Candidate starts early to build name recognition

Following custom in county election campaigns usually means a candidate doesn't start seeking office in earnest until after filing to be on the ballot.

But Bobby Sullivan isn't following custom. He's adjusting his strategy to get early name recognition and defeat Rick Walter, the incumbent Scott County sheriff, by beginning his campaign about a year before the Democratic primary election, in which he'll likely challenge Walter.

In recent weeks large white signs with red letters have appeared from Sikeston to Scott City urging voters to elect Sullivan in his first foray into county politics. Starting a campaign this early may be unprecedented in Scott County -- the primary election for the sheriff's office won't come until August, and candidates can't put their names on the ballot until Feb. 26.

But Sullivan said he's working hard early to level the playing field against an incumbent who's had the benefit of the name recognition that comes with being sheriff.

"To defeat an incumbent, I've got to get my name out there," Sullivan said in a telephone interview Thursday. "And I want to show people the hard work I put into the campaign, the same hard work I'll do on the job every day."

Sullivan has four large campaign signs he moves around the county. He paid for the signs out of his own pocket. He recently organized a campaign committee as contributions started to come in, but isn't required to file a financial disclosure report until Oct. 15. His campaign committee, Sullivan for Sheriff, has already taken several contributions, Sullivan said.

Calls to his treasurer, Dale Tenkhoff of Chaffee, were not returned.

Sullivan is only 35 years old but has a long history in law enforcement, beginning work as a part-time police dispatcher in his hometown of Chaffee at age 17. Since then he's worked in law enforcement nonstop, working full time at Chaffee from 1994 to 1995, as a public safety officer in Sikeston from 1995 to 1998, as an investigator in the Scott County Sheriff's Department from 1998 to 2005 and then as a detective in Sikeston from February 2005 until now.

Originally from Chaffee, he now lives in Sikeston and investigates primarily narcotics cases for the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.

Sullivan counts Scott County Sheriff's Department Lt. Jerry Bledsoe as a mentor and close friend. Bledsoe ran a close primary against Walter in 2004 when he was a captain in the department, losing the Democratic nomination for the seat vacated by Bill Ferrell's retirement by only 381 votes. Walter went on to defeat Republican Wes Drury and win the office by more than 1,000 votes.

Despite his relationship with Bledsoe and his employment under Ferrell, Sullivan said putting his name in the race this early is nothing personal against Walter. Ferrell has been at odds with current county leadership, including Walter, since he left office, a relationship further strained by charges filed against him for financial misconduct that where later dropped because the evidence wasn't strong enough to prosecute.

Sullivan said he knows people will draw the connection and may insinuate his campaign is a political hit-job on Walter but he said that that's not the case. The Sikeston detective said he wasn't motivated by any vendetta to run against Walter, just his own ambition to serve the public through county law enforcement's highest office.

"One thing I will not do is badmouth those guys at all, not once," Sullivan said of Walter and friends of his own in the sheriff's department like Bledsoe.

Walter says he's noticed the early bid for his job, but that he doesn't have the time or money to begin a campaign so early, though he does plan to seek re-election. But like 2004, his signs won't be up until spring, when his campaign will start in earnest.

"You take anything serious," Walter said. "Anybody that's going to run against you, you take it very serious, but right now, to be honest with you, I don't have time ... to get out there and campaign." His job performance will do the campaigning for him, Walter said.

"Right now I'm focused on doing my job, and doing it to the best of my ability. I'll let the voters decide whether or not they want me to continue," Walter said.

Sullivan said he knows the questions about his campaign and his past will go beyond just his previous employer.

One big question will be about his age. Despite being only 35, young for a public office holder, Sullivan said he has plenty of experience to do the job and he's heartened by the election last year of Scott Horman, whom Sullivan grew up with in Chaffee. Horman was only 31 when he entered the race for associate circuit judge last year.

Questions about Sullivan's family, which is well-known in Chaffee, will also arise. Sullivan's sister, Robin Dannenmueller, pleaded guilty last year to stealing Chaffee municipal court funds while she worked as a clerk there. His father is longtime Chaffee councilman Bob Sullivan, who lost re-election to current Chaffee mayor Loretta Mohorc in 2005 in the wake of the scandal.

But Sullivan said people should focus on his record and experience, not his sister's legal troubles, and added that his father has a long history of volunteering his time to serve the Chaffee community.

"I expect it to be talked about a little bit, but when I bring the actual campaign to the forefront, I expect them to look at me and what I've done in law enforcement," Sullivan said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182