Know Your Sheriff ACLU workshop for Barnstable County intends to empower voter

EDITOR NOTE: This story was updated with the political party of Donna Buckley, a candidate for Barnstable County Sheriff. Also, the story was updated to provide the correct number of current inmates and staff members at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility.

BARNSTABLE — When many people envision a sheriff, they see a gun-toting member of law enforcement chasing people down or facing gunfire in Texas or Utah, David Purdy said.

That's not the role of sheriffs in the Bay State, though.

"They don't chase people down. They don't enforce the law. They don't arrest people," said Purdy, chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Action Team, an arm of the Nauset Interfaith Association. "They are actually responsible for the incarceration of prisoners in the county jail."

Because the role of sheriff is an elected position, for Purdy, it's important for Barnstable County residents to understand what a sheriff does.

That is why Purdy is co-leading "Know Your Sheriff,” an American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts public education forum, which will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 24.

The virtual workshop will also be led by Olivia Santoro, community outreach strategist for American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts, and is part of the organization's statewide Know Your Sheriff public education campaign.

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The forum is the first workshop since Know Your Sheriff was launched in April.

Hosts also include Cape Media Center, Cape Cod Times, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and the Cape Cod Area, Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition, Massachusetts Voter Table, Nauset Interfaith Association, Amplify POC Cape Cod, and Cape Cod Coalition for Safe Communities.

Most Massachusetts voters don’t know who their sheriff is

The campaign itself was born out of a poll commissioned by the ACLU that revealed a lack of knowledge among Massachusetts voters about the roles and responsibilities of sheriffs, Santoro said.

"We found that only 17% of voters could correctly name their sheriffs," she said. "We also found that 41% of voters didn't know at all that sheriffs were elected."

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Despite the percentages being lower than expected, Santoro said results were also encouraging because there was time to educate voters before primary elections on Sept. 6, and the general election on Nov. 8.

"The poll also asked voters how likely they were to vote in the sheriff's election," Santoro said. "After hearing all of the facts about the impacts that a sheriff has on their community, 71% of voters said that they were very likely to vote in the next election."

Voter accountability

With 46 active chapters and about 3,000 members of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Patricia Comfort, executive director, said "Know Your Sheriff" can empower a spectrum of voters across the state.

"When the ACLU asked us to lend our voice to these workshops, we realized this is the perfect program to make sure voters understand what power the sheriff has," she said. "And the fact that sheriffs are not accountable to anybody except the voters."

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With that lack of accountability, Comfort said, sheriffs are running their own show.

"To me, it makes it all that more important that they are accountable – at least in terms of who elects them," she said. "Voters, in turn, should know what they're (the sheriff) doing in the voters' name."

Two-decade tenure for James Cummings in Barnstable County

Sheriff James Cummings is the 34th sheriff of Barnstable County, and was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016, according to the Barnstable County Sheriff's office.

According to an earlier Times article, Cummings was initially elected over former state Rep. Thomas Cahir, and didn't face a challenger until 2016 when he won against Democratic opponent Randy Azzato.

The Barnstable County Correctional Facility, which is in Bourne, currently houses 160 inmates, Cummings said.

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The facility is run by 145 staff members, he said.

Cummings has announced he won't run for re-election in 2022. Falmouth attorney Donna Buckley, a Democrat, and state Rep. Timothy Whelan, R-Brewster, have announced their intentions to run.

Jeanne Morrison, co-vice-president of the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area, said Cummings has remained in place for 24 years, in part, because there are no term limits.

What's more, she said, is not a single incumbent Massachusetts sheriff, including Cummings, lost their seat in 2016. Six candidates also ran unopposed, she said.

"There's been problems with a lack of voter education, voter registration and civic engagement," she said. "This statewide campaign is about enlightening voters and educating them about the role of sheriff and to encourage them to engage in local elections."

What does the sheriff do?

The educational forum also plans to reveal what the sheriff's responsibilities are, said Morrison.

The sheriff is the custodial provider for prisoners; is in charge of prisoner transportation; provides inmate medical and addiction treatment, including access to vaccinations; designs re-entry programs; provides access to visitors and attorneys; is in charge of phone access and cost; regulates access to voting; and is in control of the sheriff's department budget.

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"We've got to be informed of what the sheriff actually does," Morrison said. "And then get to know who the candidates are and what they stand for."

ICE agreement unique to Barnstable County

"Know Your Sheriff" will be held in all 14 Massachusetts counties, but the workshop will also tap into life-changing decisions the sheriff makes specific to Barnstable County, Purdy said.

"The workshop will concentrate a little bit on Cape Cod and the unique situations that prevail here relative to the sheriff," Purdy said.

One aspect that's regional to the Cape is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) agreement, which allows deputies to carry out some of the responsibilities of ICE agents. Cummings is the only sheriff in the state to continue the 287(g) agreement, said Purdy.

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"The county currently has an arrangement with federal immigration. We will talk about what that means," he said. "Do we (Cape citizens) want that or not? Do the candidates that are running value that program? That would be something to discuss with the candidates in a debate or discussion."

Supportive services go far at the polls

How inmates across the state have been treated during the opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic is of concern, Comfort said.

"What are sheriffs doing to make sure that folks that are in their custody are getting treatment? So that when they are released, they're in better shape than they were going in," she said. "Who knows what was going on inside their houses of correction in regards to health safety. My guess is, not that much."

Regarding health inside prison systems, Santoro said the poll showed 82% of voters are supportive of drug and alcohol rehab, and consider mental and physical health of inmates to be a very or extremely important quality in weighing candidates for sheriff.

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In addition, 65% of voters said providing services for mental health, drug treatment, and emotional support should be a top priority for people in jails and houses of correction.

The reality is, said Santoro, sheriffs have the power to increase treatment opportunities for inmates with substance abuse or mental health problems. They can also help control the spread of diseases like COVID by providing tests and vaccines. Sheriffs can also choose to respect civil rights or promote policies that prevent families from splitting apart.

"Are we going to take a public health approach or are sheriffs going to contribute to a model of punishment and retribution," she said. "There's lots of different issues that voters want to be thinking about when they go to the polls."

Knowledge is power, according to League of Women Voters

Comfort said the workshop will help illustrate what a sheriff's responsibilities are so voters can make informed decisions when they cast their ballots.

"Hopefully people walk away thinking, ‘I had no idea, but now I'm gonna pay attention,'” she said. "People will get the information and then feel like it's their duty to make sure they're not just leaving the sheriff box blank on the ballot."

Staff writer Rachael Devaney was a board member of Amplify POC Cape before joining the Times.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable County holding Know Your Sheriff forum for voters