Trinity
Occupation: Pasco County Sheriff
Political affiliation: Republican
Political experience: none
Office being sought: Pasco County Sheriff
Why are you running for this office?
We, the members of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, are building a world class law enforcement agency. As we look to the future of Pasco, your Sheriff’s Office needs to be professional, on the cutting edge and a source of pride for our community. In the past year, as your Sheriff, we have made tremendous strides and are heading in the right direction. With the support of our citizens, we will continue to reinvent the Sheriff’s Office, and I look to forward to how great we can become.
What are your top three priorities?
Modernizing our policing strategy – In the past year we have transformed to a proactive agency that employs Intelligence Led Policing that emphasizes crime prevention and targeting career criminals by working with fellow law enforcement agencies and sharing information.
Drugs – We have implemented a three prong approach to address drugs. First, we offer our youth more opportunity through our Police Athletic League, drug prevention classes, and informing parents of the new drugs in our community. Second, we proactively arrest drug dealers and pill mills. Third, we have partnered with our faith based community to incorporate Celebrate Recovery in our jail and our community.
Creating Efficiency and Effectiveness – We have developed a strategic plan for our future and are currently upgrading our technology to establish efficiencies that will allow us to become more effective in serving our citizens.
Why should voters choose you?
During the past year we have implemented Servant Leadership in the Sheriff’s Office. We understand that our citizens are our priority. Whether it is a town hall meeting where we listen to the concerns of a community, seeking innovative ways to protect our youth from the ever increasing threats they face, or proactively arresting career criminals who have terrorized a neighborhood, your Sheriff’s Office is modernizing to the needs of today and tomorrow. Pasco is no longer going to be a sleepy bedroom community and as Sheriff, I will ensure we continue to move in the right direction.
What qualifications do you bring to the job?
My professional background is diverse which allows me to look at issues from different angles. My heart is still as a front line police officer. I was with the Philadelphia Public School Police, Fairfax County Police Department, where I was a first responder during 9/11 and the Sniper Incident. I was a Broward County Deputy, Chief of Staff at the Florida Highway Patrol, along with a Captain and Major in the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. In addition, I worked in the Florida Legislature on criminal justice, domestic security, transportation and economic development and was responsible to oversee issues at the state emergency operations center. I completed my B.A. and M.P.A while playing college football and have a certificate in emergency management. Most importantly, I am a husband and father of small children. I know how important it is to protect our families and future. To learn more go to www.votenocco.com.
Name: Maurice Radford
Age: 50
Residence: Wesley Chapel
Occupation: retired law enforcement officer
Political affiliation: Republican
Political experience: none
Office being sought: Pasco County Sheriff
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for Sheriff to ensure Pasco citizens and businesses have the highest level of safety they deserve. As longtime residents of Pasco, my wife and I have spent many years here raising our family, working, going to church and being involved in this great community. As the chief law enforcement offficer, it is imperative that our elected Sheriff be a person of integrity, strong moral character and a competent lawman with wisdom garnered from years of proven leadership, experience and dedicated service.
What are your top three priorities?
1. Drug addiction is endangering the lives of our youth and is motivating thefts and acts of violence. As Sheriff, your deputies and I will work to protect our citizens and businesses through education and enforcement.
2. The Sheriff must enhance the service the citizens deserve while reducing taxes. I will prohibit costs that are not critical to the law enforcement mission. The Interim Sheriff is seeking a $2.9 million increase in funding despite other officers reducing budgets.
3. Pasco deputies are accepting jobs with other agencies. The Sheriff must reduce the high attrition. It is estimated the Sheriff’s Office expends $100,000 to hire and pay a first year deputy. A reduction in this trend can be accomplished by ensuring a positive work environment where staff is rewarded for performance.
Why should voters choose you?
Voters can be confident I have the requisite knowledge, training, experience and dedication to serve as their Sheriff. I will save tax dollars and improve services by:
—Top-down changes ensuring all deputies are fighting crime and illegal drugs.
—New technology to predict and prevent crime.
—Reducing the size and cost of the Sheriff’s executive staff.
—Abolishing jobs, consultants, and contracts generated from politics.
—Implementing a fully transparent and accountable budget process.
What qualifications do you bring to the job?
I am a veteran law enforcement officer with 25-plus years of service and leadership experience. As the former commander of the Sheriff’s Patrol Operations Bureau, my job was leading the deputies that stand guard within Pasco’s communities and business districts to prevent crime and improve our quality of life. During the previous eleven years, I have implemented and managed the modern policing initiatives that proactively prevent crime, reduced response times to emergency calls, and increased on-scene apprehensions of suspects for in-progress crimes. My record of leadership and innovations include lower crime rate, proactive patrol deployment, intelligence-led policing, crime prevention, citizen’s service unit and street crime suppression teams. I am a fiscal conservative that has used best management practices to save taxpayers millions of dollars during my tenure as third in command of their Sheriff’s Office.
