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| Sheriff Welsh leads statewide association
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Published: Monday, July 27, 2009
By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN, Staff Writer
WEST CHESTER — When Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh ran for Chester County sheriff in 1999, she was not just breaking the mold that defined that position because of her gender, although she was the first woman to seek the position in its history.
Welsh defied the traditional logic of having the position of sheriff filled by a retired police officer. The man she succeeded and the candidate she ran against in the Republican primary both had backgrounds as state police troopers. The argument against her was that, despite her work as a state constable, she did not have the requisite job experience in law enforcement.
Welsh defied those odds, won election and has served as county sheriff since 2000. She is now serving her third term.
On July 17, she was elected and sworn in as president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association. And Welsh again established herself as a ground-breaker and disproved anyone who believed she could not perform the tasks associated with the position she calls "the only law enforcement official that is elected and answers directly to the people."
In the 90-year history of the association, a female sheriff has never been elected to the top leadership position.
"This is an historic moment for the sheriffs of Pennsylvania and the Sheriffs Association" said Bob Merski of Erie County, whom Welsh succeeds.
Before administering the oath of office to Welsh, Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin spoke of the honor of swearing in the first woman president.
"I am extremely proud of Sheriff Welsh and all she has accomplished as sheriff of Chester County. I am proud of her emergence as a leader of such an august body. It is a privilege to be part of this historic moment, and I am honored," she said.
Asked about the her election during an interview in her ground-floor office at the Chester County Justice Center, Welsh said she was proud to accept the title — although as a member of the association's executive committee for five years, she had seen it coming.
"You are always honored (by such designations)," she said. "It's an election by your peers. I've worked well with the other 66 sheriffs in the Commonwealth. To be elected to represent all the sheriffs in the Commonwealth is challenging, because there is so much diversity in the state."
Welsh acknowledged that she had helped change the face of the position, not only because of her gender but also because of her background. In addition to serving as a constable, she ran marketing and construction businesses and played roles in community organizations.
In Pennsylvania, county sheriffs are the enforcement arm of the Common Plea Court. They guard and transport prisoners, provide security for courtrooms and judges, and handle warrants for civil cases.
Though uninvolved in investigative or patrol work as are municipal and state police, sheriffs nevertheless can be put in harm's way, as evidenced by the 2004 shooting of two deputy sheriffs by a Kennett man.
"I see some sheriffs emerging from other professions than being a state trooper or a municipal police officer," Welsh said. "Some come from the law, some come from a business background. I still think here is a prevalence for a cop or trooper or prosecutor to take the position, though.
"But this is a huge office, and it's a challenging administrative job," she said. "It's not a gender thing. It's doing a good job and gaining the confidence of your peers."
Welsh said her terms as PSA president would be focused on maintaining the cooperation among all law enforcement agencies in the state, and improving them where need be. She said an effort to pass legislation that would give deputy sheriffs more patrol and investigate powers had died in the General Assembly, and that she did not anticipate pushing the same bill in her year in office.
"Maybe in another form," she said, noting that there had been changes in leadership among the state police, who had bitterly opposed giving sheriffs more power. "My feeling is that there are some compromises that can be made."
She also raised the possibility of looking into regional cooperative efforts between sheriff departments, so that adjacent departments might share some tasks to save taxpayer dollars. Why send deputies from neighboring counties to pick up prisoners at the same state prison at the same time across the state when one could do, she asked.
"I'm not sure how that could be done," she said. "But it seems to me with all the technology that we have that it would be a resource for some sheriff offices."
In addition to her position as PSA president, Welsh has also served as president of the class at the National Sheriffs' Institute at the U.S. Department of Corrections and on the National Sheriffs' Association Committee for Ethics, Education and Training.
She has received numerous awards including the "Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award" from the National Center for Women in Policing. Welsh is a graduate of the FBI Leeds training program. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Police Association.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan, send an e-mail to mrellahan@dailylocal.com. |
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