“The People’s Choice for Change” - Andy T. Husar Runs for Bay County Sheriff

BAY COUNTY, FL - After 22 years of service to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Andrew T. Husar has announced his campaign for Bay County Sheriff. Citizens who believe in free and fair elections are signing petitions to add Husar’s name to the ballot for the Primary Election on August 20th. During our interview on February 2nd, Husar stated, “When I get elected sheriff, I will bring the community back in touch with the Sheriff’s office. I will have an open-door policy.”

Husar, a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and Army, began his career in 1994 in the Deputy Sheriff Patrol Division, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. He moved to Bay County in 2001, starting as a field training officer and traffic homicide investigator, moving onto Internet Crimes Against Children Investigator, and cross-training with Homeland Security Investigations (ICE) for federal investigations related to internet crimes against children.

Husar worked hard during his tenure, creating new programs to help protect children and adults. He formed the first Incident Management Team, now a deployable team within the state. He created the Childcare Alerting and Response to Emergency Situations (CARES) program, to notify daycare centers within a one-mile radius of police activity, allowing directors to determine if their facility should be made safe, to protect the children. Husar also created the Bay County Emergency Alert for Children in Emergency Situations (BEACHES) alert program, which alerts people currently on the sand, along with vendors and condo management, if a child goes missing on the beach.

When asked about his commitment to helping children, who are our future, Husar said that throughout his career, he was committed to helping kids, was always looking for new ideas to help them. He intends to keep fighting predators of children. Husar mentioned a child pornography investigation that appeared to be a case of child molestation, but with further investigation, it was discovered that her stepfather was using the girl to make and post porn on the dark web. Husar went deep into Operation Riptide in 2011, targeting on-line predators and people who travel to have sex with minors. One case was opened after the victim dropped a thumb drive which was found by a teacher, who looked at the thumb drive to determine its owner and found the girl’s diary. Husar spoke passionately about how technology makes it easy for predators to come after kids in so many ways including social media, cell phones, Chat Roulette, an app that is no longer in use, among others. To protect children, he intends to emphasize continuing to educate parents and children to make them aware of the dangers.

Husar discussed his noble goal of staying ahead of the crime wave, of expanding efforts that began 30 years ago when programs like the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) came into existence. He wants to expand on the efforts of the Community Services Division of the Bay County Sheriff’s Department, which provides resources to schools.

As Sheriff, he will lead the Bay County Sheriff’s Office into the community, to become engrained in the community, more of a helping hand rather than just the disciplinarians of the community. In times past, officers lived in low-income housing areas and were their representatives. They got to know the leaders and business owners, stopping in local stores routinely to find out if anything new was happening. They got to know people better and the people got to know them. He wants to get back to doing this, expecting that leaders in that community will be quicker to pick up the phone, to report new developments or concerns to someone they know.

Husar will also do community outreach such as having community meetings, getting to know the leaders and other members of the community, to identify their concerns and then to work together to find solutions. “You can’t fix problems that you don’t know about”, stated Husar. Unfortunately, crime is everywhere, no matter whether you are in the smallest town or the biggest city.

Husar is a strong advocate of the need for transparency with the community. He believes that law enforcement should not hide their tactics from the community but instead there should be a glass house around activities, to allow the community to know everything that’s going on within that agency, barring stuff that is being held for trial. “We should never hide anything from the public. We are servants of the community.” Husar will establish much needed advisory and review committees, populated by members of the local community, to review situations involving the use of deadly force, to review pursuits and body camera footage. By looking through a different lens, committee members may see things that officers don’t normally see, and help to identify areas with potential for improvement, things that could get worse if unaddressed. Other law enforcement departments have embraced transparency, which perhaps seems like a natural extension of Florida’s “Sunshine Law.”

When asked if allowing citizens to examine everything would cause a constant media circus, perhaps bringing unwanted national attention to Bay County, Husar said that he did not think this would happen since in other jurisdictions such as Polk County, the Sheriff, Grady Judd, reports things, good and bad, to the public, but at the same time tells them that he fixed it.

When asked about problems that are caused by the population growth in Bay County, Husar explained that much of the growth is into the unincorporated areas of Bay County which is served by the Sheriff’s Department. Staffing levels have stayed the same with the number of people living in the area increasing all the time. We not only need more deputies, but we need more deputies back out on the street. We need to focus on making the community a safe place to be again, a fun place to be, where people can relax and enjoy their lives, and not have to worry about what’s going on around them. This is how he remembers our community of 20 years ago.

Husar shared that getting serious about border security is mandatory to address the flow of illegal drugs. He shared the heartbreaking truth that many lives are being ruined or ended by the increasing use of deadly recreational drugs in the community. Families and lives are ruined every day due to the reintroduction of heroin and fentanyl into the community, and worse than that, is the use of fentanyl mixed with heroin and fentanyl mixed with cocaine. Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous drug on its own but mixing it with other drugs is deadly. The number of overdoses is rising. The number of deaths is rising. An even more potent drug that has been showing up in the community is a veterinary tranquilizer, carfentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Law enforcement officers now wear special heavy-duty gloves to protect themselves when handling potential victims of carfentanyl use, to keep from being affected by the drug by the accidental introduction into their own bodies.

Husar said that we need to keep enforcing the laws. Unfortunate victims are people who did not become addicted due to a lifestyle choice but instead took opioids legally for severe pain, who became addicted to the opioids, then moved onto more dangerous drugs when opioids were no longer available legally. These people need treatment, not more drugs.

When asked if we need more jails, to get repeat offenders, such as those who have been arrested 50 times, off the street, instead of just allowing them pay $50 and get out in the morning, Husar explained that most offenders are entitled to post bond and get out of jail. A quick release helps an employed person because many employers won’t hold their job open for long. Only some offenders need to stay in jail. Others may need to complete treatment programs to change their lives.

When discussing human trafficking, Husar mentioned recent arrests on the beach. “Human trafficking is not just for sex workers, not just for prostitution. Traffickers also bring housekeepers and cooks. These are people who come for a job, then the employer takes their passport, so they are stuck here.” He pointed out that in larger cities than ours, there is an even bigger problem due to the larger population.

Husar said that one of the best things that Florida did was to institute constitutional carry. It allows anyone who is legally allowed, to carry a firearm for their own protection. However, anyone around you could have a weapon concealed but may not be trained in its proper use. A person who carries a concealed weapon needs to learn when and where it is legal to carry and to not carry such as not into banks, bars, government buildings, and onto school property.

Husar said Florida has allowed open carry for the history of hunting in Florida. During hunting season, every contact that Fish and Wildlife is an open carry situation. He thinks that since the weapon can be seen in plain sight, other people are a little more hesitant to do something to you because they know you’re armed.

Husar discussed the increase in drownings in Bay County and said that the best thing the Sheriff’s Office did was to enforce the county ordinance. He sees the need to educate the public, especially tourists and other visitors, about the meaning of, and extreme danger present, on double-red flag days. The first contact with someone in the water when there are double-red flags posted results in a warning. Some people push the envelope so any subsequent contact that day may result in a ticket being issued. Some tourists have never been exposed to the Gulf and need to be made aware of the dangers. It’s a good program that’s for their safety. Husar said that to improve the double-red flag policies, there is a need to continue with public education and to add more flags in more areas where people enter the beaches. Concerned people can sign up for Bay Alert to get a daily text alert as to which flags were put up that day.

Husar has been in the forefront during emergencies, serving in challenging roles, from supervisor of deputies, supervisor of the agency dive team, which is responsible for the collection of evidence and recovery of items in the waterways in Bay County, Lieutenant of the Communications Section, representative to the Florida Criminal Justice Information Center and to the National Criminal Justice Information Center. He became regional coordinator for Florida Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce, coordinating the response of dispatchers to areas affected by human-made and natural disasters. Husar was the law enforcement representative for the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during Hurricane Michael, Planning Section Chief for the county during the COVID-19 response, and coordinated disaster response for Hurricanes Ian and Idalia, for 68 Sheriff’s Offices. His final role was Emergency Response Director for the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, advising the Sheriff on all emergency management and communications matters, while supervising the day-to-day operation of the 911 Center and the dispatchers.

Husar earned a Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, graduating Summa Cum Laude, a Master of Science in Leadership with an emphasis in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Organizational Development, all from Grand Canyon University. His long-term research interests include understanding emergency management leadership models and the shortfalls identified post-disaster. Husar’s long-term goal is to attain a teaching position at the university level to help guide future emergency managers in the whole community approach and resilience. He loves to teach and wants to teach the next generation how to deal with emergency situations.

Husar’s thesis is researching leadership responsibility to prevent burnout, and how to give people the intent to stay in positions as public safety communications specialists. He wants to uncover which leadership skills make people want to stay in their jobs. “Exit interviews find out what makes them leave. I want to know what makes them want to stay,” said Husar.

One thing that Husar thinks is critical for people around him to know is, “Don’t lie to me. I can fix anything, as long as I know the truth. If I can’t trust you not to lie to me, I can’t trust you.”

Husar brings a passion for leadership, for learning new skills. He referenced a book that Bob Chapman, CEO and Chairman of Barry-Wehmiller, wrote that teaches servant leadership. The right leadership can build people up, instead of breaking them down, and be a force for good. Husar thinks that leadership needs to start at the agency, that you need the respect of the people who work for you and to understand where they’re coming from. He sees the need to develop a family atmosphere where people are happy to be there, happy to go to work every day, happy to go out and help their community. Learning new leadership skills will not only benefit the agency but will benefit the entire community.

Husar likes to teach the “10-5 rule” wherein you smile at anyone who comes within 10 feet of you and acknowledge anyone verbally who comes within 5 feet of you. “Emotions rule everything.” If a person tells you about a problem, you should help solve it, because it can affect the workplace. “We should start with little things.” For example, when he became Lt. Husar, he insisted that everybody call him Andy, because you need a personal connection with people, to get to know them.

When asked why he is, “The People’s Choice for Change,” Husar said that we must focus on leadership, especially in law enforcement. Serving as the next Bay County Sheriff will allow him to teach leadership skills to newer and younger deputies, to instill his values in them, to help keep the community safe. It will enable him to find and develop leaders and equip them to build high-performing teams capable of meeting the organization’s challenges.

(The Bay County Coastal does not endorse candidates.)