[10/23/03] In advance of general election voting Nov. 4, The Vicksburg Post provided questionnaires to candidates for local offices.

Their responses, as they wrote them, are being printed in a series of articles, continuing today with Warren County Sheriff.

Voters will choose between two candidates, Republican Gary Lick, 52, and incumbent Martin Pace, 44, an independent.

Q: What in your background has prepared you to manage the sheriff’s department?

Lick: I have experience as an independent business owner, and for over 30 years in Warren County I have served the citizens with pride and commitment! I have performed all of the duties and responsibilities that were required to maintain that business. I have experience with budgets, the bidding process and dealing with government entities. I also have experience dealing with the public, and their needs and expectations as consumers of services. I have two years of study in criminal justice, Mississippi law and the administrative duties of a sheriff’s office.

Pace: I am a 24-year law-enforcement veteran, having worked in every division of the sheriff’s department prior to becoming your sheriff in 1996. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi with postgraduate study in alcohol-and-drug intervention. I graduated from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy with honors, graduated from the FBI’s leadership school and have hundreds of hours of advanced training at the local, state and federal levels.

Q: If you are elected sheriff for the next four years, what do you anticipate will occupy the greatest part of your time?

Lick: I will spend the greatest portion of my time leading the sheriff’s department in solving unsolved crimes, aggressive crime-prevention practices and aggressive enforcement of the laws of the state of Mississippi. I believe that this is what the citizens of Warren County want in their sheriff, and I will seek to provide them with the quality of law-enforcement that they expect and deserve.

Pace: I consider the safety and well-being of the citizens of the county a 24-hour-a-day job. Much of my time will continue to be spent overseeing ongoing investigations, handling personnel issues, managing the budget set by the board of supervisors and being available to listen to the concerns of the citizens of Warren County. I will continue to dedicate time to crime-prevention programs for the youth in our schools.

Q: What personal qualities do you think are most important for the job of sheriff? How do yours match the requirements of the job?

Lick: I am a good listener, and will use that trait to receive input from the community on what their needs are and how to meet them. I believe that as sheriff I have a responsibility to the citizens of Warren County to provide a level of service and professionalism that is unequaled. I am trustworthy and devoted and can be depended on in times of trouble. I believe that my steadfastness and my devotion will prove to the citizens of Warren County that I am here to serve them! And I want to be The Citizens’ Sheriff.

Pace: Honesty, dedication and professionalism are the most important qualities for the sheriff. The sheriff should be educated and professionally trained. The sheriff must also have good communication skills. I am an ordained deacon and elder in the First Presbyterian Church, have been an instructor of criminal justice at Hinds Community College for 12 years and spent my entire adult life serving the public. The sheriff must be willing to dedicate his or her life to the job. I have.