WHO WILL IT BE? … These three gentlemen, from left to right, Shaun Fulk, Tom Kochert and Tim Livengood, are running for the position of Williams County Sheriff in the March 17, 2020 Primary. They were all open and up front in their answers at the Meet the Candidates event held on February 12,2020. (PHOTO BY REBECCA MILLER, STAFF)
By: Rebecca Miller
Following the session at Meet the Candidates held at the Williams County Veteran’s building in Montpelier, in which the Primary uncontested candidates spoke, the rest of the time was designated to questioning the three men who are running for the Sheriff’s position.
The panel who asked the questions was made up of Bryan Chamber President Bob Golding, Montpelier Chamber President Karrie Patten and Bryan Times Assistant Editor Ron Osborn. Due to the length of the answers given, Golding explained at the end that they were barely able to ask a third of what they had written down. The questions, according to Moderator Dan Yahraus, were collected from citizens and could also be from the panel.
The three men running for the position are Shaun Fulk, Tom Kochert (pronounded co-hurt) and Tim Livengood. Each candidate was given time to introduce themselves first.
Fulk:
•Graduated from Paulding High School in 1997
•Graduated in 2001 from Defiance College with a degree in Criminal Justice and Business Administration
•Joined reserves with Defiance City Police Department
•Graduated from Paulding Police Academy in 2002
•Was hired into Williams County Sheriff’s Department in March of 2002 through 2018
•Joined Stryker Police Department in 2018 as well as holding a full time position at Con-Agra in Archbold where he worked his way up in six months to run an 80 man group.
•Married to Colleen since 2002, has 5 daughters, two who were adopted as they were foster parents for ten years
Kochert:
•Married to Claudia with two daughters and a son
•Graduated from Lexington Highschool in 1983, near Mansfield, Ohio
•Served four years in active duty with the Army Special Forces Group
•Worked for Mansfield Police Department for three years as a Tele-communicator
•Got his Undergraduate Degree at Hocking College, in Wildlife Management
•Was hired by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources where he served as a state Wildlife officer for twenty three years until he retired in 2015
•Since 2015 he was active with the sheriff’s department until August 2019, conducting training for reserve
•Is an active elder at both Angola and Edgerton campuses of Life Changing Church
•Post Commander of Edon’s American Legion Post #662
Livengood:
•Born and raised in Williams County
•Graduated from Bryan High School in 1987
•Shortly after graduation he went into the Army where he spent 16 years in the Military Police Corps
•I left the military and was then stationed in Reserve in Ft. Wayne, during which time they were deployed to Guantanamo Bay
•He attended Police Academy in 1997 and has been involved in Law Enforcement a little over 32 years
•20 years as a supervisor and 12 years with the Pioneer Police Department, as the Chief of Police
•Married and has seven children
First question was asked by Ron Osborn: In light of the news of today with our current sheriff, why do you think building relationships is an issue and how will you deal with that, and how will we know that you are?
Kochert’s answer: First he shared that as a state wildlife officer he covered a large geographic area and he was involved with over 13 court jurisdictions, all the county agencies, and he was the only one so it was just him. He said that he already has relationships with many of the agencies in Williams County and said that despite the change of people in those agencies he has been able to do well with relationships anyway.
He mentioned State and Federal agencies as well. “Out of all those agencies and out of all those years, that I worked with them and they kept changing hands, not once did any of those agencies come and say,’We can’t work with this guy.’ To the contrary I never lost one of those cases.” He finished with the statement that he plans to keep maintaining what he has already done with good old fashioned curtesy
Livengood: He pointed out that over the course of his career he has had opportunity to network with International Association of Chiefs of Police, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Ohio Tactical Officers Association, twelve years of attending the Attorney Generals Conference, Participates in Ohio Chiefs of Police Inservice which also allows him to form those relationships needed all the way to Governor Dewine’s office.
What is important to focus on is relationships within the county, to remain focused and remember that all of our agencies are working toward one common goal. He believes that his relationships are important and well established.
Fulk: “We have seen people come and go” and for him one of the best ways he has built relationships as a supervisor in the Sheriff’s Office was introducing new deputies to all the people they will need to work with in the county. As a Foster Parent he believes he got to see a side to the court systems and how it works and how he could help as the Sheriff.
He stressed the importance of helping everyone mend any broken relationships. He also mentioned that egos get in the way but “in the end we are all in this together!” Keeping open communication may take more than a four year term and “I plan to be here for the long haul.”
Second question came from Karrie Patten: Do you have any creative ways the Sheriff’s Office can address the Drug problem and the increase of sex trafficking in Northwest Ohio?
None of them answered anything about sex trafficking.
Livengood: It is an ongoing problem that inclines and declines, but he believes that if everyone involved sits down together and talks about it together, assesses the problem and what is working already or is not working, look at the rehab programs that are available. He believes it will never fully go away but he plans to utilize the resources available.
Kochert: The opioid crisis and other drug issues are national and state as well as county. He believes we can never “arrest our way out of the problem”. However, inside the budget which the Sheriff’s Department has, there is no way that they can assign a huge amount to clearing up drugs. He stressed that there are so many non-profits in Williams County already that are self funded and doing the work.
The Sheriff needs to find out what each one’s forte is and send the people their way when they come out of the legal system. He also made it clear that he will utilize every resource available to combat the drug problem, by attacking from front, from rear and the supply line. He called it “the circle of death” in which Narcan is not the answer.
Fulk: Pointed out that he has heard of men who have been narcamed three times in one week and he believes there is a way to stop that. He has a Plan of Attack which includes “pulling all the resources back in, evaluating everything that is going on, specific unit would come back in” that he believes is costing too much.
He wants to know what is happening in Williams county and have “our own Williams County Officer” that focuses on just our county concerning drugs. They could work with the judges and courts and get those non profit groups plugged in. Continue Dare Program and add a step where he would meet with Highschool seniors to help them understand how they need to step up as adults.
Third question from Bob Golding: What is current number of staff the sheriff oversees, what was it in 2009 and what is the maximum number of people you have supervised?
Livengood and Kochert spoke extensively time about their careers, and can be heard by watching the broadcast on BMU television, but the numbers they gave are here:
Fulk: 13 now; around 9 after the financial crash in 09; and 13 for him
Livengood: 13 now with room for expansion; not sure about 09; and 36 for him
Kochert: 13 now: numbers fluctuate: and 33 for him
Next question from Osborn: (condensed version) Concerning having a Chief Deputy, what do you plan to do?
Kochert: Jeff Lehman is his choice of who will be his Chief Deputy should he be elected. He believes it is important to have one because “you are only as good as the people under you.”
He chose Lehman because 1. He will not do anything wrong. 2. He would work for me and hold others accountable to what I put in action. 3. He has impeccable character and integrity.
Fulk: He wants to have a Chief Deputy and a Captain, as he believes “three heads are better than two”, but has purposely not announce who they are because he believes that might jeopardize their positions or cause them problems. He pointed out they are 1. Like him (“a mirror of me”) 2. Family men 3. Levelheaded and experienced
Livengood: He has not selected but does plan to have a Chief Deputy, as he feels it is an important position. He wants less politics and more service in his office so he would take care of the politics and a Chief Deputy could be free to head up patrol operations. There would be a chain of command put in place. He wants to look through personnel files and let that help him make his decision.
Next question from Golding: (condensed) How would you relate to the Union?
Kochert: He dealt with supervisors all the way to Columbus as he was a wildlife officer. He would deal with the Union, with a give and take, understanding that contracts are important.
He mentioned that Lehman has worked with the Union so he feels they would be fine. He said he has seen what works and what doesn’t work and doesn’t see it being problem.
Livengood: Has been part of a Union, is on North Central Local Schools Board and was part of successfully negotiating a contract. He mentioned open mindedness as the best way to work together. With his administration experience he believes he would be fine as he is a good listener.
Fulk: He has been a Union president before when they had to lay off officers in the past, and was a Union representative for a supervisors union. He believes you just have open dialogue and it will work out. Be able to mesh the two together. His plan of attack is to do what is best for the officers. Have an open door policy and build moral.
Next question from Patten: Will you take on the tough politically sensitive cases of wrong doing in Williams County, regardless of who it is, what agency or what department it is?
Kochert: Absolutely. The state mandate for the Sheriff’s department is to “provide court security and law enforcement in unincorporated areas in the county.” They will investigate any and all from litter to homicide with consistency, structure and timeliness. He will not assign priorities, but will investigate all of them with consistency.
Livengood: Yes. It doesn’t matter who you are in law enforcement, we are all here to investigate complaints. It all comes down to fairness and consistency. Every aspect of every investigation. He spoke of his job in Pioneer and with no dedicated detective, each officer has the opportunity to do the job. Be fair and consistent across the board.
Fulk: Day one…work on the structure. In the Sheriff’s office there are from 4500-5000 calls a year. There are only 13 officers taking care of all that! He believes there is a need to restructure and create a detective position that will take the heavier cases and free the road deputies to handle the other things. He promised to be a working Sergeant.
In the interest of time they had to let each one have a specific question: Fulks question from Osborn: Why do you believe we need a Special Response Team and what would that look like?
Fulk: Looks like a SWAT team. He feels it takes too long for a SRT to get here from Ft. Wayne, Bowling Green or Toledo and get informed. He wants a team made up of police officers and sheriff’s deputies from Williams County, and pointed out that there are many officers who have military experience and would do well with this.
He would review personnel files and interview with local Police Chiefs to choose those who would do well on this team. He feels it would unite the county more as officers would all be working together.
How much would it cost and where would the money come from? -probably take a year or two, there are grants and they could also save up as soon as possible.
Question from Patten to Kochert: How will your Faith guide your decisions as sheriff and will this be a conflict of interest? Kochert: No conflict of interest. He is a licensed pastor. “God has guided me to this point,” he stated and shared how he believes God has “walked stride by stride” by him and he is ready to put all that he has learned into this position.
“Where God guides He provides and if you people put me in this position, He will be in charge.”
Golding brought a laugh when he reprimanded the candidates for being so long winded.
Question for Livengood: Address the circumstances by which you left the Montpelier Police Department, as this has been a concern of many in the community. Livengood: He pointed out that over the years of military service he has accolades and awards, great personnel file. Went through a divorce.
Over the 32 years of law enforcement service, he had one admonishment, while he was with Montpelier Police Department, a suspension which he fulfilled and resumed duties. No rank reduction and nothing criminal was done.
Later in that year he made a life choice to resign and immediately went on to another law enforcement position in the county. Since then, recently selected for top cop award and state law enforcement of the year award. “In the grand scheme of things, over a period of 32 years in law enforcement, if I have made one single mistake in my life, I would say I have done pretty good.”
Moderator Yahraus thanked all involved in the Meet the Candidates evening. BMU channel can be found on YouTube to watch the entirety.
Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
