Clayton promises experience as new sheriff

By Christine Laughren
Nov. 1, 2008    ·    10:45 p.m.

His campaign has focused on his experience and a “commitment to excellence.”

Now, with just four days until the election Ypsilanti resident Jerry Clayton (D) is making his final appeal as to why he would make a good sheriff for the residents of Washtenaw County.

“As a resident in Washtenaw County, I don’t think we’ve sent he type of leadership that we should have,” Clayton said while sipping on a cup of coffee in Bombadill’s Café in Downtown Ypsilanti.

Clayton, who retired from the sheriff’s office two years ago, said he is ready to make his return – this time as sheriff – because he believes the office needs a new direction. Clayton said in the past eight years, under Sheriff Dan Minzey’s tenure, the office has lost a lot of credibility with the community and has not enforced a strong mission or values to be a leader in the criminal justice community.

“We need to reestablish that,” Clayton said. “Part of reestablishing that is to be trustworthy, with a willingness to engage in constant dialog and seek opportunities to forge and enforce very strong partnerships.”

According to Clayton a partnership with the Ypsilanti Police Department might entail opportunities for joint services. He said a good example of joint services is the recent partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and the Ann Arbor Police Department to dispatch with Huron Valley Ambulance.

“There are benefits to consolidation, if the City of Ypsilanti was interested, I would support that whole-heartedly,” Clayton said. “If we can find an opportunity to consolidate dispatchers, I’m sure there are other services we can consolidate as well.”

Along with forging partnerships and reestablishing credibility in the community Clayton said he wants to pursue aggressive alternatives to sentencing. He said shifting resources to keep people out of jail instead of incarcerating them for an underlying problem would help with the jail overcrowding situation that has plagued the county. The recent decision to expand the jail by 150 beds is a start, according to Clayton, but he also said the county needs to keep people who aren’t out of jail.

“Some people are just bad people and should be in jail,” Clayton said. Other people commit crimes, but there is an underlying problem.”

“We need to have programs that assess, diagnose and prescribe the appropriate solution.”

Clayton beat incumbent Minzey in the Primary Election with 54 percent of the vote. He now faces off against fellow Ypsilanti resident Dwayne Taylor (R) for the Sheriff position. He said his overall experience as an administrator working with budgets, scheduling and officers who are sometimes placed in dangerous positions sets him apart from Taylor.

“I admire anyone who puts themselves out there but Washtenaw County and the Sheriff’s Office are facing some tough challenges,” Clayton said. “We can’t afford to have someone in the Sheriff’s Office who really has no idea what it takes to run a Sheriff’s Office.”

“That to me is the biggest difference and quite frankly that’s the most important difference.”

Citizen details
Information gathered from Information gathered from jerryclayton4sheriff.com.

Jerry Clayton retired from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s office in January 2006 after 20 years of service. Clayton has spent the last two years working as a criminal justice consultant serving local, national and international clients.

Professional Highlights
Corrections Officer, Deputy Sheriff, Shift Sergeant and First Lieutenant
Former Executive Team member of Washtenaw County Sheriff Office Administration
Former SWAT team member
Investigator – Michigan Sheriff Association
Part-time instructor at Washtenaw Community College Police Academy
Vice President and Partner for Lamberth Consulting