Sheriff hopefuls face off
CRANBERRY TWP — The three men competing for the sheriff's office fielded questions Tuesday night about the changes they would make to the office and how they would deal with upcoming staff cuts.
Roland Livermore, Scott Roskovski and Mike Slupe are on the May 19 ballot.
Livermore, a Democrat, is running uncontested in his party's primary. Roskovski and Slupe, both Republicans, will face off for the chance to represent their party in the November election.
All three candidates answered questions posed by a moderator and had the chance to interact with citizens after the forum sponsored by the Cranberry Chamber of Commerce at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center
Some of the questions addressed the candidates' plans to crack down on illegal drugs in the county and ways they'd facilitate better communications between the sheriff and the people whom the sheriff serves.
One question not asked of the candidates during the forum, however, focused on their response to the recent controversy surrounding the elimination of seven deputies from the sheriff's staff in Butler.
Livermore, a police officer in Pittsburgh for 13 years and current police chief of Worthington, Armstrong County, said he remembers more than 100 layoffs during his tenure in Pittsburgh. He said the current controversy surrounding the county deputies could be avoided if someone derived creative ways to raise money.
Livermore said he and other officers, through various fundraisers and charities, raised more than $40,000 to help several officers keep their jobs in Pittsburgh, a move he said is possible in Butler County.
He also said he'd apply for grants as another way to help pay for jobs that could be lost. "With the stimulus package we could have gotten some grant money, and I believe we should have gone down that route" he said. "The last thing I want to see is a person losing their job."
Roskovski, a county detective working out of the district attorney's office in Butler, said he would like to have seen the new prison open in Butler before any decisions concerning the deputies were made.He questioned the rationale behind the decision made by the county's salary board, mainly the idea that fewer deputies will be needed to transport prisoners because of a new video-conference system in the prison that will allow them to be arraigned without stepping in to a courtroom.Roskovski said prisoners still will need deputy escorts throughout the prison and questioned whether the move to eliminate the positions is premature."Whether the prison will be overstaffed or not, it should have opened first before any decisions were made," he said.Slupe, who took a leave of absence from the Butler Township police to run for office, said he's not in a position to judge the situation or criticize the people behind the decision because he's not privy to all the facts. He did say, however, he'd fight to keep any position if it was under threat of elimination."It's really not my situation," Slupe said. "But if it was, I would obviously try to justify keeping the jobs that are needed."Concerning cracking down on illegal narcotics in Butler County, Slupe said he'd purchase a drug dog that would serve as an "invaluable" piece of equipment for officers.He also said he'd expand the D.A.R.E program, or drug abuse resistance education, to every school in the county. Slupe also said his two decade career with Butler Township police has fueled his ambition to make the sheriff's office the most efficient it can be."I have the drive, desire and commitment to take this office to the next level, and to make it better," he said.Roskovski said he'd focus on improving the sheriff's Web site for better access and transparency to his constituents, as well as implementing a countywide most wanted criminals list on the site.
He also said he'd create an outreach for elderly citizens that would warn them of inclement weather in the winter or summer, in an effort to improve communication with the people he would serve."I'd improve communication from the north to south to all borders of the county," Roskovski said. "I would have no allegiance to any single municipality and I'd work for the entire county. I'd work for you."Livermore said he'd be the best to crack down on drugs because of first-hand experience.He told the crowd that his time as a plainclothes officer in Pittsburgh taught him the dangers of heroin and other drugs, and agreed with Slupe that the D.A.R.E. program should be expanded to encompass the entire county. Livermore also said he'd create "saturation patrols" with the help of state police to target high drug areas in an effort to crack down on drug dealing and use.He also said his experience teaching at various police academies and his work as a detective warrant him serious consideration for the county's sheriff position."I have the leadership, and that's what it comes down to," he said.Current county Sheriff Dennis Rickard is retiring at the end of this year.
