Deputy announces he's in sheriff race
A veteran Lackawanna County deputy sheriff plans to run for sheriff, even though the job might be eliminated as an elected position later this year.
"I love working in the office. I've been there 23 years and I want to continue to see the progression and the progress that the office has made since I've been there," said Mark P. McAndrew, a deputy sheriff since 1990. Mr. McAndrew, 47, of 420 Depew St., Mayfield, a Democrat, praised incumbent Sheriff John Szymanski. He said Mr. Szymanski had expanded the sheriff's office's involvement with local law enforcement agencies through drunken driving checkpoints and searches for fugitives.
"I just want to see the rapport that we've built continue," he said.
Mr. McAndrew said he would also look to turn the sheriff's office into a center of specialty investigations.
"I don't want us to take over anything. I just want us to move ahead, maybe get involved in traffic accident investigation, specialized training investigations," he said.
County deputy sheriffs have the same state certifications as municipal police officers, but the office has traditionally concentrated on transporting prison inmates, serving lawsuits and arrest warrants and selling properties delinquent in paying taxes.
Mr. McAndrew is the sheriff's office's Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, who visits local schools and teaches children to resist illegal drugs. He also runs Mr. Szymanski's junior deputy program for fourth-graders.
"Training and the safety of kids is very important to me," he said.
Besides Mr. McAndrew, former county detective Rob Mazzoni, also a Democrat, has announced his candidacy for the $66,174-a-year post.
The county commissioners have voted to let voters in the May 21 primary election decide if sheriff and three other row offices should be eliminated as elected offices, though a court fight might prevent the question from appearing on the ballot.
If voters approve the change, the commissioners would appoint sheriffs, a change Mr. McAndrew opposes.
"We're a law-enforcement agency," he said. "We set policies, we're on the prison board, and I think we should be an independent entity from the commissioners."
Mr. McAndrew acknowledged he might be campaigning for a post that will not exist.
"I know the consequences," he said.
He's running anyway "because there's a chance it may exist," he said.
Mr. Szymanski is widely expected to retire, though he has not publicly announced his plans. Mr. McAndrew said he would not run if he thought the sheriff planned to run again.
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@ timesshamrock.com