Two police vets battle for Va. Beach Sheriff

The race for sheriff pits a career police officer and campaign novice against a seasoned state senator and political giant.

Capt. John L. Bell Jr., a Democrat, is vying with state Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, a Republican, for the job.

Stolle has nearly two decades in public office and has garnered a long list of endorsements, including those of Sheriff Paul Lanteigne, the Virginia Beach Fraternal Order of Police, Mayor Will Sessoms and every City Council member.

Bell's supporters include former Mayor Meyera Obern-dorf, the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, and former state Sen. Moody E. "Sonny" Stallings, who lost his seat to Stolle in 1991.

Stolle has raised $248,677 to Bell's $28,399, according to finance reports filed Thursday, and Bell said he hopes his 33 years in law enforcement overcomes a lack of name recognition and money. If elected, he'd be the first black sheriff in city history.

" We don't have as much money, but it's not about that; it's about getting the word out," said Bell, 57. "It's about who's best qualified."

The new sheriff will inherit a staff of more than 500 and a $36 million budget. The Sheriff's Office runs the jail; provides court security; serves civil papers; and conducts community outreach, such as drug-awareness programs in schools.

The sheriff is paid more than $150,000 a year.

Stolle announced that he'd run for sheriff in April, three days after Lanteigne said he wouldn't seek another term. He's led the department for nine years.

Stolle's decision surprised many, including Republican Party leaders who will have to find a candidate to fill his Senate seat if he's elected Nov. 3. After nearly 18 years in the General Assembly, Stolle said he's ready to return to law enforcement.

"The sheriff is the most powerful elected person in Virginia in the jurisdiction in which he or she resides, " said Stolle, 55. "And I think, based on my experience and background, that that's where I'd like to be."

The race has tested relationships in the law enforcement community. Many police officers and sheriff's deputies have worked with the candidates or their family members. Police Chief Jake Jacocks is a longtime personal friend of Stolle's and is also Bell's friend and boss. But he said he's tried to remain neutral.

"The Police Department needs to be immune and uninvolved in politics," he said. "It causes us to, in essence, kind of walk on eggshells until after this election is over."

Jacocks disciplined Bell earlier this week after a city auditor found that he used his computer and secretary for campaign purposes, in violation of city policy.

"I unknowingly violated it, and I take responsibility for that," Bell said. He declined to disclose what disciplinary action he faced but said he has not been demoted, transferred or suspended.

Jacocks confirmed that statement but declined to elaborate because it's a personnel issue.

As sheriff, Stolle would push for pay parity between sheriff's deputies and police officers, he said. He would oppose programs that release inmates early, such as electronic home monitoring and work release. "I won't substitute my judgment for that of the judge," he said.

Stolle said he'd also advocate changing state law to allow non violent offenders to remove graffiti from public property and perform home repairs for people in the community.

"I will make opportunities for the inmates to improve themselves and, hopefully, they will take advantage of those," he said, "but I'm not going to do that at the cost of increasing the cost of security of the citizens of Virginia Beach."

Bell said he'd take a different approach: addressing the reasons people go to jail, such as drug use, unemployment and gang activity.

"You can't deal with the problem of crime in our community by just building more jail cells," he said. "You've got to try to determine the cause of the problem and address it."

Bell said he'd provide additional training for deputies on working with mentally ill inmates and create more community outreach programs. He'd also support expanding electronic home monitoring and work-release programs for nonviolent inmates.

"They can be reintegrated into society," he said. "That's not soft on crime. That's being smart."

Stolle joined the Police Department in 1976 and spent 11 years patrolling the Oceanfront, working as a narcotics detective and leading the SWAT and tactical teams. He studied law, passed the bar exam in 1983, and left police work in 1987 to become a full-time lawyer. He became the local Republican Party chairman in 1990 and ousted Stallings from his Senate seat the next year.

Stolle has championed public safety legislation, including more-stringent drunken driving laws, helping abolish parole and amending the law to assist people who are wrongly convicted.

Bell, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., joined the New York City Transit Police Department in 1973. In 1976 he relocated to Virginia Beach, where he joined the Police Department, rising to commanding officer of the 1st Precinct and the detective bureau and night commander of citywide police operations.

He is commanding officer of the Professional Standards Office, which investigates misconduct allegations against police officers.

Bell said he's taken a leadership role in the department, earning his bachelor's degree in administration of justice and his master of public administration. This is his first bid for political office.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com