Another chink in the armor it appears for the Conservative Christian Republican stranglehold on county offices.
Former lieutenant announces plans to run for sheriff
By CARL BURNETT JR.
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
cburnett@nncogannett.com
LANCASTER -A former lieutenant in the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office announced his intention to run for his former boss' job.
Darrell Ball, 42, of Amanda, announced he is running for sheriff in 2008 during a ceremony Thursday night.
Ball thanked about 70 people who attended the campaign kick-off event in the Broadway Event Center, 315 S. Broad St., Lancaster.
''Fairfield County has been good to me,'' Ball said. ''I have lived in this county since 1987. I met my beautiful wife, Amy, who has been a lifelong resident of Fairfield County. I have three wonderful children. I have made a lot of lasting friendships here that I would not trade for the world.''
Ball said that he got involved in law enforcement at the age of 15, starting as a Explorer Scout cadet with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
''The first meeting I attended I had to have my mother drive me, because I wasn't even old enough to drive,'' Ball said. ''To this day, I have that same passion for law enforcement as I did after that first meeting. I believe then, as I do today, that I can make a difference.''
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen in an interview with the Eagle-Gazette said he plans to run for re-election in 2008.
''I think we've done a good job. We have a good staff who has done an exceptional job keeping our crime rates low,'' Phalen said.
Phalen said Ball had told him before he resigned that he planned to run against him.
''I'm not surprised at the announcement,'' Phalen said. ''But the election is more than a year away and I'm going to concentrate on running the day-to-day operations of the office.''
Phalen originally won election in March 2000 by defeating three candidates for sheriff in the Republican primary. He secured 69 percent of the vote in that primary and was unopposed in the general election.
At the time, the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office was in the midst of a major investigation by the state auditor's office that eventually led to former Fairfield County Sheriff Gary DeMastry's conviction on 37 counts of public corruption. DeMastry served five years of his six-year sentence before being released.
In 2004, Phalen ran for re-election and was unopposed in the General Election. His opponent in the 2004 election, independent candidate Dennis Carley, was removed from ballot after a Common Pleas Court judge ruled Carley was not qualified to run for the position.
Ball, a Republican, promised a campaign that would be ''simple and straightforward.''
''We need to get back to the basics of law enforcement. It doesn't matter how many high-tech gadgets that you have at your disposal in the law enforcement profession,'' Ball said. ''Training of the deputies is more important than any high-tech gadget you can buy. If you do not have a solid core of personnel and effective leaders to lead that core, you are bound to fail.''
Fairfield County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Steve Davis said it was way too early for him to be looking at 2008 races when the 2007 election hasn't been held yet.
''I've not talked to Sheriff Phalen, but I expect him to run for re-election. I also know Darrell Ball and he is a good person,'' Davis said. ''It's far too early for me to be talking about a race in 2008 now in April 2007.''
