Harron Responds to Sheriff’s Letter

To the Editor: 
As Gary Schaffer tries to tarnish my reputation, he continues to tarnish the reputation of my friend, previous Sheriff and Superior Court Judge John F. Callinan. I was appointed warden by Callinan and I personally communicated with him daily and I can assure of one thing, if Callinan thought I was being negligent in my performance at any time, he would have dismissed me without question or hesitation.
To address the facts of overtime, sick leave and other issues raised by him at the correctional center here is the truth. The statistics I provide are supported by his own annual reports.
1.    2008 Report – Jail overtime was 226,796 hours used, but take note, the inmate population average in 2008 was 293.8 inmates per day, the highest inmate daily population ever. There were months in 2008 in which the jail was well over 340 inmates with 30 to 40 inmates living in unsecure locations. The jail was more than double the jail’s original capacity. More inmates equal more money. Our priority was the security of the jail and the safety of the staff. In fact, the allocation of overtime was approved by the freeholders before it was used.
2.    Callinan and I called for a jail study in 2006 because of the increasing population and that fell on deaf ears.
3.     2009 officer sick leave was 8,879.8 hours. He leaves out the 2008 officer sick leave data because if I remember correctly, it was even lower. In his first year in office, the sick leave skyrocketed to 14,586 hours. In fact, for his first five years in office, the officer sick leave rate is as follows: 2011: 14,096; 2012: 13,515; 2013: 12,228; and 2014: 11,873. Not until 2015 did he reach a level compared to my last year.
4.    Schaffer tries to tie me to the illegal actions of an officer. The officer’s actions were administratively dealt with swiftly and adjudicated in court and in accordance with the law. Just as I had done with other reported and discovered infractions or criminal behavior within the correctional center, inmates or staff, equally and impartially, regardless of their political affiliation.
I did have a challenging time as the warden because we had been dealt the hand of an increasing population. If readers review the Uniform Crime Reports during my tenure they would see criminal arrests were up and therefore people went to jail, this was prior to bail reform. It’s easy to criticize others when they have not walked in their shoes and Schaffer has routinely done that as sheriff. We did not get the unlimited funding he has received so of course, he can brag that he gives money back.
Please take the time to review the facts before voting.
ED. NOTE: Harron is the Democratic candidate for the office of Cape May County Sheriff.