Tom Knight Republican

Tom Knight wants to bring the sheriff's department up to speed with corporate America. He says the old way of doing things -- giving orders and kicking butt -- is out. The patrol officers want input, he says, and so does the public.

He comes from a leadership position in the Florida Highway Patrol, at a post in Tampa. He's a good talker, perhaps the most personable of the four. It made sense when he discussed the role of sheriff as a community figurehead, lending his endorsement to positive programs.

Knight wants to recruit retired officers from the northeast -- people who are looking to trade snow for sunshine but also want to keep doing what they're used to.

My goal is to have a whole fleet of 'em, maybe 20 of 'em. Because if grandma locks her keys in her car or you get in a fender bender ... These are people that are retired, they still have the skill set, they know how to communicate, they know how to write a report, they've already been trained. You've got to remember, they're about $30,000 a year cheaper than a cop.

His best remedy for the overcrowded jail is to train deputies as immigration agents. They'll cross-reference the booking list at the jail with a federal immigration database in order to find out which inmates can be sent away for good.

If you get a guy that commits a murder, he's staying to get prosecuted. You got a person that shoplifts, commits a burglary or knocks down a mailbox. ... they can be deported. ... Down in Collier County, they saved $3.4 million and alleviated jail overcrowding by working with the federal government.

Except for Larry Dunklee, all the candidates agree that the morale is exceptionally low under the current sheriff. Knight says that it's because Bill Balkwill rules by top-down directives and doesn't give his officers enough input in the way things are run.

How inefficient are you if you don't have morale? A lot of people say morale's not measurable. Morale's measurable. When you've got a lot of people that are calling in sick, have dirty cars, dirty clothes, they're chronic complainers and then you're hearing from the public that the responsiveness you're getting out of them isn't good.

Pop quiz grade: 33 percent

Jail population on a given day? "That I don't know."

Most common cause of drug overdose in Sarasota County? "I would say meth."

Number of black officers who rank lieutenant or above? "I don't think there are any."