By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Two long-time law enforcement officials are vying for the office of Wood County Sheriff. Current Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, who has held the position for 16 years, is being challenged by Ruth Babel-Smith, a former officer of the sheriff’s department.
Following are some of their viewpoints on where the sheriff’s office is and where it should be headed.
Babel-Smith, a Democrat, said she is seeking the top law enforcement office in the county because of her commitment to public safety.
“I am running because the present sheriff has lost his focus on what his job truly is,” she said.
Babel-Smith retired from the sheriff’s office after 25 years at the rank of lieutenant. She currently teaches in the peace officer training program at Owens Community College, and serves as an auxiliary officer with the Lake Township Police Department. She has a masters degree in criminal justice administration and is working on her doctoral degree in leadership studies.
“My main goal and policy is always public safety above politics,” she said.
Babel-Smith is critical of her opponent’s performance as sheriff. She has chided the deputy response times, the planned jail expansion, and some purchases made by the office.
According to Babel-Smith, it sometimes takes up to an hour for deputies to respond to calls in the southern part of the county because they spend too much time in the northern areas of the county.
“That’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” she said.
“I would have officers patrol where there are needs,” she said. “They don’t need to be patrolling in Perrysburg, Rossford or Bowling Green unless they request assistance.”
As for the proposed jail expansion, Babel-Smith isn’t certain that it is necessary.
“The trends nationally are for incarceration rates to go down, especially for pre-trial detainees,” she said. “I have to get in there and see the numbers.”
Babel-Smith questioned some of the purchases by the sheriff’s office, especially the drone. She said the office should be more fiscally responsible.
“I would be looking at the purchases, not just shiny objects,” she said.
If elected, Babel-Smith said she would focus on shoring up the staff.
“I would rebuild the morale within the sheriff’s office,” she said. “It’s become a stepping stone. There’s nothing at the sheriff’s office to keep them there anymore.”
She was also critical of the current sheriff’s relationship with other law enforcement agencies.
When smaller police departments request help, the sheriff’s office “comes in and takes over,” she said. “He is trying to be in charge of everybody. All law enforcement offices are supposed to be on the same team.”
Babel-Smith said she is committed to transparency and more community interaction, perhaps including citizens in policy reviews, hirings and promotions.
Babel-Smith accused the current sheriff of putting employee loyalty to him over public safety.
“It gives you a real good idea of where his priorities are.”
Incumbent Mark Wasylyshyn, a Republican, said he is committed to accountability, transparency, honesty, integrity and leadership.
“Those are the core values of the office,” he said.
He considers the 130,000 residents of the county as his bosses.
“I take it very seriously that I work for the people,” he said.
Before becoming sheriff, Wasylyshyn served as a sergeant in the Perrysburg Police Department, and an officer with Perrysburg Township Police. He has served as president of the Buckeye Sheriffs Association and is on the board of directors for the National Sheriffs Association.
As sheriff, Wasylyshyn said he has focused on increasing professionalism of the office, by spending significantly more money on training.
“We have well trained deputies and we’re giving them the tools they need,” he said.
Transparency is paramount, the sheriff said. All patrol cars have dash cameras, and the office was the first in the region to get body cameras. The patrol cars have GPS to monitor speed, location and use of emergency lights. There are also 130 cameras in the jail.
“That’s part of that transparency and accountability,” he said.
Wasylyshyn said he has worked to hire employees who are service-minded.
“That’s the mentality we’ve been hiring,” he said. “We treat everybody with respect, on the roads and in the jail.”
Sheriff’s employees are held accountable, he said, citing “zero tolerance” for dishonesty.
Wasylyshyn praised the sheriff’s dispatch center for its efficiency.
The county dispatch center, which handles more than 40,000 911 calls a year, dispatches for 30 fire and EMS departments, 12 police departments, and receives all 911 calls from cell phones in the county. According to Wasylyshyn, 99% of calls to dispatch are answered within 10 seconds.
The ability for dispatch to get 911 text messages is in the final stages of testing, he said.
With such a large geographic area to cover, deputies are dedicated to patrol specific areas of the county. “They are assigned to their districts” and only go elsewhere when requested, he said.
As for his opponent’s criticism about deputy response times, Wasylyshyn said the average response time for emergency and non-emergency calls is 11 minutes and 27 seconds.
As for the jail expansion, Wasylyshyn said the project is on hold due to COVID-19. The population of the jail has dropped, and is now hovering around 110.
“I expect those numbers to go back up, but I hope I’m wrong,” he said.
Wasylyshyn said the expansion of the jail booking and medical areas is necessary, but the housing space may not be.
“We’re waiting to see what’s going to happen with the numbers,” he said.
The jail has consistently received inspection scores of 100% from the Bureau of Adult Detention, he said. The jail has had no cases of COVID among inmates.
“We have a clean, safe, healthy jail,” he said. “We have become a benchmark for other counties on how a jail should be run.”
Efforts are continuing at the jail to provide more mental health services.
“Sheriffs are the No. 1 provider of mental health care in the country,” he said. “It would be better for them to be served at a facility that is not a jail.” But until then, efforts will be made to offer more mental health care, he said.
Among Wasylyshyn’s goals is to “continue building trust with the community.”
This past summer, the sheriff was invited to march with the Black Lives Matter protest after George Floyd’s death, and to listen to concerns. For more than two hours, he stood toward the front of the rally to hear the speakers and take their criticisms of law enforcement.
“I’m hearing there are people who are scared of us,” he said. “I need to work with the minority community to eliminate the fear. I think it’s important for me to reach out to all parts of the community.”
Wasylyshyn said his office will continue to partner with the county engineer’s office to monitor for overweight traffic on local roads. Almost daily, trucks exceeding weight limits are found damaging roads and bridges.
“Our goal is compliance,” the sheriff said.
Wasylyshyn said he is committed to meeting the needs of local residents by performing vacation checks, funeral escorts, ID cards for children, golf cart checks, and participation in a Citizens Police Academy.
“I am constantly looking for more ways to serve the public,” he said.
