Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 11, 1995 TAG: 9510110078
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Age: 53
Family: Married, two children, two grandchildren
Employment: Self-employed international security consultant
Hobbies: fishing, target shooting
Education: Graduated Big Island High School. Holds a B.S. degree in police administration and administration of justice from American University in Washington, D.C. Also graduate of Virginia Sheriff's Academy, U.S. Army Military Police Academy, Washington, D.C., Metro Police Academy, and U.S. Treasury Department's law enforcement school.
Experience: Brown - who has worked for the U.S. Justice Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Central Intelligence Agency - began his career in the mid-1960s as a Bedford County Sheriff's deputy. He also has worked as a city police officer in Washington, D.C.
Party: Republican
Platform: Chief among Brown's goals is starting a ``citizens on patrol'' group - unarmed volunteers in their own cars who would look for crimes and suspicious activity and report back to police on cellular phones and radios.
He also would seek grant money for extra deputies and donate $1,500 of his own each year to help deputies further their education.
Campaign history: More than any other candidate, Brown has changed what it means to run for sheriff in Bedford County. He's raised about $30,000, much of which has come from sources out of the county and state. He's been endorsed by Gov. George Allen and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke. His fund-raisers and parties are near legendary - at one, he gave away a semiautomatic rifle as a door prize. A Memorial Day party that was mostly rained out featured a high-wire act.
As a Republican, he's gathered lots of support across the county, particularly in the Forest area. He's also gained support in Bedford with the help of his cousin, city councilman Ronnie Rice.
Detractors criticize Brown as an opportunist looking for a cushy retirement and a state pension to add to the medical disability pension he receives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. After falling on ice years ago, Brown was left with tingling in his fingers that he said left him unfit for his job, which involved handling explosives.
However, Brown has said the disability would not hinder his ability to perform the duties of sheriff. As for whether he'll continue to draw the pension, Brown says that's up to the federal government, which places a cap on how much a person can earn and still receive a pension.
Brown's opponents also note that Brown lived in Botetourt County for almost 20 years before he rented an apartment in Bedford County in January, about one month before he declared his candidacy. His family still lives in Botetourt, but they're planning on moving into a house in Bedford County in the next couple weeks.
Name: Dave Cooper
Age: 53
Family: Married, two children
Employment: Sergeant, Bedford County Sheriff's Office
Hobbies: Collecting antique metal toys and hunting
Education: Attended high school in Roanoke and Franklin counties and graduated with a GED. No college. Has taken classes in arson investigation, forensic evidence collection, crime-scene investigation, jail management, courtroom security, personnel management.
Experience: A 24-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, Cooper has worked in the jail and patrolled the roads. He now oversees road deputies.
Party: Independent
Platform: If elected, Cooper would start a physical fitness program for deputies and support funding for deputies to further their education. He also would hold frequent community meetings and establish an auxiliary police force composed of retired law officers.
Campaign history: After announcing his candidacy in May, Cooper took a mostly grass-roots approach to campaigning - shaking hands and putting up wooden signs painted by his family. He has a strong support base in Huddleston, where he has a small cattle farm.
Name: Doug Maynard
Age: 46
Family: Married, two children, one grandchild
Employment: Investigator, Bedford and Roanoke public defender's offices
Hobbies: Woodworking, fishing and hunting
Education: Graduated Chapmanville High School in Chapmanville, W.Va. Attended some law enforcement and forensic science courses in college; no degree earned. He graduated Federal Bureau of Investigation's fingerprint school and supervisory school for personnel management and the Roanoke's police academy and evidence technicians school. Maynard also has attended many edcuational seminars through the state and national defenders investigators associations and is a certified planner..
Experience: An investigator for the past 18 years, Maynard also worked three years as a Roanoke police officer and seven years as a fingerprint expert for the FBI.
Party: Independent
Platform: Maynard would improve emergency response time by dividing the county into four patrol districts that would be continuously manned by deputies. He wants increased cooperation with neighboring jurisdictions.
Maynard also supports having state and county inmates raise food and livestock for their own consumption and to sell outside the jail system. He wants to expand the county's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, too.
Campaign history: Maynard planned to run for sheriff for more than two years before he announced his candidacy in January. He has raised about $20,000 and been endorsed by two county supervisors - Gus Saarnijoki and Chairman Dale Wheeler - as well as Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell.
He enjoys countywide support, a good bit of which comes from Democrats opposing Brown's Republican candidacy.
Maynard's critics often point to his pivotal role in developing the county's controversial land-use guidance system when he was a county planning commissioner.
Name: Chuck Reid
Age: 44
Family: Married, one child
Employment: Deputy, Bedford County Sheriff's Office
Hobbies: Softball and scuba diving
Education: Graduated Liberty High School. Attended Central Virginia Community College for one year; never completed associate's degree in administration of justice. Graduated classes in narcotics enforcement and surveillance, and supervising law enforcement officers.
Experience: A Marine Corps veteran, Reid has worked for the Sheriff's Office for a total of 12 years. As an investigator during the mid-1980s, he worked on the murders of Boonsboro couple Derek and Nancy Haysom and was a member of a regional homicide task force. In 1987, he quit the Sheriff's Office to work for a Roanoke trucking company. He returned as a road deputy in 1989.
Party: Independent
Platform: If elected, Reid said, he would establish a strict policy-and-procedures manual. He also would try to seek funding for extra deputies and build up morale with awards recognizing good service.
Campaign history: Some employees inside the Sheriff's Office say that Reid and Sheriff Carl Wells haven't seen eye-to-eye for years. A prime example, they say: Reid is a trained investigator, but Wells kept a much-needed investigator's position vacant recently rather than give it to Reid.
Of all the candidates, Reid probably has been the most vocal in criticizing Wells' administration. His campaign started in earnest after Labor Day. His strongest support is in the Bedford and Moneta areas. Reid's fund raising has picked up in recent weeks. He raised about $3,000 with a $100-per-plate dinner.
Name: Darryl Updike
Age: 35
Family: Married, one child
Employment: Evidence collector and Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, Bedford Police Department
Hobbies: Landscape photography and coaching high school wrestling
Education: Graduated Staunton River High School, working on associate's degree in business management at Central Virginia Community College. Also attended state forensic science academy, Drug Abuse Resistance Education training, and classes in crime-scene photography, blood-spatter analysis, and traffic-accident reconstruction.
Experience: As a 12-year veteran of the Bedford Police Department, Updike has worked in a variety of roles, including communications, patrolling and investigating. He is a U.S. Army veteran and served for seven years in the Virginia National Guard.
Party: Independent
Platform: If elected, Updike would keep officers who are trained in evidence collection on duty 24 hours a day. He also would expand the DARE program into high schools and middle schools and would place more deputies on duty in high-crime areas or during times of peak demand.
Campaign history: Updike announced his candidacy in June, shortly before the deadline to get on the ballot. His campaign relies heavily on the help of friends and family. Much of his support base comes from families of children he has taught as a DARE officer.
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