NORTHAMPTON — Not unlike many 20-somethings immediately following college graduation, Patrick J. Cahillane said he was just trying to “find his direction.”
What the candidate for Hampshire County sheriff found, he recalled in an interview this week, was a career in law enforcement. Cahillane walked into the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction as a part-timer more than three decades ago, and has spent his professional life there.
“I started a career I never expected to,” said Cahillane, one of three Democratic candidates seeking to succeed Robert J. Garvey, the sheriff since 1984 who is not seeking re-election.
Cahillane’s opponents in Thursday’s Democratic primary are Kavern Lewis and Melissa Perry.
One of the things Cahillane recalls being most drawn to is the varied walks of life he observed in his interactions with inmates.
“It was interesting work, because everyone had a different story,” said Cahillane, 58, of 116 Florence St. in Leeds.
Cahillane has worked his way up the ranks in the department and now serves as the assistant superintendent and special sheriff, which means he oversees the day-to-day operation of the facility.
“With me, what you see is what you get,” Cahillane said, emphasizing his longtime ties to the community, his three-decade-long tenure at the department and 10 years as an adjunct faculty member in the criminal justice program at Westfield State University.
Cahillane, who has a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Western New England University in Springfield, also points to his being the only candidate who possesses certification as a jail manager, which is designated by the American Jail Association.
Cahillane has said throughout his campaign that he hopes to continue Garvey’s progressive approach in managing the jail and spearheading new educational and vocational programs for inmates.
“When you look at the individuals we house and try to treat, they’re coming back to our community,” Cahillane said. The question that voters should ask, he added, is what kind of person they want released back into society? “A person who helps out or a person we live in fear of?”
Cahillane said he would promote an atmosphere for the jail’s staff that encourages open-mindedness and learning new skills, an approach he also hopes appeals to young, prospective staffers.
“If people who come into this business want to develop other skill sets, there’s opportunity to do that,” Cahillane said.
That would help them be better prepared in handling all kinds of varied situations and challenges they may encounter at the jail.
“It’s a much more complicated system than people realize,” Cahillane said.
If Cahillane could make his case directly to the voters as they head to the polls, it would go something like this:
“I think I have the experience, the training, the education to lead this organization. I am the only person in this race that works full time in a criminal justice agency. I am the only one that has worked full-time for this department … At the end of the day it is a decision of the voters, and if the voters choose to go in a different direction, I have no control over that. But from day one, I’m running on my reputation and my work history as a person who has come up through the ranks into leadership at the department. I take that with a lot of pride, and I don’t get to do it by myself. We have a phenomenal staff as far as I can see, and most people are there for the right reasons.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com or 413-585-5234.