Former Jefferson County sheriff seeks return to his post

February 01, 2012

Boober

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Editor’s note: This is another in a series of Eastern Panhandle candidate previews that The Herald-Mail will be running over the next several months. The announcements also will be posted on our website, www.herald-mail.com, through the West Virginia primary on May 8. To submit announcements, email them and a color photo (preferably a jpeg) to billk@herald-mail.com or matthew.umstead@herald-mail.com. Any questions? Call 301-791-7281.

Two-term former Jefferson County Sheriff Everett “Ed” Boober has announced his bid to wrest his old job back from incumbent Sheriff Robert E. “Bobby” Shirley, who succeeded Boober in 2008.

Sheriffs in West Virginia are limited to two consecutive, four-year terms. They can run again after being out of office for at least one term.

Boober, 71, will face Shirley in the May 8 Democratic primary.

Boober has spent 38 years in law enforcement, including 21 years in theWashington, D.C., police department, nine years as chief of the Ranson (W.Va.) Police Department as well as his eight years as Jefferson County’s sheriff, according to his news release.

He has also served as interim chief of the Shepherd University Police Department since September. That position will end when the university hires a permanent police chief, he said.

Boober said in the release that he’s running because of his “sincere desire to return to police service where I can have a positive effect on how police service is delivered to our citizens.”

He said he will increase the number of criminal investigators in the department, a division that he established. He also plans to increase training opportunities for deputies in both the law enforcement and tax office divisions.

He added deputies, increased salaries and improved employee benefits during his first terms, all of which enhanced the morale of the department’s employees, he said.

He plans to increase efforts to enforce the laws governing out-of-state-registration to ensure that local vehicle owners have proper West Virginia registrations.

“I’m running because I feel that I haven’t finished the job I started in the sheriff’s department,” Boober said in an interview last week.

The sheriff’s job pays $44,800 a year. In addition, the compensation includes 15 percent commission on all delinquent taxes collected each year.

Boober and his wife, Gail Boober, a Jefferson County magistrate, live on Kings Nest Drive in Charles Town.

|

|

|