1. Work with other law enforcement agencies to address family violence issues, property crimes and drug abuse 2. Work closely with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and re-establish the Oxford County Drug Task Force to combat the use and misuse of drugs. 3. Rebuild and relocate the department’s criminal investigative division. 4. Implement administrative procedures that build excellence in operations and trust within the department. 5. Establish a family violence task force. 6. Develop a property crime task force to better combat property crimes. 7. Improve training and equipment for correctional officers to address safety issues for the inmates, both in the jail and as they are transported. 8. Continue programs that protect seniors, and welcome new ones. 9. Pursue grants aggressively to continue existing programs. 10. Increase visibility in the community by having a more effective patrol presence, public presentations and informational publicity and collaborative enforcement and investigations.

OXFORD COUNTY SHERIFF
Gallant attributes win to reputation

PARIS – Some have described Wayne Gallant as an honest leader and hope he can instill positive attitudes in the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

Gallant, chief of the Wilton Police Department, beat Christopher Wainwright, chief deputy of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, 12,919 to 10,758 votes in Tuesday’s general election.

Gallant, who lives in Rumford, attributes his victory to the River Valley area, where he picked up 2,107 votes in Rumford and 930 in Mexico. He said he got those votes because of his experience with the Rumford Police Department, where he worked for 17 years.

“People know I’m honest,” Gallant said.

Gallant, 57, is succeeding Sheriff Lloyd “Skip” Herrick of Paris, who has been in office since 1991 and is retiring. Herrick, a Republican who lives in Paris, replaced Democrat Alton Howe, who served 18 years.

Gallant’s term starts Jan. 1, 2007. In the interim, he said he will spend his time helping Wilton transition to a new chief and getting to know the Sheriff’s Office.

While disappointed by the loss, Wainwright, 35, who lives in Canton, said he is still young and he has aspirations to make another run for sheriff in the future.

“When you get elected sheriff at age 35, you have no place to go but down,” the Republican said.

He said he will work hard and stay with the Sheriff’s Office. He is not sure what position he will have in the new administration. His former position, lieutenant in charge of road patrol, is vacant.

“My recommendation to the sheriff is to get through the end of this year (before making changes),” he said.

Wainwright said he respects Gallant and his experience, and looks forward to working with him.

“He does have 23 years on me,” Wainwright said.

Wainwright said he is happy he didn’t lose by a large margin and glad the count wasn’t so close that there could have been a recount.

Reactions around the Sheriff’s Office, jail and regional communications center were mixed Wednesday, Lt. Edward Quinn said.

Some appreciated the change. One jail official noted that she welcomed the new administration and looked forward to seeing some changes.

Some were not phased by the results.

“I’ve worked under two sheriff’s, I’ll work under a third,” Sgt. Tim Holland of Peru said.

Regional Communications Center director James P. Miclon said he was thrilled by the election results. He has worked with Gallant, and said he will be able to better connect the department with the community.

“I think it’s going to be a great thing for the county of Oxford,” Miclon said.

Miclon had worked with Wainwright, Herrick and former Chief Deputy James Davis before moving over to the center.

“In talking with a couple dozen state and county employees, they are very enthusiastic and happy to see change,” Miclon said.

Roland Castonguay, a former Sheriff’s Office deputy, campaigned for Gallant. He said he had ties with many deputies in the Sheriff’s Office that did not like the way Wainwright and Herrick ran the department.

“I am a very happy man, the right candidate won,” Castonguay said.

Former Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Gary Hill of Waterford said previously that he hoped Gallant would win. He said he left the department because he did not agree with the way it was being run. He is now a detective with the Norway Police Department.

“He (Wainwright) has been very regimented in dealing with the other employees,” Hill said in an Oct. 30 interview.

Gallant has a 10-point plan for the department, outlined in his campaign literature.

He said last month that it is his experience as an administrator that makes him qualified for the job.

“After 19 years as an administrator I know that I have the qualifications,” he said.