UPDATED WITH VIDEO LINK AND TRANSCRIPTS BELOW . At last night’s Republican debate for Sheriff in Loudoun county it became apparent that former deputy Eric Noble has been the acting sheriff for the last three and half years, at least according to Sheriff Chapman. Sheriff Chapman said repeatedly that the buck stopped with Eric Noble, not him. According to Sheriff Chapman anything that hasn’t worked well in his department in the last 3+ years was not his fault, but the fault of his opponent Eric Noble. The finger pointing at Noble was ridiculous.[read_more]
For instance, submitting a budget that was too large, with many cost overruns, was Eric Noble’s fault. The sheriff knew nothing about it even though he was in the room for the budget presentation and he approved it. Still, it was not his fault. Nor was it the sheriff’s fault that he had no 5 year plan until last month. Nor did he ever have a even a three year plan.
Sheriff Chapman has no plan for the opening of metro in 2018. (t’s not even in his brand new 5 year plan that he quickly devised when Noble pointed out that there was no such plan.) There is no plan for the sheriff’s department to handle the increase of vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic, or crime when the subway opens, all things that every other jurisdiction has had to deal with when a new subway stop has opened. Fairfax police planned for years prior to the opening of the metro at Tysons Corner. Loudoun has NO plan in place.
Since 2012 heroin overdoses in Loudoun have increased by 268% and deaths from heroin have increased by 400%. And yet our narcotics arrests have been way down. Our narcotics arrests per 100,000 population in 2013 compared to other nearby counties,
53 percent lower than Prince William County
33 percent lower than Fairfax County and
26 percent lower than Arlington County. Wow.
Finally after 3 and half years our sheriff’s office made a a substantial drug bust last month. What the heck? When everyone readily admits that Loudoun has a large heroin problem, why hasn’t something been done in the last 3+ years? I don’t think Chapman can blame that on Eric Noble.
When Chapman awarded contracts to his buddies who financially supported his campaign in 2011, that too was somehow Eric Noble’s fault. I can’t even begin to fathom how that was Noble’s fault. They were Chapman’s buddies and his contracts.
When the two candidates were asked if they would run as an Independent should they lose the convention, Eric Noble was quite emphatic that he would never run as an Indpendent because he is a true, conservative, Republican, one who believes in compassion with fiscal responsibility. Sheriff Chapman said he wouldn’t run as an Independent but without expanding beyond that and without much conviction. (I have no doubt that Chapman will run as an Independent when he loses the Republican nomination.)
Several times during the debate Sheriff Chapman again lied about Eric Noble’s security clearance. Chapman went on and on about how important it is to have a top secret security clearance and Eric doesn’t have one. The reason Eric Noble doesn’t have a clearance is because he doesn’t need one. He’s retired. duh. The FBI took the clearance when Eric retired. That’s standard procedure. When Eric Noble becomes sheriff, the top secret clearance will be re-instated immediately. Noble suggested that anyone who has any doubts about his ability to have his clearance re-instated should contact FBI agent Jeff Jones, the man who did his retirement debriefing. Chapman continues to repeat this ridiculous lie.
More interesting, the Sheriff keeps saying how important it is for high level law enforcement officers to have a top secret security clearance. However, his top deputy, the man he brought from Fairfax County to be his second in command, does not have a clearance. Lt. Colonel Chris Harmison is not eligible for a security clearance. (I will leave it up to the reader to figure out why but he doesn’t have a clearance, has never had a clearance and will never have one.) Yet Chris Harmison is Chapman’s right hand man and in charge of the sheriff’s office whenever Chapman is not present. Apparently it isn’t that important to have a security clearance to run the sheriff’s office. Chapman’s guy, Harmison is not eligible for a security clearance, Eric Noble is.
Throughout the sheriff’s debate Mike Chapman either blamed Eric Noble or he gave a long, very bureaucratic responses. At the beginning of the debate Chapman read a list of his accomplishments. At the end of the debate he read the same list again. Once again Eric Noble came across as the man who relates to people, the man who understands law enforcement and what it takes to be Sheriff. It was clear that he cares about people and understands the importance of caring about your work force on a personal level. Chapman just doesn’t relate well to people and has little empathy for those who work for him. As an example, when one of his officers was injured in the line of duty, and taken to Fairfax hospital for intensive treatment, Chapman was quick to call a press conference and throw himself in front of the cameras, but he never visited his deputy in the hospital nor did he contact the deputy’s family.
At last night’s debate it was obvious why former deputy Chris Athey made this comment on a previous Bull Elephant post about Sheriff Chapman.
I challenge anyone to find a deputy (caveat: not one of Chapman’s political appointees) that has anything positive to say about Chapman. But, let’s take this a step further … I also challenge anyone to find a deputy who has anything negative to say about Noble (same caveat applies).
Chapman attacked Noble with an IA investigation because he was fearful that Noble would be running against him. Period. This had nothing to do with someone boss-bashing. For Chapman to take such dialogue personally speaks volumes to his lack of leadership.
The top law enforcement office in Loudoun county, the chief prosecutor, Commonwealth Attorney Jim Plowman the man who works with Sheriff Chapman the most often, has endorsed his opponent Eric Noble. Last night’s debate made it clear why CA Plowman thinks it’s time for a new sheriff in town.
Videos of the debate here. Transcript of the debate here.
