WILLIAMS COUNTY SHERIFF’S RACE – Kochert & Mohre Set To Square Off

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CHALLENGER GARY MOHRE

By: Rebecca Miller

Tom Kochert, Shawn Fulk and Tim Livengood ran in the 2020 Williams County Primary, to replace Sheriff Steve Towns, who was resigning due to some legal difficulties (prior news coverage provided). The official results from the Williams County Board of Elections, for the Primary were 1,111 votes for Shawn Fulk; 2,005 votes for Tom Kochert; and 1,537 votes for Tim Livengood.

All votes were either early or absentee, as no “in person” voting was allowed due to COVID-19. After the Primary was held and Tom Kochert was sworn in as Williams County Sheriff, Interim Sheriff Gary Mohre was encouraged by friends and family to run as a Write-In Candidate in November, so the voting public gets to exercise flexibility once again.

As the Primary drew near, scheduled for March 17, 2020, COVID-19 hit and Governor Mike DeWine declared that it was not safe to have voters go to the Voting Precincts. Williams County Commissioners, Lew Hilkert, Terry Rummel and Brian Davis, came up with a short list of men who might be willing to fill in as an Interim Sheriff, until the Primary could be held. As stated in a previous article, “Following much deliberation in an Executive Session with Prosecutor Katie Harman,

a number of other conversations and ‘all three Sheriff Candidates being 100% on board with the Commissioners Choice,’ they appointed Gary E. Mohre out of Blakeslee.

Mohre was appointed ‘to serve as acting Sheriff for Williams county and to perform the duties thereof between and including March 18, 2020 until such time when a person is appointed Sheriff by the Central Committee and such person qualifies and takes office.’”

Gary Mohre was born in Montpelier, Ohio to Mose and Dorothy Mohre. He has three brothers – Sam, Bob and Randy, and two sisters – Mary Sue and Julie Ann. Following his graduation from Edon High School in 1978, Gary attended Police Academy, earning his OPOTC (Ohio Peace Officer’s Training Commission) in 1980. Mr. Mohre has also taken courses over the years at Northwest State Community College.

Mr. Mose Mohre, the patriarch of the family, was very involved in law enforcement, being the only person in Ohio history to hold both Special Deputy and Auxiliary with the State Highway Patrol. Mose was in HP for fifty years as well as being on the Governor’s Task Force for Shooting, as one of the top ten shooters in the state.

During his time of Law Enforcement service, Mose established the Combat Range in Bryan, and taught his sons how to shoot and qualify. Both Gary and Randy have served as Blakeslee Police Chief, with Randy as their present Chief. Gary’s co-Campaign Manager, Lisa Stalter, said in an interview, “Law Enforcement and Community Service are their family business.”

Gary Mohre’s law enforcement history includes being a Licensed Private Investigator with Ohio for thirty five years, doing accident investigations, investigating felonies from the courts and anything related to police work for attorneys’ offices.

He was a Williams County Sheriff’s Deputy from 1979-1991, where he was promoted to Sergeant for his last three years and was in charge of the Special Deputy Organization. He also provided security for the Fair and managed fifteen deputies that were on the road, as their Supervisor.

In 1991 he was asked by the residents of Blakeslee, upon the retirement of Blakeslee Marshall, Tony Muhlfeld, to “get the Blakeslee Police Department up and running.” Through grants and donations he was able to set up a five man Police Department, with the Village naming him Police Chief when he hired his first Officer around 1995. He was the Blakeslee Police Chief right up until the Williams County Commissioners asked him to be the Interim Sheriff on March 18, 2020.

Between March 18 and June 10, 2020 when elected Sheriff Tom Kochert was sworn to take the Sheriff’s position, Mohre says he “set his mind to get as much done as possible.” Some items he lists as accomplishments during those three months are: “cutting the budget (to help with the COVID adjustments needed) without interference to any community safety; appointing two Sergeants to organize the evidence room under my supervision; switching telephone services, saving the county $3200 for the year; brought unity, repairing a lot of relationships or issues that we had with other departments, and sat down with each individual deputy, asking what their issues were and began working on them in the short time I had.”

Concerning the repairing of relationships with other departments, Mohre and Stalter worded it that he, “united all of the municipalities and city police in a way that put everyone on the same page, which had not been done since the 80’s.” He also appointed a Chaplain for the office, “to help some of the officers get healing for some situations that had occurred.”

Stalter added, “He (Mohre) did such a wonderful job with all the Chiefs of Police that they actually wrote a letter to the Police Chief Association endorsing Gary, after the Primary. All the Police Chiefs signed that, which has never happened before.”

During his time as Interim Sheriff, in his words, Gary Mohre says he “realized I could make a positive difference for the county.” He explained that over the years he had been asked by community members, friends and family to consider running for Sheriff, but had always decided not to do so until the summer of 2019.

In August 2019 he had a very bad fall from a ladder. Several bones were broken requiring surgery and extensive rehab for the next five months, making his healing the highest priority and blocking out the possibility of running in the Primary.

When he realized that he wanted to run as a Write In Candidate, many friends and family immediately “came on board to form an Election Campaign Committee.” They filed the proper paperwork with the election board, had Judge J.T. Steltzer verify that everything was done legally, and began the process of “giving people a choice in November,” in his words.

Co-Campaign Manager Lisa Stalter said, “We feel strongly that as the Primary was postponed, the people did not get to vote like they should have. Many were afraid to go to the polls and it was too late to send in an absentee ballot. It got pushed to June and then moved back to April 28. Out of 24,560 registered Voters in Williams County, only 6341 voted for a sheriff in April. It seems to us that the people did not really speak yet.”

“We want them to know that Gary has forty years of Law Enforcement so he is experienced in leadership and has the ability to bring calm to a situation, de-escalating when it is needed, sticking to the law and unifying the department.”

Mohre shared that if he is elected on November 3, 2020, he would like to: Create a Sheriff’s Advisory Committee that would hear the concerns of county residents; continue to rebuild relationships with the entire law enforcement community; build the department so that everyone is part of the team that works together for the safety of Williams County; Complete the County MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that he and the Police Chiefs had started to work on, which would allow all WC law enforcement to “work together in each other’s jurisdictions with no misunderstandings;” work against Human Trafficking in Northwest Ohio; and support the first and second amendments

Concerning the fact that he is running as an Independent, Mohre said, “I represent all parties, even though I am a Republican. I have no dismay, as the party did what they had to do. When voting for me,” Mohre added, “I ask that you physically write in my name, Gary Mohre, and fill in the box next to my name. Thank you so much for your vote.”

Tom Kochert, who was sworn in on June 9, 2020, was born and raised in Lexington, Ohio, graduating from High School there in 1983. At the age of 17, straight out of High School his Dad signed the papers and he went into the Army. Kochert was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC in a Psychological Operations Battalion which was part of the first Special Forces group.

After four years in the army, Kochert went into the undergraduate program in Wildlife Management at Hocking College, in Nelsonville, Ohio and graduated from the two year program in 1989. Wildlife openings were few and far between as there is only one Wildlife officer per county, so he worked for Mansfield Police Department for about three years, while awaiting an opening.

In the Spring of 1992 he was offered the position of Wildlife Officer in Williams County and stepped into those shoes in the fall of 1993, staying in that spot until he retired in October 2015. Kochert stated that he loved that job and knows every nook and cranny of Williams County from covering it all those years.
He is looking forward to working with Ethan Bingham, the present WCW officer, who grew up in Fulton County and whom he has known since Bingham’s younger days when he hunted in Williams County with his dad.

On the day Kochert retired in October 2015, Sheriff Steve Towns swore him in as a Special Deputy. “The Specials, or auxiliary volunteers can be used for a great number of efforts,” Kochert said. “We have a dive team and an air asset team for when we need it. The man power can free up the deputies to do other things.”

During his past five years in “the Specials” he served as the president of the reserves twice, with his most treasured achievement being that he got the group separated by function into three groups, making it easier to know on whom to call. Kochert stepped into the position of Williams County Sheriff with prior experience as a dispatcher, Mansfield Police Department officer, Ohio Department Wildlife Officer for 25 ½ years and Special Deputy with the Williams County Sheriff’s Office for five years. He has had special training in firearms, defensive tactics and various other law enforcement subjects.

As the Sheriff, since June 9, he is implementing training on a repetitive quarterly schedule; new patrol strategies; more face to face public interaction and participation with the deputies. “My goal is to have my agency excel at investigations, public relations and efficient fiscal management,” Kochert said.
“As sheriff, this job entails so much,” Sheriff Kochert said in a previous interview. “So many different facets. It is a combination of a lot of requirements,” Kochert said.

“The fact that the voters put their trust in me…I won’t forget that. It is a public trust and I am getting started. There is a huge learning curve and it will take some time. I am very pleased with the staff that is already a part of the department and I don’t see a lot of new things needing to be thrown in right away.”
Coming in during a time of economic stress makes the budget a priority, Kochert said, and he will be looking at what can be adjusted. “There will budget negotiations and union negotiations and more decisions to be made and it is important that someone who was elected by the people be making the decisions. During the campaign I said I am frugal, and I am.”

CURRENT SHERIFF TOM KOCHERT

“That is good with some items, but when it comes to equipping deputies for good service on the road, we have to spend money for them to do their jobs to the best and to the level that the state mandates. We will live within the budget. We will ask the same as household principles… do we really need this or can we wait?”

One issue that is uppermost in his thoughts is the need and ability to cover the entire county, focusing especially on the rural areas where homes and farms are far apart. Also from an earlier article, Kochert said, “The thought that there are people alone out in the rural areas who might not ever see a sheriff car go by … they need to know that they are being watched and cared for!”

“Five on an assigned shift should be covering the rural areas efficiently. Theft on the farms is a great concern and we want the farmers to know we are with them to keep it from happening. I want the deputies stopping to take a few minutes with a farmer or a country home owner, when they see them outside. Just to say hi and give them their card and say, ‘Call me if you have any problems.’ Just think how much that will mean to them.”They will call the deputy who gives them his card.”

Another hope of the new sheriff is for unity amongst all the law enforcement agencies. “I plan to invite every single Police Chief to bring their crews out to train with us. Maybe a basic refresher on repetitive training. Let’s think outside the box.”

“We are going to train in night shooting, and lots of other areas. Why shouldn’t we all work together?” He is also going to invite the commissioners to come and watch, saying “It will help them know why we need things that I might be asking for funds for at a later date.”

On August 8, 2020, Kochert shared some things accomplished since he was sworn in to office. “Since my election five weeks ago, I have established working relationships with all county offices, Prosecutors, Judges and have reached out to all local law enforcement agencies.”

“I have established a great relationship with the M.A.N. Unit, and have begun talks with Sheriffs offices in Indiana and Michigan regarding reciprocal law enforcement agreements. I have instituted an open-door policy and have met with all three commissioners’ multiple times.”

“I have renewed agreements with the Ohio State Patrol; physically cleaned and inventoried office equipment; replaced worn uniforms and duty gear for Deputies; re-written the use of force and deadly force policies as newly mandated by the Governor in cooperation with the Williams County Prosecutor; Conducted two-day use of force range training; Established capabilities of Special Deputy Groups; Re-established chain of command regarding delegation of authority in crisis situations; Created a Detective position; Constructed a quarterly training program; Designed and will soon implement a new patrol dynamic; and established a good working relationship with all three county commissioners regarding funding and management of the Sheriff Office.”

Kochert feels that the campaign is going “extremely well. Our supporters are ready and willing to help. There is an overwhelming call for our signs. The citizens of Williams County elected me wanting results and not rhetoric. Make no mistake, professional, efficient and effective law enforcement management has been re-instituted.”

“Chief Deputy Jeff Lehman and I have established an outstanding rapport with the Deputies. They have shown outstanding professionalism, accountability, and efficiency. It is truly a privilege to serve with such professionals.”

Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com