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THE NEWS-PRESSSUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008 | PUBLISHED SINCE 1884 news-press.com FINAL | $1.50

The News-Press,A Gannett NewspaperCopyright 2008

¸ For live Doppler radarand updates throughoutthe day go to news-press.com.

BYDAVEBREITENSTEINdbreitenstein@news-press.com

In one corner, there’s RodShoap, the former sheriff whoclaims department spending isout of control while Lee Coun-ty’s quality of life deteriorates.

In the opposite cornerstands Mike Scott, the incum-bent sheriff, who says higherbudgets provide extra man-power to combat the county’sgrowing criminal element.

The gloves came off longbefore their scheduled rematch,an Aug. 26 Republican primary.ShoapandScotthavesparredonbusiness issues — budgets,staffing and crime rates — andpersonal issues, like Shoap’sallegedaffairandwhetherScott’ssecretary urinated in public.

That’s politics.

After teenvandalism,questionsBY MARY WOZNIAKand PEDRO MORALESmwozniak@news-press.com,pmorales@news-press.com

In the heavy heat of July,when boredom can hit withthe force of an afternoon thun-derstorm, a band of teenagerscrossed the cool, cut grass of aprivate golf course, crossed ayard to the back door of anempty home and then crossedthe law.

At least eight teens, ages 14to 17, used the two-story homeas their personal party houseand in the coming days sum-moned other friends to sharethe spoils they took, LeeCounty Sheriff ’s Officedeputies say.

They cruised the streets in astolen truck and traded astolen dirt bike for marijuana.They stole liquor and jewelry.They trashed the house.

When it was done, 2¤weeks later, the interior of thehouse nestled in front of a golfcourse and surrounded by alush preserve in Estero’sStoneybrook community hadbeen ripped apart.

Victims, suspects unsettled

BY MARY WOZNIAKmwozniak@news-press.com

The list of the top 10 fore-closures on single-family resi-dences in Lee County bringshome the fact that if you livebig, you can also lose big.

County public recordsreveal the top homes have loanbalances from a high of $3 mil-lion to a low of almost $1.3 mil-lion.

The list shows that evensavvy businessmen, longtimehomeowners who haveresided in their properties fordecades, mortgage brokersand Realtors have succumbedto the wave of foreclosures stillflooding the country.

Of the Lee County top 10,four homes are in Cape Coral,two in Fort Myers, two inEstero, one on Sanibel and oneon Fort Myers Beach.

These are not the modestabodes of middle-class home-owners who are the usualhighlights in news reports.

Many are sumptuous, over-the-top mansions in the nou-veau-Italian style so popular inSouthwest Florida. The largesthas 12,811 square feet.

The newest was built in2006 and the oldest in 1972.

Nine of 10 are on the water,whether it is the Caloosa-hatchee River, a canal or a lake.

No. 1 is 5807 Staysail Courtin Cape Coral, owned byAnthony Leeber Jr. and DianeLeeber.

Leeber Jr. has an array ofactive businesses and has hadhis share of financial ups anddowns.

¸ INDEXClassifieds...... F1-10Comics .......... InsideDear Abby .......... E4Horoscopes ........ E4Nation.................. A4Obituaries .......... B9Opinion ........ B10-11

¸ WEATHERHigh 91 Low 79Storms, 40 percent chanceof rain; forecast B12

INSIDE TenantswantedLandlords hope tofill vacant spacesin plazas, malls,offices andindustrialbuildings acrossLee County.

¸ BUSINESS, D1

Made inthe shadeClyde Butcherexhibit to displayblack-and-whiteenvironmentalphotography ofFlorida and “Americathe Beautiful.”

¸ TROPICALIA ¸ See SHERIFF A16

¸ Photo galleries: See athletes, coaches, fans, coverage of the competitions and images from around Beijing.¸ Video: Watch interviews, profiles, features and more. ¸ Blog: Southwest Floridian Lin Bochette checks in from the

games. ¸ Trivia: Answer the question of the day. ¸ Interactive graphics: Click on 10 things to watch and play a Chinese tile game. ¸ TV listings: A complete guide to what is on and when.news-press.com/olympics

LEE COUNTY SHERIFF’S RACE

WORLD RECORDFOR PHELPSMichael Phelps sets a world record to win hisfirst gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, beatingrival Ryan Lochte in the 400-meter individualmedley. SPORTS, C1

TODAY ON TV¸ What: United States vs.China in men’s basketball

¸ When: 10 a.m.

¸ TV: (NBC)

¸ Compari-son A break-down of sheriff’semployees’salaries duringthe candidates’terms.¸ Annualbudget Learnhow the LeeCounty Sheriff’sbudget has risen144 percent ineight years.¸ CrimestatisticsA look at how thenumber of larce-nies, burglariesand vehicle theftshas changedfrom 2001-08.

INSIDE/A16

¸ A 2008 Fordtruck (recovered)¸ Four Suzukidirt bikes (recov-ered)¸ A 9 mm Smith& Wesson hand-gun (recovered)¸ $20,000 to$30,000 in jew-elry, includingwatches, neck-laces, earringsand bracelets¸ Two comput-ers, one laptop¸ Media player¸ Canon videocamera¸ GPS¸ Portable DVDplayer¸ Two wirelessrouters¸ Two iPods(one recovered)

THE$77,000IN GOODSREPORTEDSTOLEN

¸ See ARRESTS A17

OLYMPICS TRAGEDY

BY CRAIG HANDELchandel@news-press.com

The shock waves from a fatalstabbing that rocked theOlympics on Saturday reachedall the way to Naples.

Todd Bachman was killedand his wife, Barbara, is fighting

for her life after they and theirChinese tour guide wereattacked while sightseeing at atourist attraction.

Todd Bachman, 62, wasCEO of one of the most suc-cessful family businesses inMinnesota, but when he was inNaples, he and Barbara were

ordinary people.Neighbors in condominiums

at The Vistas expressed shockat what had happened justhours after the games beganand wondered how such a thingcould happen to people theyconsidered so nice.

“They belonged to everyone,”said Lola Costache. “It doesn’tmatter if you’re poor, doesn’tmatter if you’re rich.

“He’s the nicest gentleman ascan be. He never passes without

Man attacks coupleat tourist attraction

Even the wealthy lose their homes

¸ Database: Search foreclosures inLee County.

¸ Photo gallery: View the interiorand exterior of homes in foreclosure.

news-press.com/realestate

¸ See HOMES A9¸ Also see more details onthe Top 10 A9

BACHMANKilled on openingday of Olympics

Comedic actor deadBernie Mac, a co-star in “Ocean’sEleven,” diesfromcomplications ofpneumonia atage 50.

¸ NATION &WORLD, A4 MAC

STABBINGS IN BEIJING: NAPLES HOMEOWNER KILLED, WIFE INJURED

Tale of the tapefor a title fight

“It’s hell. It’s terrible.What could be worsethan to have your sonkilled in China and hiswife in the hospital?”¸ Margaret Bachman

¸ Photo gallery: Tragedy at the Olympics¸ Download: Learn more about victim Todd Bachman

news-press.com¸ See STABBINGS A2¸ Also see More details A2

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A16 | THE NEWS-PRESS, NATION & WORLD, SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008 ***

Top-tier employees paid well in both reignsBY DAVE BREITENSTEINdbreitenstein@news-press.com

Rod Shoap and Mike Scotttake good care of their highest-paid employees.

Real good.As a whole, the top 100 earn-

ers for the Lee County Sheriff’sOffice — predominantly majors,captains and lieutenants —received average annual basesalary increases of $3,857 duringShoap’s administration, and$3,462 yearly under Scott.

Meanwhile, the lowest 100earners — mostly clerks, officeassistants and communicationsoperators — saw their basesalaries increase $168 annuallyduring Shoap’s tenure, but rise$1,318 a year with Scott at thehelm.

That data, culled from payrollreports provided by budgetdirector Bill Bergquist, showbase salary information as ofSept. 20 of every year. It doesnot include overtime andincome supplements, or listsalaries of part-time employeeswho didn’t work any shifts dur-ing that pay period. Salaries arein constant dollars, not adjustedfor inflation.

The numbers are group aver-ages, so the same people are notin the top or bottom every year.But shaving off the top 100 andbottom 100 earners provides anindication of how the twoRepublican sheriff candidates,who face off in the Aug. 26Republican primary, treat theirupper- and lower-level employ-ees come payday.

Under Shoap’s administra-tion from 2001 to 2004:

¸ The top 100 earners sawtheir base salaries increase 18.6percent, from an average of$62,280 in Shoap’s first year to$73,851 in his fourth year.

¸ The bottom 100 earnersreceived a 2.3 percent bump,from $21,578 to $22,082.

Shoap said top earners tendto be longtime employeeswhose pay raises reflect meritand cost-of-living adjustments.Those on the lower end oftenare newcomers at entry-levelpositions, but employees whoshow some initiative don’t stayat the bottom for long.

“People do advance quickly,”Shoap said. “The real sign of it ishow they develop themselves.When I’m in an assessment cen-ter, one of the questions I always

ask is, ‘What have you done toprepare yourself for this chal-lenge, this promotion?’

“What I’m looking for is notwhat the department did forthem. I want to know what youdid for yourself.”

With Scott at the helmfrom 2005 to 2008:

¸ The top 100 earners had a13.2 percent average base payraise, from $78,707 in Scott’sfirst year to $89,094 this year.

¸ The bottom 100 earnershad an 18 percent jump, from$22,031 to $25,987.

In the transition year betweenShoap and Scott’s terms, the top100 employees earned a 6.6 per-cent increase, while the bottom100 saw their pay drop by 0.2percent.

Last year, Scott scrappedstandard merit and cost-of-liv-ing increases, doling out smaller

than normal percentage increas-es to upper administration. Thatway, he could spread moremoney among lower-wageemployees and deputies. Theyput their lives on the line eachshift, he said, while administra-tors sit in air-conditioned officesand head home when the 5o’clock whistle blows.

“They’re not out there at 2a.m. answering domestic distur-bance calls or pulling overdrunk drivers,” Scott said.

The sheriff’s office employs1,483 individuals in a variety ofcapacities. When benefits, over-time and supplements are addedto base salaries, employeeexpenses account for 75 percentof the budget, Bergquist said.

They moved upIn 2000-01, Shoap’s first year

in office, 48 sheriff’s employeesearned base salaries greaterthan $60,000. This year, 245employees crossed that thresh-old.

In 2000-01, only Shoap com-manded a six-figure salary, earn-ing $123,451, an amount set bystate guidelines. In 2007-08, theoffice had 16 employees earningsix-figure base salaries, withScott leading the way at

$148,825, an amount also set bythe state. Additional employeescan cross that mark with over-time and supplements.

Chief Deputy Charles Fer-rante is right behind Scott at$140,800. While market demanddrives salaries, Scott said itwon’t thrust anyone’s earningsabove his pay.

“It’s possible, but it’s not pru-dent, and I don’t see that hap-pening as long as I’m sheriff,”Scott said. “You need to havesome type of delineationbetween positions.”

In Shoap’s first year, therewas a $29,513 gap between thesheriff and the No. 2 earner,major Dave Bonsall.

C.O.s make lessOn the uniformed side of

operations, the sheriff ’s officefeatures two sets of employees:deputies, corporals, sergeantsand lieutenants who overseegeneral county operations, andthose in corrections with simi-lar titles but work in the prisonor jail.

Despite having the samerankings, corrections employ-ees earn less than their patrolcounterparts.

“Corrections is not as glam-

orous of a job as patrol,” saidShoap, rattling off a list of TVshows focusing on police offi-cers.

Despite a pay difference,Shoap said, “I treated them fair-ly. I was the first sheriff that putthem all in the same uniform.My corrections officers weredeputy sheriffs.”

Shoap’s deputies earned$400 more in base salary thancorrections officers during2003-04. This year, the gap ismuch larger as Scott’s deputiesearn $3,813 more, according todata provided by the sheriff ’soffice.

Scott’s 2008-09 budget pro-posal freezes all salaries. Thesheriff ’s office once had toinflate starting salaries and offerabove-average pay raises to pre-vent employees from eyeingjobs in other jurisdictions, Scottsaid, but he believes concernswith turnover have subsided.

“When the economy wasbooming, we had much moredifficulty with recruitment andretaining,” Scott said. “Nowpeople are desperate for a job.They’re not as inclined to say,‘Why am I making $38,000 ayear instead of $41,000?’ It’s‘Thank God I’m making$38,000.’”

Low-rung employees’ raises improved with time

2008 LEE COUNTYSHERIFF’S RACE:

MIKE SCOTTVS. ROD SHOAP

SCOTTLee Countysheriff

SHOAPChallengesScott

Numbers, though sometimesconfusing, aren’t political. Num-bers tell it like it is.

The News-Press analyzed1,000-plus pages of data fromShoap’s years and Scott’s years inoffice, paying close attention tothreehot-buttonissues that repeat-edly surface in their debates:

¸ Annual budget: The sheriff’sbudget has risen from $64.9 mil-lion to $158.4 million in eight years,a 144 percent increase. About 98percent of the budget comes fromproperty and sales tax revenue.

¸ Hierarchy: Each candidateclaims the other’s administrationwas top-heavy, but neither agreeshow many individuals constitutedtheir opponent’s leadership team.Inanycase, thesheriff’sworkforcerosefrom943to1,483employees ineight years, a 57 percent increase.

¸ Crime rate: Burglaries haverisen from 2,762 to 4,414 in sevenyears — a 60 percent increase.Robberies have jumped from 348to 555, a 59 percent increase.

Granted, population growth hasexploded during Shoap and Scott’sadministrations, expanding from291,190 in 2001 to 377,070 in 2007for the sheriff’s jurisdictional area:unincorporated Lee County, Boni-ta Springs and Fort Myers Beach.

However, the combined infla-tion rate and population growthdoesn’t match the growth spurtseen by the sheriff’s office.

With three weeks before theprimary, Shoap and Scott are jock-eying for position. Both havestacks of paperwork meant toprove each is the better candidate.Both have campaign platformsbased on snippets of data they’vecollected. Both want your vote intheprimary,andagainNov.4whenthewinner facesChristianMeister,who’s running with no party affili-ation.

“I can lower your crime andlower your budget at the sametime,” promises Shoap, Lee sherifffrom 2001 to 2005. “I can makeyour response times faster. You’llget prompt, courteous service.”

Scott’s sales pitch carries a dif-ferent tone.

“We’ll continue to do more ofthe same with traffic enforcement,marijuana grow houses and drugaddictions,” countered Scott, whodefeated Shoap in 2004. “And we’llcontinue to do that while avoidingthe negative, scandalous headlinesthat address ethics and integrity.”

Shoap and Scott do not see eyeto eye.

That’s politics.Here’s the tale of the tape:

Asking for cashIt’s seemingly a rite of spring:

the sitting sheriff lobbies LeeCounty commissioners for moremoney. A lot more money.

Annualbudget increases for thesheriff’s office range from 9 per-cent to 18 percent.

The department’s fiscal yearbegins in October and ends inSeptember.

So, what are Lee County resi-dents getting for their money?

¸ Rod Shoap says...Between Shoap’s first and

fourth years, the budget increased47.7 percent. Yet, Shoap said herarely heard complaints about big-ger budgets because commission-ers and citizens knew they weregetting more bang for their buck.Residents could feel safe in theircommunity, knew deputies wouldrush to their aid when summonedand trusted law enforcement, hesaid.

As for his opponent’s budgetincreases, Shoap believes Scottwastes money on boats, aircraft,62 SUVs, excess patrol cars and amobile communications com-mandunitwithawhopping$1mil-lion price tag.

“They are buying lots of toysand a lot of crap,” said Shoap, 54.

¸ Mike Scott says...UnderScott’swatch, thebudget

rose42percent fromYear 1 toYear4. There also was a 16.4 percentincrease in the transitional yearbetween Shoap and Scott’s admin-istration, a spending plan pro-posed during Shoap’s tenure butcarried out with Scott at the helm.

Budget growth is inevitable,Scott said, because of SouthwestFlorida’s population growth. Thecounty needs more law enforce-ment, just like it needs moreschools, hospitals and roads tohandle more people.

“The question isn’t the budgetitself; it’s what the money is beingspent on,” said Scott, 45.

And no, that’s not toys, Scottcounters. Big-ticket purchases likehelicopters and the mobile unitare tools law enforcement needsto carry out its mission of servingthe public and making the com-munity safer.

¸ The numbers say...The 144.1 percent budget

increase in eight years far out-paces inflation and populationgrowth. Financial Trend Forecast-er, a national publication, reports a25 percent total inflation rate fromJanuary 2001, when Shoap tookoffice, to the present.

Population also plays a role insetting budgets. The FloridaDepartment of Law Enforcementput the 2001 to 2007 populationincrease at 29.1 percent for the LeeCounty sheriff’s jurisdictionalarea; 2008 data will be releasednext spring. More people meansmore crime; more crime meansmore deputies; and more deputiesmeans more money to run thedepartment.

In neighboring Collier County,the sheriff’s jurisdictional areagrew from 227,722 to 294,932 resi-dents in seven years, a 29.5 percentpopulation boom nearly identicalto Lee’s rate. Collier’s annualbudget has shot up 121.4 percent,from $69 million in 2000-01 to$152.7 million this year.

If inflationwas thesole factor insetting Lee’s annual budget,Shoap’s first-year budget of $64.9million would have risen to $81.1million, not the $158.4 million it istoday.

The era of double-digit budgetincreases for the sheriff’s office isover, at least until the economyregains some traction. Scott pro-posed a 2.1 percent increase for2008-09, the smallest annual gainon record, Scott said. His planfreezes salaries while cuttingsome services not deemed mis-sion critical.

OrganizationstructuredLike any business, sheriff’s

offices have clearly defined orga-nizational structures.

An executive team, or cabinet,consists of upper-level manage-ment: the sheriff, chief deputy,colonel, bureau chiefs and some-timesmajors, dependingonwhichcandidate you ask. The budgetdirector and in-house attorneyalso partake in decision making.

The next level, mid-managersin the corporate world, includecaptains, lieutenants, sergeantsand corporals.

Then there are deputies andcorrections officers completingthe work force. On the civilianside, the sheriff’s office employssecretaries, dispatchers, recordsclerks and other clerical staff.

¸ Rod Shoap says...In his final year, Shoap defined

his executive team as himself;four bureau chiefs overseeingadministration, corrections, lawenforcement and operations; andone lieutenant — six people in all.Shoap did not consider his sixmajors, attorney or budget direc-tor as cabinet members.

Job titles aren’t as important toShoap as job duties, and he said ittook his entire four years to matchemployees’ skill levels withappropriate positions andsalaries.

“We had everybody at the rightlevels and the right pay grades,”Shoap said. “The first year, he(Scott) comes in and brings in abunch of guys and shot the wholething out of the water.”

Shoap believes his successorquickly elevated his cronies tohigh-paying positions eventhough they lacked adequatequalifications. Shoap already isplanning demotions, if elected.

“They’ll be better off goingback to a rank where they know

they can do the job,” he said. “Ihave to put people in there whocan really do the job.”

¸ Mike Scott says...Scott assembled an executive

team consisting of himself, onechief deputy, one colonel and sixmajors who oversee bureaus foradministration, patrol, jail, prison,criminal investigations and spe-cial operations — nine in all. Scottalso does not consider the attor-ney and budget director as cabi-net members but believes Shoaperred in not including majors inhis tally of executives.

“The number of people in myupper echelon are fewer,” saidScott, adding that his manage-ment team should reasonably belarger because the department asa whole is larger.

Yet, arguments about whoseadministration is fatter isn’t anissue on the voters’ mind, Scottproclaims.

“Until they are affected bycrime or have an encounter withthe sheriff’s office, they don’tspend a lot of time thinking aboutthat,” he said.

¸ The numbers say...Shoap and Scott define their

circle of trusts differently — andhow many managers are let intoclosed-door cabinet meetingsisn’t the sole determination of atop-heavy administration. It’s howmany upper-level managers areemployed, because along with afancy title comes a big salary.

In Year 1, Shoap had sevenexecutives at the major salarylevel or above: himself, fourmajors, one attorney and onebudget director. Their basesalaries in 2000-01 totaled$619,328.

By Year 4, though, that blos-somed into 13 executives: Shoap,plus four bureau chiefs, six majors,one attorney and one budgetdirector. Their base salaries

equaled $1.3 million in 2003-04.Like Shoap, Scott also restruc-

tured his administration, downsiz-ing to eight executives in 2004-05:himself, plus one chief deputy, oneattorney, one budget director andfour majors. Their base salariestotaled $954,357.

By 2007-08, Scott’s leadershipteam grew to nine individualsafter he added one colonel posi-tion, No. 3 in the hierarchy. Theirsalaries now add up to $1.2 million—$100,000 less thanShoap’sbrassfour years ago.

CountingcrimeThe Florida Department of

Law Enforcement tracks criminalactivity in jurisdictions across thestate. Lee County’s reports showdata from the sheriff’s office, portauthority, Florida Gulf Coast Uni-versity and police departments inFort Myers, Cape Coral and Sani-bel.

FDLE reports provide tallies inseven categories: murder, forciblerape, robbery, aggravated assault,burglary, larceny and motor vehi-cle theft.

¸ Rod Shoap says...Scott is a traffic cop turned traf-

fic sheriff, who devotes far toomuch attention to nabbing baddrivers, while quality-of-lifecrimes such as burglary and thefthave overwhelmed the communi-ty. Lehigh Acres is the matchstickof crime for all of Lee County,Shoap said, a spark able to fan thecrime fire with its easy access toColonial Boulevard and I-75.

“Lehigh Acres is killing us,”Shoap said. “It’s a war zone, and ifwe don’t get control of it, we can’tcontrol the rest of the county.Real bad people have moved intoLehigh Acres.

“We have leadership that hasdeputies out writing traffic tick-ets instead of fighting crimes.”

Shoap believes the currentsheriff is doctoring crime statis-tics, underreporting incidentsand downgrading offenses to cre-ate a crime state illusion that res-idents are safer under Scott’sleadership.

“That’s falsification of police

reports,” Shoap said. “That’s afelony in itself.”

And that’s one reason whyScott won’t get 84-year-old Vir-ginia Moore’s vote. She callsShoap a fine gentleman.

“You can trust him and knowhe’ll do everything in his power tohelp you,” said Moore, of CapeCoral. “I don’t like all of Scott’smudslinging. The first thing hedoes is tear down Rod Shoap, andthat’s what turned me off.”

¸ Mike Scott says...There is no evidence that Scott

has directed deputies to not filecrime reports or downgrade inci-dents, Scott said, yet Shoap keepsmaking that allegation.

“Rodhasgoneoutand takenhiscase to everyone in the free worldwho would listen,” Scott said.“Never has anyone given it anytraction.

“I want crime to go down, butnot at the risk of getting in trou-ble.”

Deputies are writing more tick-ets this year and pulling over baddrivers for two reasons, Scott said:An increased road presence slowsdown motorists and decreasescrashes, and deputies can spotweapons, drugs or nervous behav-ior by stopping a driver.

Scott agrees that Lehigh isground zero for the county’scrime. Since he was elected, locallaw enforcement has busted 178marijuana grow houses, predomi-nantly in Lehigh. The sheriff’soffice allocated $6.7 million in2007-08 to east district operations,compared to $3.5 million fouryears ago.

“We started an unprecedentedall-out assault on criminals inLehigh,” Scott said. “We’ll throwthem in jail, throw them in prisonor throw them out of town.”

¸ The numbers say...FDLE statistics break down

criminal activity year by year, andthat data is considered the officialmeasuring stick for criminal activ-ity and is subject to state audits.Robbery, aggravated assault, bur-glary and larceny steadily haveincreased over time, while mur-der, rape and motor vehicle theftshave bounced up and down.

The annual crime rate, a com-pilation of various offenses,shows the likelihood residentsare a victim of crime. Annualcrime rates under Shoap were41.7, 39.7, 35.7 and 37.9 victims per1,000 residents. Under Scott, it’sbeen 37.6, 38.0 and 40.6 per 1,000residents. Statistics from 2008will be released next spring.FDLE reports show residents ofunincorporated Lee County,Bonita Springs and Fort MyersBeach are no safer under Scottthan Shoap, or vice versa. How-ever, residents are less likely to bea victim of crime than they werea decade ago, before either candi-date was voted into office. In1998, the crime rate was 42.8 per1,000 residents.

Despite the slight uptick incrime reported in 2006 and 2007,Bonita Springs resident Paul VanValkenburg said he feels muchsafer than when he moved herefrom Colorado in 2003.

“It seems like law enforcementcoverage in Bonita got betterwhen Mike took office,” said VanValkenburg, 58. “I’m very happywith the way things are now.”

¸ Continued from A1

SHERIFF

¸ Searchable databases: Search crime statistics,staffing and budgets during the years when Rod

Shoap was sheriff and for Sheriff Mike Scott. ¸ Local candidate search: Check out where these two candidatesstand on key issues. ¸ Video: Watch our editorial board interview with Shoap and Scott. ¸ Story chat: Want toshare your views on this story? You’ll find it on our Web site, where you can log in, speak out and be heard.

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