Day sweeps to fifth term
over deputy he fired
By Queenie Wong
Rockbridge County Sheriff Bob Day easily secured a fifth term tonight, winning almost 62 percent of the vote against Robert Clark, the deputy whom Day fired last April for running against him.
With all 18 of the county’s precincts reporting, Day had 3,328 votes to Clark’s 2,072.
Day said tonight he never doubted that he would win. But he acknowledged that the campaign divided his department and affected morale.
"The election's over," he said. "Let's move on."
Clark did not return phone calls tonight.
Throughout his campaign, Day relied on his 15 years of experience as his selling point to voters. In an earlier interview with The Rockbridge Report, Day said he hoped his established track record would encourage residents to vote for him.
But in his campaign Clark criticized the sheriff’s honesty and integrity. He claimed that Day hired only men to patrol the county. He also accused the sheriff of promoting a friend over more qualified employees.
Day refuted all accusations brought against him, calling them a sign of desperation on Clark’s part.
According to documents from the county’s Registrar’s Office, Day spent almost twice as much on his campaign as his opponent. Day spent $4,387.54 while Clark spent $2,400.02.
Day became sheriff in 1992. He is the second longest-serving sheriff in the county’s history.
Clark's bruising campaign against Day continued through Election Day, when he reminded voters that Day's firing of him was not an isolated incident.
"The sheriff has made a habit out of firing people," Clark said.
Clark brought up a 1992 case where three deputies -- Vernon Reynolds, Ron Hall and Thomas O. Hickman -- sued the sheriff for failure to re-hire them after Day first won the election. Reynolds and Hall argued that they were not re-hired because of their political affiliation. In a federal lawsuit, they said that was a violation of their constitutional rights. Hickman dropped out of the case when it went to trial.
Day argued that their job performance was the issue, not political affiliation. When asked about the case, Day said that he didn't consider the incident a firing because the deputies technically never worked for him.
U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding Hall $66,743.72 and Reynolds $44,412.40, according to federal court documents.
After the case, Hickman and Hall worked at the Virginia Department of Corrections. Hickman retired, but Hall is currently the lead investigator for the department's internal affairs division in Richmond.
Vernon Reynolds, now the deputy superintendent of the Middle River Regional Jail, said that he was rooting for Clark, but acknowledged defeating Day would be a challenge.
In a previous interview with The Rockbridge Report, Day said of his firing of Clark that it would be foolish to keep paying deputies who did not support him.
Clark said that he would not follow Day's lead by firing any current deputies if he won.
"I know what it feels like," he said.
But that was not the only new issue Clark was stressing days before the election.
He accused Day of hiring and promoting employees based on their race and gender. Clark said he would base his hiring and promotion policies on qualifications alone. He said Day would not hire a woman to patrol the roads.
Day acknowledged he has no females on road patrol, but he said that gender does not play a role when he hires road deputies.
The candidates also disagreed on another point – whether overtime paid to deputies to patrol the interstates comes from a state Department of Motor Vehicles grant or from the county.
Clark said it comes from the county, and that Day was misleading the public to say it comes from a DMV grant. Day said his opponent needs to check his facts.
County Finance Director Robert Claytor clarified the issue, saying both men are partly right. The extra hours deputies spend patrolling the interstates are funded by both the DMV grant and local money from traffic fines, he said.
County supervisors gave the sheriff the authority to use the traffic-fine money for the first time this year, Claytor said. County tax dollars do pay for the deputies' gasoline bill, though, he said.
As Election Day dawned, both candidates said that their campaigns had gone well.
Clark said that despite the outcome of the election, he's already made new friends.
"It's been a great experience," he said.
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Brian Richardson
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd