Candidate: Dale Ritchhart

Hello, as you already know, my name is Dale Ritchhart, Republican Candidate for Charlotte County Sheriff 2016. I served the Charlotte County Sheriff\'s Office with loyalty for twenty-seven and a half years before retiring in 2010. During this period of time I rose to leadership positions with honor and integrity, two very important characteristics of a good leader. I am a man who believes you must Lead from the Front, not from the rear. I also believe the Sheriff\'s Office should be ran like a business, after all, we do provide a service to the community, which is Safety. I can assure you, under my command, we would bring back the family atmosphere and team work I knew when I served there. I am not a politician and I do not believe there is room for politics in Law Enforcement. In my opinion, Diplomacy is a better tool to manage people and gain their trust and respect. Listen to the people in the community and the people that make up the Charlotte County Sheriff\'s Office. I have worked in the trenches and understand what these people want and need. I also realize there are areas of the Sheriff\'s office that need to be evaluated and changed to put your taxpayer dollars to better use. In closing, I am asking you for your vote to allow me to become the next Sheriff of this great county of ours. Your vote for me is a vote for strong leadership, for the people. Thanking you in advance for your support, Sincerely, Dale Ritchhart God Bless America! Career: Ritchhart has twenty-eight and a half years of Law Enforcement experience beginning in 1982 at the South West Florida Police academy where he received the outstanding recruit award, and hired by the Punta Gorda Police Department, Punta Gorda, Florida. In 1983 he applied and was hired by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Punta Gorda, Florida. Dale spent time on road patrol, the traffic unit, criminal investigative unit, the major crimes unit, the narcotics unit and the intelligence unit. Twenty-three years of his career at the Sheriff’s Office were spent in investigative units. He was a Task Force Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at the Ft. Myers Florida Regional Office. He was also part of a Florida State Task Force investigating Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs and a Florida State Task Force investigating statewide Cargo Theft. Dale also conducted background checks on prospective agency candidates. He has a two year equivalency degree in Criminal Justice from Edison State College. He also has 2400 hours of in service and specialty training while employed by the CCSO. Since retiring Dale attended a local Charlotte County Government course. He was a member of the CCSO SWAT team for eighteen years, the last two as a Sniper. During his time in SWAT he provided Executive Protection for several high profile individuals and was involved in high risk prisoner transport. In 2009 he attended a nine week Senior Leadership Course at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in Tallahassee, Florida. Dale has a paper regarding Marijuana Grow Houses published on the FDLE web site. After rising to the rank of Lt. Commander of the Narcotics Unit and later as a road patrol Lt. District Commander, he retired from the CCSO in June of 2010 as an Honorary Captain. During his career, Dale received various service awards like the Sheriff’s medal and letters of accommodation. Since retiring he has worked for the Charlotte County Public School System as a security officer, as an Investigator for the State of Florida Department of Agriculture, Division of Licensing and for Charlotte County Public Works. He currently holds a valid State of Florida security and private investigator license and a valid Florida Concealed Weapons Permit. Dale has had a very diverse Law Enforcement career. Family: Dale is married to Connie Ritchhart and have been together 24 years. Dale has been in this area for 33 years and Connie is a Florida native. Connie is a Sr. Vice President at Charlotte State Bank and Trust and has been in banking in Charlotte County for thirty-eight (38) years. They have seven (7) children and fourteen (14) grandchildren. Six (6) of their children attended and graduated from the Charlotte County Public School System. Associations: Past volunteer for Big Brother and Big Sisters of Charlotte County and Habitat for Humanity. Current member of Masonic Lodge 115 Punta Gorda since 1991. Past member of Scottish Rite Lodge and the ARABA Shriners Lodge, of Ft. Myers, Florida. Current member Elks Lodge #2606 Punta Gorda, Florida. Dale and Connie were both actively involved with their children’s participation in school and school sports programs, pop warner and other county sports programs. They are now involved with their grandchildren that reside locally. Dale formerly coached youth basketball for Tiny Tarpons Basketball Punta Gorda and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School. As you can see, Dale and Connie are also stake holders in this community.