David Cahoon for Sheriff

CHESAPEAKE, Va. - David is a life long resident of Chesapeake, growing up and still residing in the Great Bridge area with his wife Rosalyn. He lives within five minutes of his parents, siblings, stepson and his wife, and an almost two-year old granddaughter that he proudly admits, “I love hearing her call me Ganddad.” After graduating from Great Bridge High School in 1980, he earned an Associates Degree in Police Science from TCC, Law Enforcement Administration Certificate and was hired by the Chesapeake Sheriff’s office in 1984.

He was promoted to Senior Deputy during the 21 years he worked for the Chesapeake Sheriff’s office, gaining hands-on knowledge in all areas of the Correctional Facility. David had assignments in the departments of Booking, Classification, Work Release, Transportation and the various areas of the jail. He is proud of the time he spent in the Special Operations Divisions, including Fugitive Apprehension, K9 SWAT and being a Certified Hostage Negotiator trained by the FBI. He was a Field Training Officer, past Urinalysis Director and a graduate of the Chesapeake Police Safety Academy.

During David’s exemplary tenure with the Sheriff’s Department, he consistently earned Outstanding Evaluations, multiple awards and Letters of Accommodation from former Chesapeake Police Chief Lakoski and John Newhart. In 2006 he accepted a position with Virginia’s Department of Corrections as the Inmate Hearing Officer. He is one of thirty-six designated people in the Commonwealth of Virginia authorized to hear the cases and determine the outcome of infractions committed by institutionalized offenders.

His knowledge and hands-on experience is equal to no other candidate. There has never been another employee, past or present, of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office who has worked at the level and areas for the number of years as David, and that alone gives him the unique quality of understanding the issues facing every level of staff.

David is proud of his work ethic and determination that all persons should be treated equally, and is a proven defender of Civil Rights. He has the desire and experience to ensure the public and residents of the Correctional Facility that all persons will be treated with respect, honesty and professionalism. From the beginning his campaign “slogan” has been Honesty, Integrity, Equal Opportunity for ALL Chesapeake Residents.

Heeding the call from many Chesapeake residents to stand tall and strong and take on the challenge no one else has even dared to attempt in the last 32 years, David is proud that the support he has received in his bid for Sheriff has come from all walks of life, not just from family or the elite, and of his choice to run as an Independent. David feels that a Sheriff should serve all residents of their city, not be beholden to a political party, and he looks forward to improving conditions for all Chesapeake residents, including implementing policies and programs that truly benefit taxpayers and voters, not just selected classes of people.

He feels strongly that it is time nepotism and favoritism in public offices and departments are put to rest and has not wavered from his plans to:

• Enforce a Zero Tolerance Policy against discrimination and harassment, as described
under Title VII, Civil Rights.

• Implement an equitable policy for hiring and promoting staff at all levels. Nepotism and
favoritism will not be tolerated.

• Implement an Employee Grievance Board comprised of all levels of staff.

• Enhance the work environment to create a positive atmosphere, improve morale,
encourage but not mandate volunteerism, and provide an atmosphere that encourages
employees to support, campaign and vote for candidates of their choice.

• Work with other city offices and administrators, as well as churches and local
charities, to implement and enhance programs, including emergency services, which will
benefit and protect all residents of Chesapeake.

• Establish a mentoring program for our youth, recognizing they are our future and we
are here to support and encourage them. If we can prevent our youth from becoming
troubled adults, then we may be able to resolve the problem of overcrowding in our
jails.

• Set up a hotline to welcome input from the residents of Chesapeake to let him

Since the campaign has started, and particularly as election time has neared, there are three things that have been occurring that have deeply concerned David.

He has received several phone calls from several friends who still work at the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office letting him know they have been told that if a new Sheriff is elected, they will lose their Supplemental Pay. Within the last two weeks David has received phone calls letting him know a Supervisor had told his Platoon that ALL staff members are mandated to vote for Newhart, that voting records will be reviewed and anyone NOT voting for Newhart will immediately be fired. His friends, who obviously need to remain anonymous, are trying to do damage control, but fear the younger, inexperienced staff members are being easily intimidated. David has been regularly addressing these issues on his Facebook page.

The third item concerns David’s campaign signs. Over the last three months he and members of his committee have received numerous calls about signs being stolen from supporters’ yards. Most of the signs that were stolen were replaced, only to disappear once again. Over the past week, throughout the Greenbrier, Great Bridge, Hickory, Camelot, Indian River and Georgetown Neighborhoods, David’s signs have been “popping up” in unauthorized areas and, in some cases, people’s flowerbeds. On Wednesday, his signs in the public areas of Greenbrier Parkway from the DMV to the intersection with Volvo Pkwy were taken down and replaced with the Incumbent’s signs. He has filed a police report concerning signs that were left lying on the ground, having been ripped and / or having a hole punched through them. He would like to apologize to all residents of Chesapeake who have been inadvertently affected by these acts. Sign tampering is illegal, and if anyone is caught David will follow through with charges. That being said, he also acknowledges that on Saturday, October 3 one of his supporters erroneously placed signs in a median in their own neighborhood, called David and upon being told that was not allowed immediately went back out to the median to remove the signs. However, a group of city workers was also arriving. According to the Supervisor on the scene, a “favor” had been called in and city workers had been directed, on a Saturday, to remove the signs, not allow anyone on the Cahoon campaign to retrieve them, and that all signs were to be collected and destroyed. The person who had erroneously placed the signs had others with him and asked again if they couldn’t just remove the signs, as they had been the ones who placed them in the median and, upon being told by David that was wrong, immediately returned to correct their error, and again was told by the Supervisor that it was an order. David apologizes for this single error by one of his supporters, but questions why it was deemed such a serious offense that city workers were ordered to correct this on a Saturday afternoon, and had been told up-front not to allow anyone affiliated with him to retrieve the signs.