Albert, Hamacker vie for Westmoreland sheriff

Westmoreland County voters elected a Democrat in 2019 to serve as the new sheriff.

Six months later, Sheriff James Albert announced he had switched his party registration to Republican, leaving Democrats with just one elected official in county government.

Albert, 73, of New Alexandria will seek second term in office in November when he runs for the first time as a Republican.

“I haven’t changed my abilities and my beliefs, and I haven’t changed because I am no longer a Democrat,” Albert said. “In the summer of 2020, there were riots, and Democrats were silent, and Republicans kept speaking out on behalf of police. That’s why I decided to change.”

His opponent this fall is Democrat Tommy John Hamacker, a retired truck driver and former constable. Hamacker, 59, of Unity is making his first run at a countywide elected office.

“Things have to change. I have common sense, which nobody has anymore,” Hamacker said. “I stepped up to the plate to do that. You can’t turn your back on people.”

The sheriff’s primary duty is to run a department that employs about 70 deputies who are responsible for courtroom security, transportation of inmates and serving arrest warrants. The sheriff oversees a $5.4 million budget in 2023.

Albert defeated two-term Republican incumbent Sheriff Jonathan Held four years ago.

Albert is a former deputy sheriff, Greensburg police officer and served as a district judge in Greensburg for 26 years.

He said his long career in law enforcement and the courts enabled him to course-correct what had been a sheriff’s department that under the former administration was mired in scandal and was the subject of lawsuits filed by former staffers.

Albert said the issues that plagued the department when he first took office no longer exist.

“I came out of retirement to run against a sheriff who was charged with corruption. I thought I can contribute and turn the office around,” Albert said. “There have been no lawsuits, no grievances. We needed experience in this office.”

He said his oversight included work to ensure the safety and efficiency of his staff. He touted his court victory last year that saw the reversal of a county policy that required sheriff’s deputies to transport jail inmates to the hospital for treatment of medical emergencies.

Hamacker claimed the sheriff’s office, under Albert’s leadership, faces internal attitude and anger issues. He accused the incumbent of fostering an environment that “treats people like criminals.”

“It’s called trust. Albert is not who he needs to be. No one knows him there,” Hamacker said. “A sheriff needs to make people feel better to be in the county.”

He called for the sheriff to support expanded powers that will allow deputies to be more active in the law enforcement community. He said he will lobby county officials for the department to take over all security measures at the courthouse, a job currently performed by the county’s park police.

“The sheriff should use deputies for more than transportation,” Hamacker said.