James Quattrone has laid out a plan of efficiency and callaboration between organizations in a bid for sheriff. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

LAKEWOOD — James Quattrone said he wanted to be a law enforcement officer since he was 5 years old.

A longtime Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputy and active community member, Quattrone announced his candidacy as a Republican candidate for sheriff last week.

Quattrone said he told Sheriff John Bentley at the beginning of his career that he would some day like to be sheriff. Thirty years later, he is chasing after his dream. He retired last year from the Sheriff’s Office, and running for the department’s top position has been something the Lakewood resident has been thinking about for a while.

“It hadn’t been a new idea,” Quattrone said.

However, he wanted to make sure his family was on board. Quattrone said he knew for sure that it was the right time to run when his wife, Nancy, bought him button up shirts and ties for Christmas under the guise of Santa.

“You’ll need them for the campaign,” Nancy Quattrone said.

Between his 30 year experience with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and his background as an educator in law enforcement, he said his candidacy most likely doesn’t surprise a lot of people.

He began his career in 1987 on the Navigation Patrol, and for a brief period, worked at the Chautauqua County Jail prior to attending the Sheriff’s Academy. In 1988, Quattrone was appointed to road patrol, and later assigned to the STOP DWI patrol. He was later promoted to sergeant and then to lieutenant, the rank he held when he retired.

Quattrone said there were a few areas he would focus on most if he is elected. He said there is a high rate of recidivism, meaning people returning to criminal behavior, which he would like to work on.

“The jail has been good at different times with programs, but we need to enhance that,” Quattrone said. “And also, out on the road, focusing on the drug epidemic as well as crime and safety for our citizens.”

Focusing on collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, local fire departments and building strong relationships throughout the community is important to him, he said. Ultimately, Quattrone said pooling the resources between organizations will be more effective for safety and efficiency.

Quattrone said he wants to hear what volunteer fire fighters and other service providers in the community have to say. The fire departments are often “the eyes and ears” of law enforcement, Quattrone said, meaning they have a lot to contribute to the discussion of safety and security.

One of the biggest issues he’d like to tackle is seeing a unity among law enforcement officers in the county, including those inside the Sheriff’s Office.

“I feel the Sheriff’s Office is a great agency, and that’s because of the men and the women who are working there who are dedicated and committed to the safety and the security of our citizens,” he said. “I think we need to continue that by demonstrating integrity, courage and respect. When I say integrity, I mean knowing the right thing to do, but we have to have the courage to do the right thing, and then the respect needs to be unconditional respect for all people.”

That includes employees, staff, deputies, the public as well as those that are being arrested, Quattrone said. People are deserving of respect, even when their actions are not.

“We need to respect the person, we don’t have to respect the activity that they’re doing,” he said.

Quattrone said the decision to run for Sheriff is the third most important decision he has made in his life.

“The first one being my faith, the second one being my marriage,” he said. “This is third. It has not been a light decision.”

The retired sheriff’s deputy has been involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Mental Health Association, Addiction Response Ministry, United Christian Advocacy Network, and currently serves as the Executive Director of the UCAN City Mission. He serves on the Chautauqua County Community Services Board, and is an instructor and consultant for New York State Crisis Intervention Team Training.

Quattrone has also been an instructor and consultant for the state Fundamental Crisis Skills for Law Enforcement, and has been an instructor at the Zone 13 Police Training Academy for the past 28 years. He is also a graduate of the Zone 13 Basic Course for Police Officers, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Police Supervision Course, state Division of Criminal Justice Hostage Negotiations, the F.B. I. National Academy in Quantico, Va., and the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Course.

With a Master of Science degree in administration of justice from Mercyhurst College and a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he is no stranger to education.

Quattrone is a lifelong resident of Chautauqua County. He and his wife currently live in Lakewood and are parents of four adult children.