A message from paul
I am running for Sheriff because I think we need a Sheriff who is about transparency, reform, and public safety.
Care, Custody, Control, and Rehabilitation - that is the job of a Sheriff in Massachusetts. That is what I am going to focus on, so the taxpayers' dollars are being spent prudently and wisely.
My priorities are managing the jail system in a modern manner and in doing so truly keeping people safe while saving taxpayers’ money.
What makes me different is that I will measure if programs reduce reoffending so we can do more of what works, and reform what doesn't work. The incumbent Sheriff has never done this in 25 years in office.
There is a revolving door where many offenders leave jail only to end up back in again. That cycle leaves us with more crime victims and more individuals who never get on track. I will put safety first; a big part of that is discharge planning from the time someone is admitted to jail, focusing on rehabilitation, returning citizens to society as non-offenders.
I also believe in term limits for executive political positions. I don’t believe an elected executive should stay in office for 25 years, as our current Sheriff has. And he’s seeking another six-year term!
That’s not what our founders intended.
My goal as Sheriff of Bristol County is to use my previous experience working in corrections and in public service to reform the county jail, making it better. I was elected to three terms as the Second Bristol District State Representative. I was elected to three terms as the Mayor of Attleboro. Both times I held myself to a voluntary term limit. I want to serve as Sheriff of Bristol County to enact important reforms, not be a Sheriff for life, and then move on.
Care, Custody, Control, and Rehabilitation - that is the job of a Sheriff in Massachusetts. That is what I am going to focus on, so the taxpayers' dollars are being spent prudently and wisely.
My priorities are managing the jail system in a modern manner and in doing so truly keeping people safe while saving taxpayers’ money.
What makes me different is that I will measure if programs reduce reoffending so we can do more of what works, and reform what doesn't work. The incumbent Sheriff has never done this in 25 years in office.
There is a revolving door where many offenders leave jail only to end up back in again. That cycle leaves us with more crime victims and more individuals who never get on track. I will put safety first; a big part of that is discharge planning from the time someone is admitted to jail, focusing on rehabilitation, returning citizens to society as non-offenders.
I also believe in term limits for executive political positions. I don’t believe an elected executive should stay in office for 25 years, as our current Sheriff has. And he’s seeking another six-year term!
That’s not what our founders intended.
My goal as Sheriff of Bristol County is to use my previous experience working in corrections and in public service to reform the county jail, making it better. I was elected to three terms as the Second Bristol District State Representative. I was elected to three terms as the Mayor of Attleboro. Both times I held myself to a voluntary term limit. I want to serve as Sheriff of Bristol County to enact important reforms, not be a Sheriff for life, and then move on.
A new vision for the county jail matters
Some of the goals I want to achieve as your Sheriff are:
- Keep you safe by running a professional modern jail system
- Focus on reducing reoffending through rehabilitation
- Measure the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs
- Publicize the results
- Reform programs that do not work
- Expand programs that do work
- Boost the three pillars of prisoner reentry through post-release discharge planning on:
- Housing to reduce homelessness upon release
- Employment through education and skills training
- Health care including drug addiction treatment and mental health treatment
- Prioritize correctional officer advanced training in:
- working with mental illness
- de-escalation tactics
- implicit bias awareness
- duty to intervene
- Make our jail system a modern national model in evidence producing and transparent corrections
I don’t believe any of these are being
done to a satisfactory level.
We can do better.
We will do better.
done to a satisfactory level.
We can do better.
We will do better.
Experience matters
|
|
I am the only candidate in the primary with prior experience working in corrections, experience managing large budgets, experience running successful campaigns, and experience being elected.
At 45 years old, I have experience working in the Philadelphia county jail system, and the Massachusetts state prison system. I served as a state representative law maker on the public safety committee, and as a mayor overseeing a police department. I have a master’s in Criminology and have been published over 100 times on crime policy including topics such as jails, prisons and corrections, drugs and mental health, gun violence, and mental health awareness.