Right idea, wrong venue

Lorain County Sheriff Jack Hall had the right idea by delivering a State of the Sheriff's Office speech last week, but he picked the wrong venue. If nothing else, he should have changed out of his uniform before he took the stage at the Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club event Thursday. Unfortunately, Hall chose neither a different venue nor a different outfit and ended up giving his speech next to a backdrop with a Republican Party logo. Our photo chief, Bruce Bishop, snapped a photo of Hall, which appeared on our front page on Friday because it was news. (For those who might suspect this was some sort of ambush of Hall; it wasn't. Remember that when mayors give state of the city speeches, the resulting news stories, complete with photos, often end up on the front page.) Yes, Hall is a Republican and county sheriffs are elected in partisan races. They therefore are not bound by the same rules as most other law enforcement officers, who are largely prohibited from engaging in political activity while in uniform. But just because the rules about political activity don't apply to Hall doesn't mean that showing up in uniform to give the speech at a partisan event was a good idea. Optics matter, and it was a bad look for the county's top cop to speak in uniform before a partisan gathering about the state of his office, which serves members of the public regardless of their political affiliation. It gave the impression — intentional or not, and we suspect it was unintentional — that the Sheriff's Office was itself partisan. That's a shame because while we've had our disagreements with Hall, we've by and large found him to be an effective sheriff. We have not seen evidence that he has politicized his office, and indeed, he said during the event that he wouldn't make political endorsements because he might end up having to investigate someone he had endorsed. It's a smart policy. To be clear, while we don't recall whether Hall's predecessor, Democrat Phil Stammitti, appeared in uniform at partisan events, if he did, that, too, would have been a mistake. Once elected, sheriffs are duty-bound to serve everyone in the county, irrespective of political affiliation. They must be vigilant to avoid even the appearance of partisanship in their official duties. This is especially important at a time when the Republican president of the United States has deployed the long arm of federal law enforcement to target Democrats and other critics. The criminal justice system should not be politicized. (Yes, some Republicans will argue that Democrats did it first, but even if that were the case, that should make them more cognizant of the dangers of politicizing law enforcement.) Again, we've seen no evidence that Hall has politicized his office, but we suspect seeing the elected county sheriff appearing in uniform before a Republican logo at a Republican event made some county residents uncomfortable. Not only was it a matter of optics, but while speeches describing the state of different levels of government often end up being partisan, they generally take place at neutral locations. The president gives the State of the Union to a joint session of Congress; Ohio's governor gives the State of the State to a joint session of the legislature; and the mayors of Elyria and Lorain traditionally give their respective State of the City speeches at events sponsored by the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce. The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club is not a neutral location. We doubt many Democrats would be eager to pay even the nominal entry fee to attend, which means Hall gave his speech to a room that consisted almost entirely of his fellow Republicans. Likewise, were Hall or a Democratic sheriff to deliver such a speech at a Democratic event, we doubt many Republicans would be in attendance. (The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club has become something of a de facto speakers' bureau in the county. It invites not only local GOP officials to speak, but high-profile Republicans from across the state. Whether one agrees with those speakers or not, it's a public service to offer such a forum. More local political organizations should host similar events.) Hall's speech didn't appear to be overly partisan, and he didn't discuss his recent clashes with the county commissioners, who also are Republicans. Rather, the speech focused on staffing levels, crime statistics and updates on various initiatives. (More county officials should consider delivering such speeches to keep the public updated on what's happening in their offices.) It was an informative speech, and one we hope Hall makes a yearly occurrence, albeit at a different location.