CONWAY — If elected to the post of Carroll County High Sheriff, candidate Domenic Richardi said he'd restore morale, stop the exodus of trained officers, and bring his 17 years of county law enforcement experience into the fold.

This is Richardi's second time running for the position. He was previously defeated by incumbent Sheriff Christopher Conley. However, this time around, Richardi earned 2,963 votes on the Republican ticket, and 575 write-in votes on the Democratic ticket, to defeat Conley by 140 votes. There was no Democratic challenger in the primary election. On the ballot for the general election on Nov. 6, Richardi will be on both the Republican and Democrat ticket and challenger Francis Lord, a retired New Hampshire State Police trooper, helicopter pilot and narcotics officer, will be on the ballot as an Independent. (See separate candidate profile on Lord in this section.)

Richardi said he retired from the sheriff's department in 2010 after 17 years. He worked for Conley for about a year and a half until he said he realized the department wasn't “going in the direction I cared to see it go.” That's when he decided to run.

“About the only way I saw I can make a difference was to run for sheriff,” he said. Since his retirement, Richardi has maintained his police certification and works part time for the Effingham and Freedom police departments.

He said the Carroll County Sheriff's Office is unique in that many of the smaller towns in the county do not have full time police departments. It's up to the Sheriff's Office to provide coverage and assist with investigations, he said.

If elected to a two-year term, a top priority would be to address what Richardi has heard is the staff's “poor” morale. Several deputies resigned after Richardi did in 2010, and others are moving on to the state police, he said.

The fix may be just a matter of a different management style, he said.

“It comes down to management style. I'm not a pushover, but I can communicate with them. I can relate to them. I know where I came from and I know what do to,” he said.

In his previous role in the department, Richardi was in charge of scheduling, uniforms, workloads, bailiffs, the communications center and headed up prosecutions for the department.

He also served as the labor union steward for eight years, which gave him insight into contract negotiations. “That will help me on the other end if I get elected,” he said.

Richardi favors restoring a countywide Drug Task Force with support from the county police chief's association.

“I've heard there is a lot of interest by the police chiefs; the first step will be to see if this is something they want to reinstate. I'd be most willing to do that,” he said.

Richardi would also reinstate the county's K-9 Unit.

Another idea Richardi supports is the formation of a Crime Task Force, where members of area departments work together on waves of thefts and burglaries as well as more serious offenses.

Richardi would also revive the county's Accident Reconstruction Team. He said the county already has the $20,000 piece of equipment used in accident and crime scene reconstruction, and should use what it has.

“My opponent is against that. State police offer it, but they have a whole state to cover,” he said. “This tool is valuable and we have deputies that are trained to use it. I'd like to see that back in place to assist our towns,” he said. The tool is similar to surveying equipment, with a tripod and a computer that gauges distances and terrain.

As for the Mortgage Fraud Task Force that Conley formed earlier this year, Richardi is not convinced it's needed.

“That should be the role of the attorney general and the U.S. Attorney's Office to go after those types of crimes, not to say if someone has an issue, we can't point them in the right direction. Overall I do think we need to put the focus back into the county,” he said.

Richardi started his law enforcement career as a security officer with the U.S. Air Force. Stationed at Pease Air Base in Portsmouth, he served for four years and eventually went to work as an officer for the Conway Police Department. He joined the Carroll County Sheriff's Office in 1993 and retired fas the administrative lieutenant in 2010.

He is married to Penny Mullin Richardi and has three children.

lmulkern@newstote.com