Charlottesville police captain Chip Harding is preparing to run for Albemarle County sheriff, The Hook reports. He’s planning an announcement on Tuesday.
It’s been widely rumored that Sheriff Ed Robb — who took the job after being knocked out of the state senate by the late Emily Couric — has been planning on retiring and intends for Harding, a fellow Republican, to succeed him. Robb won last time around, despite getting less than half of the vote, because he faced a pair of independent challengers who divided up the remaining 51% of the vote. His tenure has not been a particularly impressive one, including declaring his deputy’s still-unexplained shooting a “hate crime” and proposing that we camouflage the jail so that terrorists can’t find it.
Larry Claytor, one of Robb’s opponents last time around, is widely expected to run again.
I just read at the Hook, Larry Claytor is going to be running as a Democrat.
Good for him!!! Democrats are getting more and more converts everyday!
Anyway, last time Claytor did pretty damn good when he ran as an Independent . . . don’t remember the exact numbers, but he got at least 3/4s, if not more of that 51%.
And I remember at the time a lot of people saying that that other candidate was just a Robb stalking horse in the race to split the vote. If thats true looks like it worked.
Just when you think Charlottesville/Albemarle is finally showing signs of growing out of the “good ol’boy” power hold… it seems to be showing strengthl with Judges, Sheriffs, Board Members, etc. Good ol’boys reign. Will we see a turn?
Good Old Boy reigns?? Why is he a GOB ?
No one seemed to mind when he was making sure that sex offenders got their DNA recorded so next time they commit a crime the police could make an arrest. Or that dozens and dozens of cases got solved because of it.
And who is the we that needs a turn?
perlogik,
Are you really suggesting that Harding is responsible for all cases that got solved because of DNA testing!?! That is ridiculous.
My guess is that there are lots of people working on this issue, lots of officers and actual forensics experts out in the field perfecting this science; and Harding is going to look awfully silly claiming credit for all their hard work.
Did I say all? He a driving force behind the legislation that made it possible. Why shouldn’t he take credit for what he did?
You are right he should take credit for what he did.
But the problem with politicians and aspiring politicians is they often take credit at the expense of others.
Mr. Harding seems to be very media savvy, when he jumps in front of this issue, who does he obscure?
I am worried that we have a problem, if our view of this is distorted, and we start to think that Chip Harding was the only one, or the primary “driving force” and not give credit to all the others who behind this thing; and actually did the brick and mortar work to make it happen.
Thats all I’m sayin’
Chip Harding is not the fountain from which all DNA testing, or data banking spews.
Second try:
I am worried that we have a problem, if our view of this is distorted, and we start to think that Chip Harding was the only one, or the primary “driving force” and not give credit to all the others who WERE behind this thing;
Palmer- you are total correct and if he tries to take sole credit for the testing registry that would be wrong. If he takes resonable credit for being a driving force for what was a total team effort that would seem OK.
I like politicans that can take some credit for doing anything that makes people lives better/safer. There are too many who can’t take credit for a thing.
perlogik,
I am glad we can agree. There were many people ( many “driving forces”, I would say) in the mid-eighties who immediately saw the potential of “DNA fingerprinting”.
“There are too many who can’t take credit for a thing.”
Yep, again we agree.
Of course the other problem is the media and how people read the media, things tend to get over simplified.
Unh…don’t be so sure…a lot of us are very deeply disturbed by the various efforts of LE to develop a permanent database of everyone’s DNA. As I recall, the bill he helped push would have legalized collecting the DNA of everyone picked up – regardless of whether or not they had been convicted of anything – and added it to a permanent database. Big brother indeed.
I must admit: I’m a bit torn over this – he’s an idiotic chowder head – just listening to a few of his police dept. pronouncements, particularly in the “War On Drugs” as practiced in our little burg, makes that clear – and so I don’t want to see him get promoted. However, as Ed Robb has demonstrated well for us, you can safely park a moron in the County Sheriff’s office where they aren’t able to cause so much damage.
Oh my God. That is funny. Will you marry me?
Chip will do a great job.