In his first public comments since his Nov. 3 election win, Montgomery County Sheriff-elect Tim Brown says he does not plan to make major changes with department personnel and will increase transparency with the community and news media once sworn in.
Brown will be the county’s first African American sheriff, with the Democrat defeating Republican candidate and interim Sheriff Robert Page in last week’s election by almost 9,000 votes.
In a Tuesday interview with Cardinal News, Brown said he’s preparing for the role while continuing his service as a lieutenant with the Christiansburg Police Department. He said he’s met with county officials to schedule when he will be sworn in, and made his presence — and intentions— known at the sheriff’s department.
“You hear these horrible stories about a sheriff coming in and cleaning house, and getting rid of people, and that’s not my personality,” Brown said. He said plans to meet with each staff member individually and evaluate the department before making any changes.
“I currently plan to evaluate the staff there, and if I need to make any promotions, they’ll all be internal. I have no intentions of right now bringing anybody from outside.”
Brown said that he met with Page since the election and was told by Page that he does not intend to continue a career in law enforcement.
Cardinal News has reached out multiple times to Page for comment, with no response.
Brown, 50, also talked Tuesday about how he felt “surreal” about the historical moment and how impactful it could have been if his father, Bill Brown, former Blacksburg police chief and former Montgomery Board of Supervisors member, was alive today to see it.
“My dad was the first African American officer hired in the New River Valley. He paved the way and opened some doors at that time for other officers when those opportunities wasn’t easily given,” he said. “If I could share that moment with my dad, I would love to have one more conversation with him. Just to sit down and tell him, thank you.”
As part of his campaign priorities, Brown said he plans to increase transparency with the community, including hosting quarterly meetings with the news media and posting the department’s policies online for citizens to read.
Brown said he will retire from the Christiansburg Police Department on Nov. 30 and plans to be sworn in as sheriff either Nov. 23 or Dec. 1.
