NEW CUMBERLAND — Two men with a collective half decade in law enforcement are vying to be Hancock County sheriff after November.

Incumbent Scott Gittings is seeking re-election to a second term, seeking to continue improving the county’s sheriff office.

Among the Republican candidate Gittings’ accomplishments was increased drug arrests and upgrades to the county’s equipment, such as cruisers, bulletproof vests, dash and body cameras as well as improved benefits for deputies to retain deputies and attract new ones.

“With that $1 million, we couldn’t have gotten that equipment,” Gittings added.

Gone are the days when county employees paid part of their health insurance premiums, explained the sheriff. In addition to improved pay, Gittings credits the county paying that 100 percent of premiums as the primary reason for officer retention.

Federal funds helped Gittings provide much needed upgrades to the cameras. Since he has been in office, they have been able to secure more than $1 million federal grants for equipment upgrades.

Gittings worked at the New Cumberland and Chester police departments before retiring after four decades in law enforcement.

He wants to continue his anti-drug activity efforts as part of the Brooke-Hancock Drug Task Force, which he currently has two deputies assigned despite making some great strides so far. They also are working admirably with the DTFs in Columbiana and Jefferson counties, he added.

The office’s efforts on behalf of juveniles deserve continued attention. While Gittings has a resource officer assigned to each of the schools in Hancock County, he thinks that they could still do more. Rehabilitating juvenile offenders is the next step, so a stupid mistake doesn’t have to ruin a youngster’s life.

Remove the addict and eventually you cripple the dealer, he theorizes.

Gittings is opposed by Democrat Dezso Polgar, who himself has 30 years of experience in both the law enforcement and EMS fields.

As a teenager, Polgar started out as a part of Weirton Heights Junior Volunteer Fire Department, eventually progressing to the senior Weirton Heights VFD in 1984 and Weirton Fire Department.

He eventually served with the New Cumberland Police Department in 1987, resigning his fire commissions, when he was hired by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office in 2000.

With the county sheriff, he worked his way up from patrolman to lieutenant, retiring in 2019, after also serving as a Prevention Resource Officer, hostage negotiator and a field training officer along the way.

The work at Oak Glen High School, Polgar said, was his favorite part of his law enforcement career. If elected sheriff, he would like to resurrect the high school classes. “We facilitated classes with the kids, which helped us bridge the gap between law enforcement and educators.”

Polgar wants to see a return to the resource officer of old, which would instruct on topics like juvenile law, personal safety, impaired driving and traffic laws.

Gittings reiterated his commitment to resource officers within the schools and the relationship between his office and the district. “There is always an officer in every school even if it means overtime,” the sheriff explained. “We have a great relationship with school administrators that I want to see us continuing to build upon if re-elected.”

After leaving the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the challenger didn’t bid farewell to law enforcement completely.

Polgar utilizes both his police and EMS skills as a medical examiner (aka scene investigator), primarily assigned to Hancock and Brooke counties by the State of West Virginia.

He also serves as the Hancock County commission-appointed coroner and as a firefighter with New Cumberland.

If elected sheriff, Polgar is unsure if he could continue outside work.

According to West Virginia Code 7-7-4(8), which governs compensation for elected county officials, it appears that Polgar would have to resign his other posts.

“Any county clerk, circuit clerk, county assessor, prosecuting attorney or sheriff of a Class I through Class V county…. shall devote full-time to his or her public duties to the exclusion of any other employment.”

Polgar also serves as director of operations for the Hancock County EMS, which expanded service from New Cumberland countywide.

It is through that job, where the challenger has gained the majority of his administrative experience would assist him in running the sheriff’s office.

“I want the office to gain the trust of the sheriff’s office,” he explained, citing that would involve more public police presence, community oriented policing and involvement, better transparency and collaboration with all the emergency departments within the county.

Unsatisfied with the current level of service, Polgar wants to add a street crime unit, improve county drug interdiction efforts, and open satellite offices within the northern and southern parts of Hancock County. He also advocates creation of a civilian or deputy to serve civil processes.

“We need to bring back a much-needed structure to the sheriff’s office,” he said. The chain of command needs to be clearly delineated, the budget managed, policies and procedures updated, and training opportunities improved.

Gittings disagrees that the current Hancock/Brooke/Weirton drug Task Force should be abandoned and those jurisdictions are more effective working together as a team.

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Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5 for West Virginia.

Also running unopposed in Hancock County are Tommy Ogden (D) for county commission, Steven Dragisich for county prosecutor, and Joseph M. Alongi (D) for county assessor.

Early in-person voting starts on Oct. 21 through Nov. 2 at the county courthouse or designated community voting locations during 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

All absentee ballots must be received in the office by October 31. (No exceptions.)

Voting by mail is only available for West Virginia residents who are unable to vote due to illness, incarceration, work schedule or travel.

On Election Day, Hancock County polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

To learn where you cast your ballot, visit https://hancockcountywv.org/votesites.html

For all other election information, call 304-564-3311 ext. 282.

sujhelyi@mojonews.com