Lee set to end Sheriff's Office controversy

Sheriff-elect Robert T. Lee says Sussex County voters are tired of controversy when it comes to the sheriff.

“They want to go back to normalcy of what the Sheriff's Office is in this state – period,” he said. “We can't continue with this controversy that is not accomplishing anything.”

Over the past four years, Sussex Sheriff Jeff Christopher filed two lawsuits against the county on the grounds that as a conservator of the peace, the state's constitution gives him arrest powers.

In June 2012, the Delaware General Assembly passed House Bill 325 denying arrest powers for county sheriffs in Delaware. Christopher simultaneously filed a lawsuit against county officials asking the court to rule that he could carry out some law enforcement duties.

In March 2013, Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves ruled Delaware sheriffs do not have arrest powers and cannot act as police officers. That ruling was later upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court.

Lee defeated Christopher in the Republican primary, but Christopher then decided to run as a write-in candidate. In the general election, Lee won with 61 percent of the vote over Democrat Beau Gooch of Milton. Unofficially, Christopher garnered about 6,000 write-in votes.

During the primary, Lee made it clear where he stood on the duties of the Sheriff's Office. “I will focus on getting back to the job description of the sheriff without creating controversy and causing court cases,” he said. “I want to bridge that gap between the county council, courts and police departments. We can get a lot more accomplished when we all work together.”

Lee said he does not support Christopher's view that the Sheriff's Office needs arrest powers to carry out its job, which includes delivering court papers and conducting sheriff's sales. Lee said the Sussex Sheriff's Office is not a branch of law enforcement.

Lee said the staff should become involved in community events. “I'm not against doing good things in the community that promote the good of the county,” he said.

After looking at the numbers, Lee said he was amazed that he was able to pick up a lot of votes in southeastern Sussex, an area where he didn't do well in the primary. “The Republican clubs helped me out a lot. They did an awesome job for me,” he said. “And I can't say enough about the voters in Seaford. They paid me back in full for 25 years I served on the police department.”