To the Editor:

I would like to start off by saying that I grew up in Isle of Wight County and have resided here for over 30 years. I served as a volunteer firefighter for 7 years and have made a career as sworn law enforcement in Isle of Wight County for 8 years. I have vested a great deal of time and effort to ensure that my daughter has a great place to grow up in. A place that she can be proud of and maybe one day decide to call her home.

Every four years we see people step up to the challenge to run for public office. We are afforded the opportunity to go to public forums to meet them and ask them the pertinent questions that we feel are important qualities of a candidate that seeks public office. I myself am a fact-driven person. This is all the more reason that the letter to the editor titled “Stanton’s ‘For real!’” has offended me. You see, I am the “armed guard” referenced in the letter.

I am a Patrol Sergeant for Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office and not an “armed deputy escorting her…” So for other fact-driven individuals, here is what my night of Rushmere Days consisted of. I arrived at the event and had conversations with multiple citizens, too. Georgette Phillips arrived and I did participate in conversation with her. I then had to leave the event because one of my deputies called for assistance. I did not escort Georgette Phillips there and I was not at the event for its longevity.

Mr. DeGroft, I have known you since I was 6 years old and I didn’t even see you there because you know I would have spoken to you. So as far as Rushmere Days go, I too am a citizen of this great county and made it a choice to go to that event. I was there purely because I chose to attend and no other reason.

As a voter in this county I have the ability to make my own informed decisions when it comes my vote. I work the hours when everyone else can attend these events. I take in the information that I need to make and educated vote without ever getting to say a word about my opinion. I have attended five events and Jennifer Stanton, who claims to be a friend of law enforcement, has been at them all. Not one time has she come up to me and offered her reasons for me to vote for her. The one time that I was able to speak to her she only wanted to know who owned a piece of property that she could place a sign on located in the county.

I spend a good percentage of my life sitting in the courts watching the process work. I know that lawyers each have their own style; some calm, others are more like a vicious dog. Judges have their preference as to how their court operates. The only thing that I ask of my fellow voting citizens is that if you are going to make comments make them factual. I have not seen the faces of many of the people commenting on our system ever in the courtroom to see how it runs. With that said, I have seen Georgette Phillips work from being the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney prosecuting DUI cases to being the Commonwealth Attorney and prosecuting drug and murder cases in Circuit Court. Her style may not be that of her opponent, but she is a part of the team that helps me do my job to make this county a better place for my daughter to grow up.

I support Georgette Phillips and I will vote for her on Nov. 3, 2015.

Kimberly Davenport
Smithfield