Sheriff must face at least 2 challengers

Election 2012

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Tom Bensley
Joseph P. McCarthy
Kevin Sandvig

April 21, 2012

Sheriff must face at least 2 challengers

BY ART BUKOWSKI abukowski@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Sat Apr 21, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — At least two other people want Tom Bensley's job.

Bensley, Grand Traverse County sheriff, will face former sheriff's employee and fellow Republican Kevin Sandvig in the August primary election. The winner squares off against Traverse City Police Department Detective Sgt. Joe McCarthy in the November election.

More candidates could decide to run before the May 15 filing deadline.

Bensley will complete his first term this year. He defeated two-term former Sheriff Scott Fewins in 2008 and is ready for another round.

"I like the work, and I enjoy coming to work every day," he said. "I said four years ago that I would commit the time and effort to the job, and I've done that."

Bensley, who retired in 1999 after nearly 30 years with the sheriff's department, believes the department is accessible and runs more "effectively and efficiently" after he implemented a new system that tracks how deputies spend time.

"I see improvements, I hope the people who work here see improvements, and I would hope the people in Grand Traverse County see improvements," he said.

His tenure hasn't been without issues, he said, including a 2010 incident in which two deputies failed to arrest Traverse City police officer Joe Soffredine. An off-duty Soffredine drove drunk and crashed his vehicle along Cedar Run Road. Bensley eventually fired the deputies for not making an arrest.

The situation was troubling, Bensley said, but he believes it was handled appropriately.

His opponents focused their campaigns on a number of proposals, and cite their own experience as job preparation.

Sandvig worked for the sheriff's department for 10 years as a corrections officer and before that retired after 21 years with the United States Coast Guard. He left the sheriff's department last April as part of a settlement related to an injury he sustained while struggling with an inmate, he said.

"I never planned on getting hurt ... I still want to work," he said. "Law enforcement's been a big part of my life for a lot of years, and I'm not ready to give up yet."

Sandvig wants the county's animal control services to move under the sheriff's department. The health department currently oversees animal control. He believes communication problems are rampant and the organization doesn't make sense.

"Animal abuse, neglect and cruelty is a criminal matter, so why shouldn't it be with the sheriff's department?" he said.

Sandvig also wants to start a department youth mentoring program and see the sheriff connect more with county citizens.

"Right now, I would say four out of five people I talk to as I travel around the county don't know who their sheriff is. Why?" he said. "I'll ask them to name two deputies, and they can't. Why?"

McCarthy has been with the city police since 1987, serving as a patrol officer, school liaison officer and detective, among other roles. He supervised other detectives and handled several high-profile city investigations since he became a detective sergeant in 2004.

"I'm at a point in my career where I'm ready for the challenge of running an organization like the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office," he said.

McCarthy said he has more experience supervising road patrol operations and criminal investigations than other candidates. Bensley supervised the department's marine, snowmobile and off-road vehicle divisions, and Sandvig worked in the jail.

McCarthy is unhappy with several actions under Bensley. The department no longer has liaison officers at Traverse City West and East middle schools, West Senior High or Kingsley schools and has outdated computers in some patrol vehicles, McCarthy said. Despite those concerns, Bensley spent $800,000 on a building to house boats and other items for winter storage, McCarthy said.

"I think we erred in where our priorities were with that," he said.

Both he and Sandvig want to reinstate the liaison programs. Bensley said the schools paid about half the cost of liaison officers, and the county board — which controls the sheriff's budget — didn't want to continue the program unless schools chipped in.

McCarthy also criticized Bensley's labor track record, which he called "disappointing at best."

'"I hope I'll be more successful in dealing with differences of opinion in regards to labor issues," said McCarthy, who served as a union representative for several years.