Ahlemann's Tough Talk Fails to Win Favor at Polls

By Bill Brubaker (Contact)

Sunday, November 11, 2007

On the campaign trail, former Loudoun County sheriff's deputy Greg J. Ahlemann was never shy in describing just how soundly he had defeated three-term sheriff Stephen O. Simpson for the Republican nomination in June. "Trounced" and "landslide" were words his campaign Web site used.

Ahlemann's nomination at the Republican convention in Ashburn was quite a feat, considering he had never held a management job in law enforcement.

In Tuesday's election, however, it was Ahlemann who got trounced by Simpson, who bolted from the Republican Party to run as an independent. It wasn't a landslide, but Simpson was the leading vote getter in six of the eight Loudoun districts. Democratic challenger Michael E. George captured two and Ahlemann none.

So what happened?

Simpson said the result showed that voters had embraced his experience in law enforcement — 34 years, the past 12 as Loudoun sheriff — and rejected Ahlemann's contention that deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes was the most important issue facing Loudoun.

"There are other issues that people care about and that need to be dealt with," Simpson said.

George, a former Fairfax County police detective and supervisor, said a turning point in the hotly contested race was Ahlemann's admission in a recent interview that he had sometimes fixed speeding tickets for friends of fellow officers during his 10 years as a deputy.

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Loudoun County Republican sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann campaigns outside Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Republican sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann talks with voters outside Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Maggie Howland and her neighbor, Caroline Wheatley, 3 1/2 years old, watch as Maggie's ballot is fed into an AccuVote machine at Precinct 107, Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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South Riding resident Maggie Howland marks her ballot with the help of her neighbors, Jack Wheatley, 1 1/2 years old, and Caroline Wheatley, 3 1/2 years old, at Precinct 107, Little River Elementary School in South Riding. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson campaigns on Election Day. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson waits for voters outside Round Hill Center with supporter Mary Leonard. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson talks with voter Roberta Heugh outside Round Hill Center on Election Day. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Edwin IV, 6, and Breanna, 8, wait for dad, Edwin Harmon II, as he votes Tuesday at Precinct 106, Eagle Ridge Middle School. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Voters turn out to cast a vote at Precinct 106, located at Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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"If I had to guess, he lost a lot of votes because of that," George said.

Simpson said voters may have been especially turned off by Ahlemann's assertion that he would not discourage deputies from fixing tickets if elected sheriff.

"That just breeds corruption," Simpson said. "Because what happens when somebody gets a ticket from someone who doesn't know a cop as a friend? That's when you find a folded $50 bill stuck in a driver's license and those kinds of things. That's unacceptable."

Ahlemann agreed that the ticket-fixing issue may have troubled some voters. But he said it's doubtful that any one factor led to Simpson's triumph.

"My stance on illegal immigration was probably not in the majority of what a lot of the voters wanted to hear, although I still think I'm right on that issue," Ahlemann said. "And, you know, I kind of get caught in having an 'R' beside my name in an election that went almost all Democrat. That made it challenging as well."

On a night when four Republican incumbents on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors were ousted by Democrats, more than 50,000 votes were cast in the sheriff's race. Simpson got 39 percent, George got 34 percent, and Ahlemann got 27 percent.

Ahlemann ran the most aggressive campaign, going on the attack almost as soon as he quit the sheriff's department in January to start his campaign.

He promised to restore "honesty and integrity" to a department that, he said, had lost its way. And he made immigration the centerpiece of his campaign, asserting that illegal immigrants were driving up Loudoun's crime rate. He accused Simpson of being slow to endorse a special training program with federal immigration authorities.

Simpson and George said illegal immigrants were not committing a disproportionate number of crimes in Loudoun. Simpson said that only one of every 20 gang members arrested in the county over the past year was in the United States illegally.

On his Web site, Ahlemann called Simpson an "out of touch politician who has ignored the law enforcement needs of Loudoun County." And in a recent television interview, he called Simpson a liar for saying that he could not recall ever having fixed a ticket.

Simpson said Ahlemann's "negative campaigning" also played a role in the result.

"The outcome of the election showed that people are tired of this," Simpson said. "I don't think anyone has a problem if you come up and say, 'You know, I think I can do a better job' because of this or that. But just to throw stuff out there and see what sticks is wrong."

What Simpson called negative campaigning, however, Ahlemann called honesty.

"I don't regret anything that I ever did or ever said throughout the campaign," Ahlemann said. "You know, I told the truth no matter what the cost was. And I'm comfortable with that."

As for the future, while Simpson is preparing to begin his fourth term as sheriff, George is continuing his work as chief investigator for the District-based Recording Industry Association of America and Ahlemann is looking for another job in law enforcement.

Ahlemann, 37, said he doesn't rule out another run for what he calls "higher office."

"You know, a lot of people throughout history — from Winston Churchill to Abe Lincoln — weren't successful in their first try," he said. "But, you know, they also told the truth, and one ended up saving the Union and the other ended up rescuing England from Hitler."

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