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Sheriff Ashe, former Sheriff Cruzan to square off in Democrat primary
By Lynn Hotaling
Along with three of five county commissioners’ seats and the Clerk of Court race, the office of sheriff will be decided by the outcome of the Tuesday, May 2, Democrat primary.
Only two candidates, both Democrats and both with experience as sheriff, are seeking election to the post.
Incumbent Sheriff Jimmy Ashe, who was elected in 2002, faces a challenge from his old boss, former Sheriff Jim Cruzan, who was Jackson County’s top law enforcement officer from 1994 through 2002.
Ashe is 46, lives in Sylva, and is presently serving as sheriff. Cruzan is 62, makes his home in Addie, and currently works in construction.
Both candidates responded to two questions posed by The Sylva Herald. The questions and answers follow:
Why do you feel you are most qualified to serve as sheriff?
Ashe: I have been a law enforcement officer for in excess of 25 years. For the past three-and-a-half years, I have been privileged to have served the citizens of Jackson County as their sheriff.
While my extensive experience should be an important consideration for the voters, the successful leadership of a law enforcement agency requires more than just tenure. It requires an individual whose experience and maturity result in a vision of what the role of the Sheriff’s Office should be for both now and the future.
Jackson County has realized great changes, as have many traditional communities where both our parents and grandparents were raised. We are also seeing population and economic growth from people who are attracted by the beauty of our region.
With this comes many challenges. We must provide services to a community that rightfully deserves the best and most professional law enforcement service possible. We must collaborate with the public and make them partners in our efforts.
I am confident that during my tenure as sheriff we have forged new relationships with both the public and other law enforcement agencies. Through the establishment of district sub-stations, we have made our deputies more accessible and responsive to the needs of the public. We have worked with other agencies in a series of enforcement activities.
Through technology we have found innovative ways to enhance the delivery of services to the public and enforce the laws against those who would sacrifice the quality of our lives to further their criminal conduct.
I believe I have met the challenges of today and have positioned the Sheriff’s Office to continue with a standard of excellence so well deserved by our citizens.
Cruzan: I feel I am most qualified to serve as sheriff for numerous reasons.
I have served as sheriff of Jackson County for eight years, and during those years as sheriff I initiated new programs to better law enforcement that are still in existence today. I established the first Sheriff’s Emergency Tactical Team, first School Resource Officers, first Domestic Violence Team, first Civil Process Division and the first Chaplain’s Program. It was during my term as sheriff that Jackson County’s new jail and sheriff’s office were planned as we grew and expanded beyond the facilities we had. There are new programs that I would like to establish along with new investigative techniques that I feel are lacking and needed in our Sheriff’s Department.
I know the workings of the Sheriff’s Department, county government, and how to fight and reduce crime. In the last three years, I have seen crime skyrocket, heard complaints from citizens that calls are going unanswered and not investigated, and I have seen the clearance rate of criminal investigations decline. I know I can change this around and get back to the basics of “Serve and Protect” where all calls are answered, crime will be reduced and cases will be solved with the format I will initiate as sheriff.
My 20 years experience as a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper, 12 years active military and eight years as sheriff have molded my professional law enforcement career and qualifies me to lead this county in its battle against drugs and crime.
What is the biggest challenge facing the Sheriff’s Office in continuing to provide law enforcement in Jackson County? How do you plan to address that challenge?
Ashe: The biggest challenge facing the Sheriff’s Office is the preservation of our quality of life in Jackson County. Unquestionably, national trends in criminality have found their way to our county, as they have throughout the country. Whether it is methamphetamine labs or property crime, the presence of any criminal behavior that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our community is intolerable.
Public demand for the continuation of the high caliber of service we deliver to the public will stay with us. To meet that demand, we must assure that our office is properly staffed and equipped. I shall continue to meet the fiscal needs of our office through funding streams that may be in the form of grants, or state or federal funding.
Knowing that crime has no borders, I shall build upon the many interagency relations I have established, to include the co-location of a State Bureau of Investigation office within the Sheriff’s Office as a tool to broaden our reach and make our county an unfriendly place for the criminal element.
We will continue to make our office more responsive to the specific needs of our many communities and we will pay special attention to our youth. Citizen participation will be a priority because the efforts of our deputies, coupled with the ongoing partnership of our citizens, shall define us as a community that stands together against crime and cares for its neighbors and its future.
An enlightened, informed and engaged community, working with its Sheriff’s Office, is the best defense against crime, and I am confident that we are well on our way to being a shining example of a true partnership.
Cruzan: The biggest challenge facing law enforcement is crime. Just about everything that affects the Sheriff’s Department is related to crime. That’s our job, to fight crime, to serve the public, and to protect our citizens. Our growing county has to deal with a growing crime rate, drug levels at epidemic rates, and the influx of non-English speaking residents. These all lead to new challenges. To compensate, we have to expand our Sheriff’s Department, learn new ways to investigate and solve crimes, educate deputies to deal with changing times, and instruct the public with programs for public safety.
As sheriff, my office will take on the roll of a preventive and investigative agency instead of the “report-taking agency” it now is. I plan on hiring a professional crime scene technician to fingerprint, photograph, and process crime scenes. This should increase the amount of crimes being solved. There will be detectives working nights to arrive on the scene quickly and start developing a case. The most crucial time for solving a case is when it happens.
Road patrols need to be increased dramatically. Most nights there are only two or three deputies covering 500 square miles. If I am elected, you will see patrols spending more time on the back roads where you live than on the main roads running radar.
I will be a Sheriff you can trust, talk to, and one that will make his decisions based on what is best for the citizens of Jackson County, and not on what is best politically.
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