For the first time in three decades, the Butler County sheriff's post won't be held by Denny Rickard, and there are a couple of guys in Butler Township who would be happy to fill his shoes. Sheriff is the only contested seat this year at the county level, and competition is fierce.

Democratic nominee Roland Livermore, 39, and Republican candidate Mike Slupe, 44, will face off Tuesday.

Mr. Livermore, the part-time police chief in Worthington, Armstrong County, also teaches a range of public safety topics from cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid to firearms and defensive tactics for Community College of Beaver County and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also is a part-time police sergeant for Thiel College campus police. For 13 years until August 2006, he was a full-time Pittsburgh police officer.

He says his varied experiences in law enforcement have readied him for the position of sheriff.

Among his plans is to create a countywide alert system that would allow residents to register online, and alerts could be sent to those who registered. The idea is to improve communication, he said.

Mr. Livermore also wants to create a system for online gun permits so working people, some of whom live an hour from the courthouse, don't have to drive there to apply for a permit. "It's about convenience," he said.

He also wants to expand crime prevention programs directed by the sheriff's office, which currently is involved with the drug education program DARE. He said a program that would introduce high-schoolers to law enforcement is something he envisions.

Mr. Livermore also would host firearms classes for citizens who get a pistol permit through his office, he said.

On the issue of the number of deputies in the sheriff's office -- county commissioners want to reduce the complement -- Mr. Livermore favors a jobs and needs analysis "to show where we are and where we need to be."

He said he believed that there was a backlog of warrants to be served, which is one of the primary functions of the office in addition to providing courthouse security. He wants to be sure the office is staffed to do its job properly.

Mr. Slupe is currently a part-time Saxonburg police officer and is retired from the Butler Township Police Department. He formerly was a county emergency dispatcher and a volunteer firefighter. He serves on the Butler County Communications Council.

He says he has a thorough understanding of the county's public safety system and where the sheriff's office fits in.

Mr. Slupe wants to make constituents' interface with the sheriff more convenient by hosting gun permit registrations in locations away from the downtown Butler courthouse, such as in Cranberry and Slippery Rock.

"We could do it on an occasional Saturday so they don't have to take a day off of work to come to the courthouse," he said. Permit renewals are required every five years.

He also wants to work with the county's Criminal Justice Advisory Board to find grant money for the purchase of a drug-sniffing dog that could be cross-trained as a search dog. "This is an area where the sheriff's office could be working with municipal and state police," he said.

Mr. Slupe said he was committed to improving the financial record-keeping system in the sheriff's office. Sheriff Rickard has been criticized by commissioners and the county controller on this subject, though the sheriff disputes that his records are lacking. Mr. Slupe said he had no position on whether the current sheriff has kept adequate records, but said he wanted to improve relations with other county offices by keeping the kinds of records they want maintained by the sheriff's office.

As for the number of deputies the office should employ, Mr. Slupe said he can't say now. "Come Jan. 4, it will be my issue, and I will evaluate the situation; and if there is need, I'll make sure I'm in a position to demonstrate it," he said.

Mr. Slupe is considered the front-runner, as are most GOP candidates in a county such as Butler, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 57,877 to 44,566, as of Oct. 23.

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