Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney will run for reelection against former Sheriff’s Lieutenant Shawn Haney in November.
Haney was a 22-year veteran in the Sheriff’s office when he left the department in December 2007. He had previously run for the position of sheriff in 2006 against Mahoney. At that time, Mahoney had been serving as a detective with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.
“I think it needs to go in a different direction than it has been,” Haney said of the Sheriff’s Office. “Our current sheriff has put politics before public safety.”
Haney wants to increase rural patrols and to work closer with judges to determine which criminals should qualify for electronic monitoring.
He added in his opinion there have been issues concerning Mahoney’s handling of recent contractual agreements as part of the county budget. At the time the county budget was approved, all county employees, with the exception of DCSO, had agreed to a 3 percent salary reduction for the current budgeted year.
Following discussions and negotiations over many months, the Sheriff’s Supervisors and Deputies agreed to the 3 percent salary reduction and a no-layoff pledge for 2010-11.
“Like all county employees, our workforce was asked to take a pay cut given these dire economic times,” Mahoney said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald. “We all are working together to do the job as it needs to be done and to help ensure our taxpayers do not shoulder an undue burden.”
Haney said utilizing technology, such as video conferencing, for short court appearances rather than driving inmates to the courthouse, could help lower spending in the department.
“By working collaboratively and effectively with stakeholders around the county, we have improved public safety, initiated solutions to longstanding challenges and found safe, effective and efficient ways to keep the public safe, save lives and save taxpayers dollars,” Mahoney said of his time as sheriff.
He added that by adding personnel to electronic monitoring and ceasing the practice of sending Dane County inmates to other counties, $6 million dollars have been saved and many of the issues surrounding an overcrowded jail have been resolved in a little over two and a half years.
Electronic monitoring is an alternative incarceration program currently being implemented by Dane County and various other municipalities around the nation, Mahoney said. Currently, Dane County has 125 individuals taking part in the program that allows qualified individuals to serve time being monitored by means of a bracelet rather than in the county jail.
Although Haney alleges the handling of affairs by the current Sheriff has not been up to par, Mahoney said he remains confident in his own and his deputies’ abilities to provide for the safety of Dane County residents.
“My number one priority will continue to be public safety,” Mahoney said. “We must continue to work hard and smart to maintain the highest quality of public safety while meeting the ever-changing challenges facing our communities.”
