Mark Dion, incumbent Cumberland County Sheriff, is running against Edward (Ted) Blais of Standish.
Edward (Ted) Blais
Ted Blais, 44, of Standish, is a Republican running for Cumberland County Sheriff. He is running against Mark Dion.
Blais lives with his wife Stacey and son Max on Deer Hill Road in Standish. Blais has two adult children Justin and Daniel.
Blais has been chief of police at the University of Maine Farmington for about two years. He started his law enforcement career as a patrolman in Gorham and remained there for 20 years. Blais held the position of lieutenant when he left.
Blais has an associate’s degree in business management and a bachelor’s of science degree in criminology from Northeast College. He also holds a master’s in criminology.
Blais said he has always aspired to be at the top of the law enforcement ladder and views the race for Sheriff as an opportunity for him and the Cumberland County community.
“I have wanted to be in law enforcement since I was 13. I would take this position with honor and respect. I care for people socially; what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. I am strict on arresting criminals; that is the way it should be,” he said.
Blais believes his opponent has “lost track” of the importance of criminals going to jail.
“I don’t want people coming back. I want them to learn and understand that jail is a deterrent for criminal behavior. As sheriff I would have the opportunity to change this,” Blais said.
Blais wants a tough policy on drugs and as Sheriff he would not support medicinal marijuana because of the message it sends.
“Saying marijuana should be legal even medicinally sends the wrong message, Blais said. “In my opinion it is like calling a cease-fire on the war on drugs. Drugs are the root of most criminal problems. The officers that work under the Sheriff would be getting the message that it is okay to be lenient on drugs. I do not think that is okay.”
Blais said staffing in the jail is currently a problem that he would like to fix.
“There are a lot of reasons the jail is understaffed at the moment. I think I could change that. Right now there is mandatory overtime because they are short-staffed. That is not good. It is an accident waiting to happen. In 2004, $1.5 million was spent on overtime. That is unacceptable.”
Blais says he would also reduce costs in the budget by looking at medical expenses at the jail.
“Right now there is a hired medical service at the jail. I would take a hard look at these services, like the mental health services and see if they are really working. This is jail, the Department of Human Services can take care of the mental health issues and we should let them take care of it,” Blais said. “We need to hire our own medical staff so we could do background checks as well as train the staff for the environment. Having our own staff would save us money. I would be very responsible with taxpayers’ money.”
Mark Dion
Mark N. Dion, 51, of Portland, is a Democrat running for Cumberland County Sheriff. He is running against Ted Blais.
Dion lives on Allison Avenue with his wife Cheryl. They have two adult children Ashley and Brittany. Dion has been Cumberland County Sheriff since 1998. He previously served 21 years in the Portland Police Department. He left holding the rank of deputy police chief.
Dion holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Maine as well as a master’s in Human Services Administration. He also holds a law degree from the University of Maine Law School and completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Dion is seeking a third term to “provide experienced leadership on the difficult public safety issues facing Cumberland County.” Dion recognizes alcoholism and drug addiction as two of these issues. He believes these public health issues are an epidemic among the jail population and are the principal sources contributing to crime in neighborhoods all over Cumberland County.
Although Dion is for the use of medicinal marijuana, he says he is not pro-drugs.
“I support a limited amount of marijuana use for the terminally ill. I do not support the legalization of recreational marijuana. I would not want to add one more drug to the shelf. I am able to recognize the difference between someone who is dying and needs the drug for pain relief, and someone who is selling and distributing the drug. It is simply a humanity issue not a crime issue,” Dion said.
Dion said he will also continue to be an advocate for mentally ill offenders.
“I believe the mentally ill need to be treated differently than other criminals. They cannot be properly treated in the jail atmosphere. They need to be treated by psychiatrists and counselors. That way they can actually change their behavior. The jail setting is not the right place for them,” Dion said.
As sheriff Dion said he will be fiscally responsible.
“On behalf of the taxpayer, I will continue my pledge to manage the Sheriff’s budget in the most cost-efficient and effective manner possible.”
Dion would like to continue to emphasize public work service by inmates as a way to reduce the cost of incarceration and promote offender accountability.
If re-elected, Dion said he will continue to be aggressive on habitual motor vehicle offenders by continuing to work with other municipal agencies within the county on traffic checkpoints.
“I believe these checkpoints are a success because their ‘publicity’ deters offenders and increases public confidence that we are taking safety seriously,” Dion said.
The checkpoints, Dion said, have just been one prong of the suspended driver efforts.
The other strategies have included saturation patrol and covert stakeouts of suspended drivers at the courthouse.
“We have arrested approximately 270 suspended drivers in the 14 months of our efforts. We also must not forget that this same tactic has been a successful cornerstone to policing drunken drivers,” Dion said.
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