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Brenneman planning bid for sheriff seat
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL
Don Brenneman, Maryland Deputy Fire Marshal, is making another run for sheriff.
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Some people thrive on challenge and enjoy the persistent push to reach a goal and try until that goal is attained.
Don Brenneman, who is making his third run for Calvert County Sheriff, is this type of man. Training and competing in triathlons and marathons has been a way of life for him for more than 25 years.
He swam the 4.4 mile Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in 2001 or 2002, he said, recalling the vigorous challenge saying that, "it was the coldest water on record," but not the exact year.
"I always wanted to do it and I did it," he said.
Brenneman, a Democrat, plans to put that same determination and persistence into his bid for sheriff.
In 2006, Brenneman lost in the primary with 2,284 votes to Democratic candidate Joey McKenny, a then Calvert County Sheriff's Office deputy, who gained 2,882 votes.
After 28 years with the Maryland State Police (MSP) beginning in 1971, Brenneman went to work for the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Southern Regional Office, investigating fires since 1999.
"So, you know where my heart is — criminal investigation is my passion," he said.
Brenneman recalled investigating the estimated 40 home arson fires that happened all the same morning at the newly developed Hunter Brooks subdivision in Charles County in December 2004. All five men who were charged were convicted, he said, adding, that "a mutual alliance solved the case. That shows a lot of good work with various agencies. It's important when people work together."
Brenneman, who was a senior agent with the criminal investigation division of MSP, said he gained administrative experience during his latter years.
"With experience and knowledge comes responsibility," Brenneman said.
"We definitely have a strategy going on," he said, adding the key thing is to focus on listening to the community and its needs.
He would like to see more patrolling in neighborhoods and more connection with the community. Knowing what's usual and unusual in a neighborhood gives people awareness, he said. "Keep your eye open and understand your neighborhood."
With that philosophy in mind, Brenneman said he wants to make it easier for the community to interface with deputies using technology like text messaging and social networking on Facebook.
"Communication is a big deal. The public is the best resource you have," he said.
He said he would like citizens to be aware of crime in their areas through text messages and set up a citizen community board online to help prevent breaking and entering and other crimes committed against people.
He wants to combat the 36 percent increase in breaking and entering that Calvert County saw in the most recent Uniform Crime Report Index, he said. The 18 percent increase in overall crime reported was "inexcusable," he said.
Brenneman, who worked in intelligence and narcotics dealing with numerous drug investigations during his time with MSP, said he also wants to set his sights on tackling the drug problem in the county.
"I guarantee the drug problem's going down," he said.
Reviewing the current policy of high-speed pursuits and responding to calls is also on his platform. Brenneman, who has a 22-year-old daughter, said he cannot imagine how difficult it would be to lose her the way a Dunkirk couple lost their 18-year-old daughter Rachael Campbell, who was killed July 24 in a crash with a police cruiser that was determined to be driving 110 miles per hour on Route 4 heading into Dunkirk.
While he did not want to comment on that particular incident, Brenneman said that he thought 100 mph would not be safe through Prince Frederick unless it was in the early morning hours with no traffic, but definitely not when school is in session.
"Training and supervision are key," and the supervising duty officer should weigh all the facts and decide whether there should be a chase or not and how to respond in a safe manner, he said.
Along with keeping himself in shape, Brenneman has volunteered for Camp C.O.P.S., a law enforcement summer camp for kids, and he is involved in NFL Play 60, a new exercise program to get kids outside and active. Brenneman, who grew up in a family with four boys, said "You could never get us inside the house."
While he remains active running, training for marathons and triathlons, Brenneman added running for sheriff for 2010 and will officially announce his candidacy on Friday, Dec. 11, at noon on the Calvert County Circuit Courthouse lawn.
