Primary countdown: Tom Bearup, Pinal County Sheriff

The primary election is Aug. 28 and early balloting is underway. Between now and Aug. 20, InMaricopa.com will publish two to three Q & As at a time done with candidates in primary races.

Today: Tom Bearup, Republican candidate for Pinal County Sheriff. He is running against Derek Arnson, incumbent Paul Babeu and Jack McClaren. To see these candidates, and the two Democratic candidates, in a July 21 candidates’ forum click here and here.

Name:  Tom Bearup
Age:  65
Occupation:  Retired/International Ministry
Residence:  San Tan Valley
Family: Married to my bride Adele for 36 years.  We have nine children, 31 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.
Education: Ordained to pastoral ministry; honorary doctorate of ministry degree, Yeshua University and Theological Seminary; graduate Glendale Community College Police Academy; graduate Los Angeles Sheriff's Academy.
Hobbies: Spending time with my bride Adele and family events
Favorite quote: Winston Churchill
Heart’s desire: To be an honorable man in all that I do.
Political experience: Elected city mayor, Soldotna, Alaska; surrogate speaker for President Reagan and Vice President George Bush in Arizona; precinct captain and committeeman.   

Why are you running?

I bring with me years of life experience having been a police officer, deputy sheriff, chief executive officer of the third largest sheriff’s office in the U.S. Mayor of a city that was a strong mayor form of government, businessman, pastor and president of an international ministry.

I have had the opportunity of working with people from many different cultures and backgrounds as well as political experience all of which are transferrable skills. In addition to all of that, the position was an open seat when I decided to run for Pinal County Sheriff.

What is your biggest election challenge?

Meeting as many people as I can so that they can learn about me as a leader and fellow Pinal County citizen

Why should Maricopans vote for you?

What you see is what you get with me. I have no hidden agenda or a desire to run for another office in the future. I just want to be the sheriff of Pinal County to give the citizens the leadership and dedication that is needed to run an open and transparent organization.

Who are you voting for president?

Mitt Romney

How would you deal with SB 1070?

I support SB 1070 because it was placed into law. As sheriff I will enforce all laws equally and fairly. It is extremely important we have a secure border not only for immigration enforcement but drugs and terrorists can penetrate a weak border. These issues present a serious threat to our community and country.

On another note, I will not allow racial profiling within the sheriff’s office, nor am I going to circle the camp looking for illegal immigrants. During the course of a traffic stop, criminal activity or during an investigation people will be dealt with according to the law as we would with any other investigation.

What is the biggest challenge facing the sheriff’s office? And, what would you do about it?

It is my goal to restore integrity to the organization, to balance the budget and get things in line with spending, to organize my staff from employees within the sheriff’s office currently or those that have been there in the past. To establish policies to place as many deputies on the streets as possible to handle emergency calls. To review every position within the office and to prioritize issues that are mandated to the sheriff by the Constitution.

I think that there are many pressing issues the sheriff and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in the coming years will face due to a change in the demographics of the county.

To work with the board of supervisors and other elected and appointed officials for the good of the citizens of Pinal County.