KENNETH W. “KEN” STOLLE
Residence: Chic’s Beach, Virginia Beach
Age: 67
Occupation: Sheriff of Virginia Beach
Education/Military Service: U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer (1982-1991), Virginia Law Reader Program (1983) and Barry College (bachelor’s degree in criminal justice –1975)
Endorsements: Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer, Virginia Beach Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #8 and Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association
Website: kenstolle.com
Email: info@kenstolle.com
Social Media: @kenstolle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I have honorably served as Sheriff since 2010. My record proves my qualifications. Working with the Virginia Beach Police Department and Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office and I have helped keep Virginia Beach the safest city of its size. We have improved training, equipment and pay for deputy sheriffs to ensure they have the training and tools to succeed. We made the city jail safer by implementing policies that reduced inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-deputy assaults, improved mental health treatment and prevented suicides. We dramatically improved medical and mental health treatment, cut recidivism and became Prison Rape Elimination Act certified. We received perfect scores on nearly all the audits and inspections conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission.
Virginia Beach has never been safer. The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office has never been better.
In addition, I have 40 years of experience as a public servant. I served the Virginia Beach Police Department from 1976-1987, fighting crime as a patrolman, narcotics detective and SWAT Team sergeant. I then served 18 years in the Virginia Senate, chairing the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and Virginia Crime Commission. During that time, I worked to abolish parole and negotiate tough-on-crime laws that brought Virginia’s crime rates to their lowest levels since the 1970s.
I always put my constituents first, and I have the education and experience to continue to serve the best interest of Virginia Beach.
Please describe your law enforcement and management experience. During my 11+ years as Sheriff, I have managed more than 400 deputies and 100 civilians to successfully operate the Virginia Beach Correctional Center, provide security at the Virginia Beach Courthouse, serve civil paperwork, support the Police Department and engage with our community.
We have kept the bad guys in jail, helped those who have made mistakes rebuild their lives and reduced the burden on taxpayers. By using conservative fiscal management, putting inmates to work in the community and increasing sales in our Canteen, we have saved taxpayers about $5 million per year while increasing inmate education, drug abuse and mental health programs. Meanwhile, we have worked side-by-side with our brothers and sisters at the Police Department during busy holiday weekends and major events to ensure our citizens were safe.
During my time in the Virginia Beach Police department, I rose through the ranks, ultimately serving as a SWAT sergeant. I led and managed officers in the line of duty, doing dangerous work to protect our citizens.
I was also a leader in the Senate of Virginia, where I served for 18 years and was Republican Leader Pro Tempore, chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee and chairman of the Crime Commission.
As a law enforcement leader, I support my deputy sheriffs while holding them to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and public accountability.
How will you work with local agencies and within your own office to address mental health concerns of those in your custody? I have been recognized as a mental health leader on the state and local level, including receiving the 2020 Mental Health Champion Award from The CHAS Foundation.
When I took office, I shut down medical isolation in the jail, where most mentally ill inmates were housed, and created a mental health pod with better housing and better access to services. I changed medical providers, increased spending on medical and mental health treatment, and increased the number of mental health providers.
Most importantly, I went to the Virginia General Assembly and obtained a $3 million, three-year grant – which we stretched to four years – to create an innovative mental health program with the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services which reduced recidivism from nearly 100% for mentally ill inmates to just 3%. WAVY TV10 called the program “wildly successful” and the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association is pushing for implementation statewide.
What will you do as sheriff to help address issues with addiction, such as supporting treatment options related to the opioid crisis? Apart from mental health, the opioid epidemic is the biggest challenge in public safety. It has affected millions of Americans, including the inmates in the Virginia Beach jail.
As Sheriff, I improved our screening process to identify those at risk for complications as they detoxify from drug and/or alcohol use, created detox housing and, with our medical provider, implemented buprenorphine treatment to ensure they could safely experience withdrawal. I funded and provided substance abuse programs in the jail.
We have also supported the Virginia Beach Drug Treatment Court and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office First Step Program, to help addicts obtain treatment prior to their involvement with the criminal justice system. And I joined with the Virginia Attorney General and City of Virginia Beach to sue the pharmaceutical companies that produce opioids to require them to pay for addiction treatment and reimburse us for the money spent on the opioid epidemic.
ANTONIO PASSARO JR.
Residence: Virginia Beach
Age: 45
Occupation: Department Chair and Criminal Justice Professor
Education/Military Service: Ph.D. in higher education leadership with a cognate in Criminology and Criminal Justice; Master’s degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Management and Planning; Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice; Associate’s degree in Administration of Justice; and the completion of the FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Law Enforcement Training Program
Endorsements: School Board Vice Chair Kim Melnyk, Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler and Retired Master Chief, Gold Star Widow, and Community Leader Susan Hippen
Website: passaro4sheriff.com
Email: info@passaro4sheriff.com
Social Media: @passaro4sheriff on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I am a lifelong resident of Hampton Roads, born and raised in Virginia Beach, and a Bayside High School Graduate.
When I was twenty-two, I became a Virginia State Trooper and was later promoted to Special Agent, assigned to the high-tech crimes division. After more than fifteen years of first-hand experience working in law enforcement, I decided to leave the Virginia State Police to pursue a Ph.D. in higher education leadership with a cognate in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Currently, I serve as a full professor and the department chair of Criminal Justice at Tidewater Community College. I believe I have a unique ability to combine my first-hand law enforcement experience with my academic background. This will allow me to lead our city into a new era of policing and start to bridge the gap between our law enforcement and the community.
Please describe your law enforcement and management experience. I was a Virginia State Trooper, Special Agent cross-designated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), and a federal police officer for NASA for over fifteen years. I am currently the department chair of Criminal Justice for all four Tidewater Community College campuses across Hampton Roads.
I am responsible for overseeing 26 full and part-time employees and our department’s annual budget. I know that this is a crucial time for law enforcement and that, now more than ever, our community and public safety personnel need leadership that can lead the way forward and will deliver much-needed results for all of our stakeholders.
How will you work with local agencies and within your own office to address mental health concerns of those in your custody? I would increase access to mental healthcare resources in our jail so that we are able to provide support to those who need it.
The mental health crisis that our country and community face is an often forgotten factor in how we look at crime and rehabilitation. When people come into our jails, we have an opportunity to assess them and provide treatment if necessary, treatment they may never receive otherwise.
Additionally, I would partner with local mental healthcare providers, organizations, agencies, and non-profits to increase mental health resources in the community so that when people leave our jail, they will still have access to the treatment and resources that they need.
What will you do as sheriff to help address issues with addiction, such as supporting treatment options related to the opioid crisis? I would go into the Sheriff’s Office with the mindset that addiction is a disease and a mental health issue that should be treated as such.
While individuals are serving their sentences, it is imperative that we continue to find alternative ways to serve justice that will allow us to treat mental health issues. Doing this will be key in getting those who suffer from addiction into recovery.
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