GOP Candidate for Sheriff Pledges to 'Lead With Integrity'

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A challenger to embattled Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman has announced his plans to run in the 2018 Republican primary, citing a need for integrity in the office, a reference to a domestic assault charge Bateman was acquitted of in July.

Anne Arundel County Police Lt. Jim Fredericks formally announced the launch of his campaign for sheriff on Thursday.

“It is time for a change in the direction of the Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Office. It’s time to put a conservative sheriff in office who will lead with integrity and the strong character that we should expect from our law enforcement leaders,” Fredericks said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Bateman, 54, was charged with a single count of second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for reportedly holding his wife, Elsie, down on a bed, then shoving her against a wall. He denied the charge filed by Anne Arundel County Police when officers were called to the couple’s home April 10 by Elsie Bateman after an argument. His trial ended in an acquittal July 27 when his wife invoked spousal privilege and refused to testify against her husband.

Fredericks, a lifelong Republican and Anne Arundel County resident, has been a law enforcement officer for 25 years. He is the current commander of Homeland Security for the county police department, and the former director of emergency management for the county.

He pledged to restore integrity and dignity to an office that his campaign says “has been mired by the arrest of Sheriff Bateman for domestic assault earlier this year.” Fredericks noted that County Executive Steve Schuh, Sen. Ed Reilly, and Republican Central Committee Chairman Nathan Volke called on Bateman to resign after his arrest.

In his announcement, Fredericks also condemned Bateman for attempting to have county taxpayers pay bills “for extravagant dinners for him and his wife while at an out-ofstate conference, referred to as a belated honeymoon. Sheriff Bateman has demonstrated a pattern of problematic behavior,” his opponent said.

Bateman told the Capital-Gazette that Fredericks must resign from his job at the police department before he can run for sheriff in order to avoid violating a federal law that prohibits employees of an executive branch of government from engaging in some forms of political activity. But Fredericks disagreed, telling the newspaper his candidacy doesn’t violate the law, which only pertains to those employees whose salary is paid completely by federal loans or grants.

Police department spokesman Lt. Ryan Frashure said Fredericks is not allowed to campaign on duty or use any county resources to support his campaign, the newspaper reports.

Fredericks said that if elected he will modernize the sheriff’s office.

“I am running for sheriff of Anne Arundel County to give citizen a conservative law enforcement leader that will restore trust to the office and move past the improper conduct that this county has endured; it’s time for a change,” said Fredericks.

»Photo of Jim Fredericks, GOP candidate for Anne Arundel County Sheriff, courtesy of the Fredericks campaign