Michael E. George

Occupaton: Director of investigative services, Recording Industry Association of America.

Education: BS, political science, State Univ. of New York at Brockport; AA, police science, Suffolk County Community College.

Elected offices/civic activities: Vice president, Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Intelligence Network, 1996-99; president, Northern Virginia Regional Criminal Justice Academy class, 1980; assistant coach, Lower Loudoun Little League; assistant coach, Lower Loudoun Girls Softball League; volunteer, Park View Band Aides.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why should voters elect you?

A: I am the only candidate who has previous experience working in a rapidly growing community with changing demographics.

Q: What do you think is the most urgent problem facing your jurisdiction?

A: There are three areas of urgency in Loudoun County at this time. We need to address the problems associated with illegal immigration including developing reasonable solutions that can be accomplished with the resources available. I want to target gang activity and use zero tolerance with enforcement measures when dealing with the gang members. And with current trends we need to increase our training and information sharing capabilities with the Department of Homeland Security in preparation for a major incident within the county.

Q: What other challenges do you think the sheriff's office will face over the next four years, and how will you meet those challenges?

A: Aside from immigration, the main challenge the Sheriff’s office faces is preparation for a terrorist type incident. Loudoun County is not a bedroom community anymore and all major shopping malls, Dulles Airport, the FAA and Mount Weather are prime targets for this type of activity. We need to increase training, work with neighboring law enforcement agencies and Federal and State authorities. We also need to develop a plan of information sharing and training with the fire departments, local area hospitals, schools and volunteer organizations. There is strength in numbers but our efforts must be coordinated and a plan must be in place. Another important consideration is to keep qualified people in the Sheriff’s office. It cost approximately $100,000 to completely train a deputy to be qualified to work the street. To lose them to another agency after 3 or 4 years is unacceptable. This can be achieved with competitive benefits packages, salary and training. Highlighting the cost of retraining vs. the cost of losing experience qualified people should be the catalyst needed to effect a change.

Q: What will you do to ensure that the county's crime-fighting resources keep pace with population growth?

A: Again, you need to assess the current situation and problems, develop a strategic plan and announce the findings of what needs to be done and if not done what the consequences could be for non-compliance. Some of the current issues we now face should have been addressed and targeted five years ago. You also need to develop a task force mentality, working on the premise that there is strength in numbers. Then you also get to share resources and information. Working with Federal, State and Local departments, not just within the public safety field, will highlight your mission and bring the needed attention to the Board of Supervisor and the community itself.

Q: What is the appropriate role for the sheriff's office in enforcement of federal immigration laws, and how do you view the current debate in Loudoun on the issue of illegal immigration?

A: I believe that the appropriate course of action as Sheriff would be to assist the Board of Supervisors with an assessment of the situation in order to determine what the impact of this problem is on the community and the Sheriff’s Office. I don’t want to be shooting from the hip. Part of the assessment is to look at the ramifications of the actions you take. If we were to concentrate on rounding up undocumented aliens, do we have the facilities to hold them, the manpower to transport them and the budget to pay for the entire process? Will they be released or held, keeping in mind that they are entitled to a hearing. If they are continually released because of a minor infraction or a status violation is the program effective? We would then have to determine the resources that are needed not only budgetary resources: but in terms of manpower, equipment and how willing we are to reallocate our current resources to achieve this goal. Once an assessment is completed we need to develop a strategic plan for implementation. The strategic plan needs to look at the root cause of the problem to be successful. Why are the undocumented workers coming here and how do we prevent it? The immigration problem is an economy based issue. Most undocumented workers come here to work hard and in a many cases will accept jobs that many others won’t, under conditions that are not acceptable to most of us. They come knowing they will be either abused by unscrupulous employers or by some type of criminal element. Their determination to get here and succeed is fueled by our economy. We need to target fraudulent document mills, enforce employer sanctions and, create educational programs about fraudulent documents. We can administer the training through local business associations such as the Chamber of Commerce. -- We need to create an Advisory Board on Immigration. -- Have a county liaison with ICE. -- Cooperate with Federal authorities to enforce employer sanctions. ICE has found that widespread document fraud has made it difficult to enforce the employer sanction. Under current law, employers must attest that documents presented to them appear genuine; making it difficult to prove that an employer has knowingly hired an illegal worker who presented faked documents. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona said, “An insufficient workplace-enforcement system could be the 'Achilles heel' of any effort to overhaul immigration laws”. We need to work with I.C.E. and use the 287g program. The true function of the Sheriff’s Office is to reduce crime. Using intelligence based community policing to identify high crime areas and target those areas with Selective Enforcement Teams, enforcing even the most minor infractions, should be a priority (Zero Tolerance). This enforcement is criminal based not ethnic based and when crime is reduced very few people are left unhappy. The people who are arrested and found to be undocumented aliens will be subject to enforcement under the 287g guidelines. Why target criminals? If an undocumented alien is charged with a felony and deported he is barred for life to ever come into the United States legally. If he re-enters, the criminal charge is 20 years in jail. If he is deported for being here illegally and re-enters our country the criminal charge carries 5 years. Using 287g to charge undocumented aliens with a minor crime or a status violation is a catch release program. They are entitled to a hearing and in most cases released on a $500 bond. This is due to a lack of detention facilities. How much man power, time and money do we want to use for this type of enforcement? Additionally, I would develop a task force working with the Zoning Department and work on targeting zoning violations. Again this is criminally based enforcement, zero tolerance and working with I.C.E. if the arrested subject is an undocumented alien. I view the current debate in Loudoun on the issue of illegal immigration as a shoot from the hip response. The current problem is complex, created by Congress and there is no immediate solution. I am against undocumented aliens who are beating the system, by-passing the millions of people who are trying to enter the country the correct way. But we need to study the root cause of the problem and figure out how to make our community a place that does not offer the opportunity that draws undocumented aliens here now.

Your Thoughts...

Results of a county survey indicate 92 percent of Loudoun residents think highly of the county's quality of life. How do you rank it?