Chambers County Sheriff Joe LaRive, a controversial figure mired in local and possibly federal controversy, announced in an e-mailed press release that he will not seek re-election in 2012.
The sheriff, who made the announcement Monday, denied point blank the controversies hanging over him had anything to do with his decision.
“No they did not,” he said in another e-mail. “The press release speaks for itself.”
The current controversy includes LaRive’s longtime jailer recently being indicted for sexual abuse then fired in a case that was allegedly ignored by two members of his own department for 16 months.
LaRive punished those two and denied he knew anything about what they did.
Additionally, the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly is investigating LaRive for failing to provide FEMA with documents requested during an audit, the SET Political Review reported.
Copies of this article swamped the county courthouse. The DHS did not immediately return a Baytown Sun reporter’s request for an interview Monday.
Meanwhile, LaRive said he would finish his second term – which ends Dec. 31, 2012 – but will not run for the 2013 term.
In the press release, he described recent changes to his life as “life-altering” and said that while he “appreciated the support that the voters of Chambers County have given him during the past eight years,” he and his family need time to recover from their personal ordeals.
One such ordeal listed was LaRive’s oldest daughter battling skin cancer in 2010. Another was his mother being confined to a nursing home. Additionally, LaRive said he recently lost his step-father to cancer.
“While I cannot overstate how much (wife) Carrie and I appreciate the moral support of the people of Chambers County during the life-altering challenges that we have faced, we have decided that spending time together and healing as a family, is our priority.”
LaRive indicated that he would be taking a hiatus from public life, but was not retiring completely.
“At my age, I have plenty of years remaining to give to the people of Chambers County and I intend to do just that,” LaRive said. “However, this break in order to focus on spending time with my wife, daughters, and mother is what is needed at this time and I am looking forward to it.”
The sheriff’s announcement lists improvements the county saw during LaRive’s two terms in office – such as the Chambers County jail being refurbished, more deputies with better training, more fuel-efficient vehicles, the reviving of the County’s D.A.R.E. program, and the organization of several “Shattered Dreams” programs at local high schools in an effort to deter teen drinking and driving.
So who will be the next sheriff of Chambers County? One person interested in the office is Brian Hawthorne, a 27-year veteran of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Hawthorne is special assistant to the Texas DPS director.
Hawthorne is currently on temporary duty assignment in Austin, working with the DPS director’s office assisting in providing requested information to state legislators and their staff regarding law enforcement and homeland security issues.
Although conservative in his comments, Hawthorne confirmed Monday he intends to retire from his current job to run as a Republican candidate for Chambers County Sheriff. However, Hawthorne said he’s going to take a “wait and see” attitude before he believes LaRive truly intends to stand down.
Hawthorne contends just as LaRive’s predecessor, former Sheriff Monroe Kruezer, had problems running the office because he had zero law enforcement experience, so too did LaRive – because he had no training in how to run a department.
“Monroe Kruezer was the lead bus barn mechanic for the Anahuac School district and also volunteer fire chief,” Hawthorne said. “He put his name on the Democrat ticket. Chambers County was largely Democrat at the time. But he failed because he didn’t know how to begin.”
Likewise, LaRive had never been in a leadership position before and had no idea how to run a department, Hawthorne said. Instead, he brought to the office the mentality of the Beaumont police detective he was before he was elected.
“He’s not a bad guy,” Hawthorne said. “It’s just that these are people being in power who don’t have training. There’s a lot of work that has to be done in that department now, not because it’s a bad agency but because it never had any direction.”
However, should any allegations against LaRive end up crossing his desk as sheriff, Hawthorne said he would have no choice but to investigate them to the fullest extent of the law.
“This is all about ethics and the only way you can truly do this is to keep your head up high,” he said. “We police our own and aren’t afraid to prosecute someone who violates the law. Whether civilian or officer, I will do my job as a law enforcement officer.”
Chambers County Judge Jimmy Sylvia said the sheriff has maintained a “pretty good relationship” with him and the commissioners court – certainly better than it was with LaRive’s predecessor.
“You will have a few disagreements from time to time but it’s been a better relationship. I think he does a good job,” Sylvia said. “He’s not perfect but none of us are. Ultimately we’re going to have to work with whoever is in there as sheriff.”
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Life of a Sheriff Part 1
ANAHUAC – Following is part one of a timeline gauging the political career of Chambers County Sheriff Joe LaRive, taken from earlier Baytown Sun reports.
The sheriff announced Monday he would not run for reelection.
In the beginning
• September 13, 2003 – Vowing to restore “professionalism and common sense” to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department, Beaumont police detective Joe LaRive, a 13-year veteran of the department, announced his candidacy for the county’s top law enforcement job Friday on the steps of the county courthouse.
LaRive, a self-described “conservative Democrat,” would presumably face first-term incumbent Monroe Kreuzer Jr., a Republican. Kreuzer, who was elected in 2000, has yet to announce a bid for reelection.
Elected to office
• Tuesday, November 2, 2004 – In a drawn-out election night, Democrat Joe LaRive narrowly defeated Republican Hugh Sigers in the race for Chambers County Sheriff.
In official results released after 11 p.m., LaRive had 5,694 total votes (or 51.8 percent) to Sigers’ 5,518 (or 49.2 percent). Precinct totals were not available by press time.
LaRive, 37, currently a Beaumont Police detective, in January will replace current Sheriff Monroe Kreuzer Jr., whom Sigers defeated in the Republican primary in May.
“It was a tough battle and a close race, but I’m glad the citizens came out and voted as they did,” LaRive said by phone afterward.
LaRive said he would begin right away seeking applications from prospective employees so that background checks could be performed.
“We just need to get out there and do what needs doing to bring good, professional law enforcement to the county,” he said.
Sigers could not be reached for comment by press time.
When he was sworn in
• Jan. 3, 2005 – Joe LaRive promised to begin “a new chapter of Chambers County law enforcement” as he and other county officials were sworn in Monday at a ceremony in the Chambers County Courthouse.
LaRive, 37, replaces outgoing sheriff Monroe Kreuzer Jr., whose tenure since taking office in 2001 was marked by controversy, including allegations of abuse and racial profiling by deputies, numerous lawsuits and the indictments of several deputies.
LaRive, a Democrat, defeated Republican opponent Hugh Sigers, a retired Department of Public Safety patrol sergeant, in the November general election. Sigers had defeated Kreuzer in the Republican primary in May.
Working for change?
• Aug. 28, 2005 – If you’ve come across a Chambers County Sheriff’s deputy lately, you may not have recognized him. That’s because the department has been looking for a way to cut bait with an image tainted by scandal, corruption and allegations of police brutality.
On the surface, the change has been one of appearance – new white patrol cars replacing the department’s lineup of bronze colored cruisers. Deputies have cast away their old black uniforms in favor of donning blue shirts and khakis pants.
Sheriff Joe LaRive is now in his eighth month in command of the department after voters sent former sheriff Monroe Kruezer packing in the Republican primary. The new digs were LaRive’s idea, but he hopes the department’s changes are more than skin deep.
“We wanted to portray a new and totally different image,” he said.
LaRive joked that he aims to be the “boring sheriff.”
…. It’s a typical Tuesday. LaRive has spent the morning sitting in on a county commissioners meeting, where he asked for permission to purchase a new department vehicle.
By 3 p.m., LaRive is itching to hit the streets. He freely admits that he is at times frustrated by the endless administrative duties he faces.
“The biggest adjustment was being the administrator and not one of the guys out there doing all the hands-on work,” he says. “Most people don’t realize my job is mostly meetings, functions and overseeing the budget.”
… And questions still remain for LaRive, who will face voters in 2008 as a Democrat in an increasingly Republican county.
But the sheriff thinks political parties don’t have much to do with police work and hints that he is willing to recognize the changing political affiliation of his county.
But what political party LaRive will run under in the future is a distant consideration compared to his current mission – salvaging his department from four years of embarrassment and reinventing his department in the eyes of the community.
Eight months into the job, he has a feeling he’s on the right track.
“I think we’ve about got most people accustomed to waving at the sheriff again.”
THE BEST OF INTENTIONS
• Sept. 19, 2005 – The last remaining lawsuit pertaining to the actions of Chambers County Sheriff’s deputies under former Sheriff Monroe Kruezer has been resolved.
County sheriff Joe LaRive, who assumed office in January after Kruezer failed to win a nomination in the Republican primary, said the settlement brings closure to the issue of lawsuits swirling around the department from the previous administration.
“I’m just glad we’re now in a position to move ahead with a positive outlook on law enforcement in Chambers County,” LaRive said.
Changing sides?
• February 20, 2007 – Chambers County Democrats were stunned when a prominent county official announced his decision to switch to the Republican Party.
Sheriff Joe LaRive, who was elected by voters in 2004 as a Democrat, announced his disaffiliation in Austin last week when he and other county officials were visiting the Capitol for Chambers County Day.
“He spoke to me prior to his announcement, and I told him I thought it was not a wise move, but he was unmoved in his reasoning for the switch,” said Anahuac Mayor Guy Robert Jackson, who has previously served as chair of the Chambers County Democratic Party.
The move comes less than a year after four former county Democrats – County Judge Jimmy Sylvia, District Clerk Bob Scherer, Attorney Cheryl Swope Lieck and Treasurer Carren Sparks – made the political leap to the Republican Party.
“I want to assure all the residents of Chambers County that I’m still the people’s sheriff,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what political party my citizens are affiliated with — my utmost job is the protection of their lives and property. I hope they’ll continue to allow me to serve in that capacity.”
