Shots from the Sheriff
John Green vs. Michael Untermeyer.
L ittle attention is being paid to the city's row offices, which makes it particularly tricky for challengers to get the attention they need to unseat entrenched incumbents. One such contest is taking shape between incumbent Democrat Sheriff John Green and primary challenger Michael Untermeyer, a former assistant district attorney and special counsel to the Attorney General's Office.
Green, who is running for his fifth term, is claiming Untermeyer tried to extort him for a job as undersheriff, a position that is currently vacant. He said that Untermeyer approached him last December and said he should be hired because he could make a difference in the office. Green added he received a call from a confidant of Gov. Ed Rendell who tried to broker a deal whereby Untermeyer would get the position. (Untermeyer served under Rendell in the District Attorney's Office and got his last job as a hearing examiner for the Liquor Control Board from Rendell.) At a candidate's forum at a synagogue in Northeast earlier this month, Green said Untermeryer approached him again and asked if he had reconsidered.
Untermeyer, who denies ever asking Green for a job, says, "I am running because I can make a difference. I had a good job and I left it to run for office. Green should be focusing on the issues."
Untermeyer also attacked Green's record as sheriff. (The Sheriff's Office's function is to transport prisoners, guard courtrooms, serve writs, handle delinquent taxes on properties, and handle foreclosures.) Green's office was the subject of highly critical audits, conducted by then-City Controller Jonathan Saidel in 2003, which reported that Green's office was holding $3.4 million in unclaimed funds from foreclosures as far back as 1972 that should have been turned over to the state and the city. Saidel's report said the financial records could not be analyzed and that Green had not hired an accounting firm to oversee the books as promised.
A year later, Deputy State Treasurer for Audits and Investigations Peter J. Smith said Green's office was improperly holding $11 million in unclaimed property but then corrected the report to say it was only $3.3 million. Green, whose office settled the debt, admitted there were problems with the accounting in his office but blamed old computers and unresolved Y2K conversion problems.
Untermeyer's other reform bullet points include taking care of predatory lenders who defraud poor people who end up losing their homes. Green said his office is offering counseling and training classes for residents so they don't get taken in by unscrupulous lenders.
Untermeyer also accuses Green's office of not assisting the Police Department. Green said assistance is given, but his office is taxed by their role in transporting some 300 prisoners per day. He said he needs more money in his budget but has had problems getting it. His budget is about $12 million with more than 250 workers.
Green, if re-elected, will have held the seat for 20 years. He was a former police officer for 16 years, became a sergeant of the Northwest Detective Division, supervisor of the Police Recruitment Unit and then was with Internal Affairs. He is also a member of the Mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission, the Pennsylvania Judicial Board and the National Sheriff's Association.
While Untermeyer served under former Attorney General Mike Fisher , he was in charge of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering section of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Drug Law Division. He was a trial lawyer in New York before moving to Philadelphia. He has been a part-time real-estate developer, and said he has never bought a property at a sheriff's sale.
"I would love," he concluded, "to debate the sheriff."
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