Ahead of this November’s election, WYDaily is sending out questionnaires to some candidates in contested races across the Historic Triangle.
This week is the election for the Williamsburg-James City County Sheriff.
WJCC voters will see three names on the ballot for sheriff on Nov. 5: Gerald Mitchell, Sean P. Gormus and David J. Hardin.
WYDaily is publishing questionnaires filled out by each candidate Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All questionnaires were sent at the same time, and all were given exactly three days to fill out their answers.
Candidates were required to keep their answers to 100 words each. The returned questionnaires have not been edited by WYDaily staff.
Publication is determined by the order in which questionnaires were returned
Here are Sean Gormus’s answers.
Why do you want to become sheriff?
I think that our communities in Williamsburg and James City County deserve more from our sheriff’s office. Simply fulfilling the requirements of the office is not enough. With society as it is, our sheriff’s office needs to be able to assist and support the community and our police departments and should be serving the community where it is not currently. The sheriff’s office should be involved with mentoring our kids, school program, inmate re-entry programs, community events and programs to assist citizens in need of other services. I commit to changing the status quo.
What is your plan for community outreach? How will you increase the amount of community involvement and engagement with the department’s law enforcement?
As you can see in question one my platform is about community. I have already formed bonds with many community partners. I am ready on day 1 to begin assisting a community group named “Erase The Need” in transporting food to the needy. I am the only candidate who has attended meetings of the Colonial Re-Entry Council to learn what is being done for those returning to the community following incarceration. A vote for Sean Gormus is a vote for our community, I am from our community and for our community.
What are you going to do to improve the relationship between law enforcement and minorities in James City County?
Serving court paperwork and protecting the courthouse do not bring the sheriff’s office into positive relationships with the community at large. Serving the community, in ways other than those mandated, will allow for all community members to see our work in a more favorable light. When we are seen as being a part of solving our community issues, we will be seen as a force for good in our community. Participating in community events such as Bike Rodeos and Identi-Child are easy and fun ways to be seen as helping in the community.
Do you think there is room for improvement in the James City County Sheriff’s Office when it comes to transparency as an elected official and publicly-funded department? If there is room for improvement, what will you do to make it better?
This question is in some ways at the center of one of the issues I will face. As I have been campaigning I found a large number of people in our community that either did not know we have a Sheriff’s Office or people who do not know what our Sheriff’s Office does. So, I believe in complete transparency in the Sheriff’s Office. I am determined to have the Sheriff’s Office involved in our community, so we not only have transparency, we will also have community input and engagement.
What are you doing to retain the “best of the best” employees and deputies with the sheriff’s office?
I commit to making the W-JCC Sheriff’s Office a place where deputies have pride in the work that they perform. I will do my best to ensure that they have the best equipment, training, and compensation that we can budget. I will start a program that recognizes deputies for their achievements. With the permission of the employee, any citizen appreciation letter will be published on our social media platforms. I will lead from the front and never ask a deputy to do anything that I would not do myself.
Editor’s note: Each candidate was given a 100-word limit per question. If they exceeded that limit, the response was cut at the 100-word mark.
