Meet the two Democrats running for Scott County Sheriff in the June 4 primary (2024)

Two Democrats are seeking the nomination for Scott County sheriff in the June 4 primary.

Thomas Gibbs, a lieutenant for the Scott County Sheriff's Office, and Gordon Morse, a corporal with the Davenport Police Department, are vying for the nomination. Both have sought the office before.

The winner of the June 4 primary will face one of two Republicans running for the GOP sheriff nomination. Sheriff Tim Lane and Sheriff's Deputy Chris Laye are facing off in that race.

Gibbs and Morse answered survey questions sent by the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus. Lane and Laye's survey responses will published later this week.

Thomas Gibbs

Age: 48

Occupation: Lieutenant, Scott County Sheriff's Office

Education: High School Diploma

Relevant local government or leadership experience: I have close to 30 years experience in public safety and security. I am a veteran of the United States Air Force where I was a military working dog handler. After serving, I worked for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. I have been at the Scott County Sheriff's Office for over 20 years. I helped start the first ever canine unit for the Sheriff's Office. I have held the rank of Sergeant and currently I hold the rank of Lieutenant. For two years I was Chief Deputy under Sheriff Dennis Conard. I have training in Public Information duties and have completed leadership classes through FBI LEEDA, and FEMA Incident Command classes up to ICS 400 Advanced Incident Command for Complex Incidents.

Gordon Morse

Age: 52

Education: Associates in Criminal Justice, Basic Crime Scene Technician Course, Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN) Interview and Interrogation Techniques Basic through Advanced, NIMS training (National Incident Management System) FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness, K.N.I.F.E FBI Improvised Explosives Course, ATF, Advanced Explosive and Demolition School, FBI Post Blast School, Death, Investigations Courses, Death Crime Scene Supervision, National Crimes Against Children Conference, Basic Investigator Course, Electronics for Investigators and Bomb Technicians, FBI Regional Bomb Task Force, HAZ MAT Technician Certification, ATF Home Made/Improvised Explosives Course, TEES Explosive Entry/Breaching Course, FBI Large Vehicle Improvised Explosive Device Counter Measures course, LEIN (Law Enforcement Intelligence Network) Certified Intelligence collection and processing/managing confidential informants and undercover investigations/ Surveillance principles and techniques., FBI Hazardous Devices School /US Army Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School

Experience: Corporal-street level and investigations supervision.

Why are you running for office?

Gibbs: I am running for Office of Sheriff to move the Sheriff's Office forward in a positive direction. I have an unwavering commitment to public safety. I want to enhance our community relationships with those we serve. I want the mission of the Sheriff's Office to work in partnership with our community, to detect and deter crime, preserve the peace and enforce the laws with equity and fairness of service to all, while ensuring your Constitutional Rights. In my view, integrity is an essential quality a Sheriff should possess. The role as Sheriff requires making decisions which significantly impact the community and its members. It is essential to adhere to ethical and professional standards at all times ensuring transparency, and accountability in operations which are vital to maintaining public confidence within the Sheriff's Office. I understand the responsibilities of the office and the dedication it takes to serve as Sheriff. It is important for any organization to have strong leadership to build a framework and culture of integrity, professionalism and teamwork, and I know I can be that leader.

Morse: I believe the current views of the Sheriff are outdated and the future demands of the citizens are not and will not be met. The Business of Law Enforcement and how it is done must evolve. We must take action in the area of mental health, its effect on drug abuse and the burden it puts on the court system. A mental health initiative needs to be implemented and a mental health unit created with a combination of law enforcement, mental health professionals and social services.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Gibbs: If elected I would like to seek accreditation for all divisions within the Sheriff's Office. I want to enhance training opportunities in multiple areas, particularly Constitutional Law and its application towards Search and Seizure, and emergency preparedness. I would like to ensure jail programs are in place to help those in custody to better themselves and help reduce recidivism. I want to build relationships with our community members and organizations to ensure all are heard and help the community understand the Sheriff's Office's role in public safety.

Morse: Progression in policing and keeping the public safe. All while keeping morale high and maintaining public support.

Forming a cooperative mental health initiative. The formation of a county-wide mental health unit of specially trained officers, mental health professionals and social services members.

Restoring the collective bargaining rights of the correctional staff, and bringing them up to competitive wages should assist in improving morale, recruiting to fill those positions and helping with long-term retention.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the county’s law enforcement efforts? And what would you do to address them?

Gibbs: Some of Scott County's challenges are coordination of information and resources between area law enforcement agencies, building relationships with the community, and joint training with area law enforcement agencies to ensure efficient and effective operations. In this county, there are many separate agencies, and it is important that we continue to share information pertaining to crime trends and suspects for a coordinated effort combating crime. We should continue to host training sessions and evaluate areas where we can improve community emergency preparedness and safety. We also need to reinstate the Sex Offender Registry Task Force, which brought partners from multiple agencies and disciplines together to share information to enhance coordinated efforts to protect our children.

Morse:I believe the biggest challenge to Law Enforcement efforts will be evolving from our long-held beliefs in how we do business. Current crime trends and public demands show we must change. We must be more proactive in how we handle mental health-related incidents. This must be accomplished with specialized training for a core group of individuals. Not every officer is capable of handling these types of calls, even with the best training. By continuing to do business as usual we put these individuals in situations that could be volatile for all involved. Law enforcement selects people with specific skills and personalities to fill specialized units such as SWAT, Bomb Squads, Crisis Negotiators, and specific types of investigations. I believe we must do the same with mental health situations.

What should the Sheriff’s Office do differently, or continue to do, to address juvenile crime in the county?

Gibbs: The Sheriff's Office should strive to foster positive engagement with youth through intervention programs. We can promote educational opportunities to meet varying needs of juveniles and to serve as a supportive framework for intervention and services for safeguarding the personal development, particularly those juveniles who are in danger or at risk.

It is important to partner with community groups to help understand the root causes of juvenile crimes, and promote education within the community to minimize opportunities for juvenile delinquency. We need to build community relationships with juvenile court services to promote diversion programs.

Morse: The Sheriff’s Office has minimal involvement in the enforcement of juvenile crime in the County. Most of this role is handled by local police departments. Where the Sheriff’s Office does have the most impact is court services. With the ever-increasing juvenile crimes involving vehicle thefts, serious assaults and gun violence, we must evaluate the handling of those involved during the court process. We continue to see the same core group involved in these crimes. In many cases during the court process, we see them released to homes with very little interest in supervision or being a positive part of the court process. Changes to the juvenile holding statute several years ago changed the way those serious offenders charged with Forcible Felonies are held. This has led to those offenders being moved to the juvenile detention center and intermingled with those impressionable juveniles in the system for lesser crimes. When this new facility is finished, I believe the current facility must continue to be utilized in keeping those violent offenders separated from the more impressionable youth. With these Forcible Felony crimes, the facility would be staffed by properly trained corrections staff who would be able to handle situations like what recently occurred at the Mary Davis Facility in Galesburg, Illinois. The building of the new juvenile facility must include increased quality services for all of the youths and include more stringent requirements for parental involvement.

What, in your view, are the challenges to staffing the Sheriff’s Office, and how would you address those?

Gibbs: Challenges with staffing are happening all around the country and are not unique to Scott County. We need to offer better and competitive pay to attract qualified applicants to fill positions, and retaining staff we have in place. We need to create a workplace culture where staff are provided training and support so they have the knowledge to complete their duties, and the ability to ask for help when they need or want it. If elected, I will work with the Board of Supervisors to ensure pay scales are competitive to entice a diverse workforce.

Morse: I believe the biggest challenge we face today is recruiting quality candidates to fill deputy and correctional positions. This is true for almost every department in the United States. To address this we must make the Scott County Sheriff’s Office the most desirable place to work for those interested. We must also work to increase morale, wages, and benefits so those not currently interested in such a career will become so. When I started my career departments would get 200-300 applicants for 5-10 openings. Now you will get 20 applicants. We must also work to restore the collective bargaining rights of the correctional staff, bringing them up to competitive wages which should assist in improving morale, recruiting to fill those positions, and helping with long-term retention. Setting your officers up for success leads to more positive interactions.