LEWISBURG — Three candidates representing different areas of law enforcement are seeking the Republican nomination for Union County sheriff in Tuesday’s primary election.

They are Ernest Ritter, acting sheriff; William Neitz Jr., part-time Union County detective and former Lewisburg police chief; and Jim Galbraith, a lieutenant with the Hartleton Police Department.

The sheriff’s office is a four-year term with a $48,408 annual salary. Ritter was named acting sheriff after the unexpected death of John Schrawder in October.

Ritter, 44, of Lewisburg, has had his eyes set on becoming sheriff since he joined the department as a deputy 10 years ago. With three years of experience as a police officer, work with the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force and state attorney general’s Office Drug Task Force, as well as eight years as a K-9 handler, Ritter said he has the necessary experience and drive to do the job.

Law enforcement has long been a passion for Neitz, 54, of Lewisburg, who began his career as a 19-year-old police officer in Lewisburg. He worked his way through the ranks to become police chief before retiring in 2005. Neitz, who has more than 2,000 hours of training in law enforcement, hopes to funnel his passion to the sheriff's department.

For Galbraith, 55, of Mifflinburg, becoming sheriff would be the ultimate reward for a man who has spent more than 25 years working in law enforcement. In addition to time spent with the Mifflinburg and New Berlin police departments, Galbraith served 11 years in the Navy. Galbraith, who has worked for 30 years at Yorktowne Inc. and served as union president for 15 years, said becoming sheriff would be the pinnacle of his police career.

“Sheriff is the highest ranking law enforcement official in the county, elected by the people,” he said. “Everything I do revolves around people, so I have a good understanding of how to deal with people.”

Ritter was chief deputy for seven years. He spearheaded the launch of the county’s first K-9 unit in 2000, helped guide the department’s effort in launching one of the region’s first Project LifeSaver programs and helped trim the sheriff’s budget by $60,000 for this year.

“We’ve made changes in the office to make it more efficient and more cost-effective, without any loss to public safety and substantial budget cuts,” said Ritter, adding that staggering shifts has helped trim overtime. “We’re also working closer with local county jails and sheriff departments to help with prisoner transport, which has cut down on duplicating trips.”

Neitz, who graduated from Shikellamy High School in 1972, would like to see the county establish a criminal intelligence network. He said his 20 years as an investigator would be beneficial.

“I believe we can develop a network to share information with local, state and federal enforcement agencies,” Neitz said. “I would love to get to the point where the sheriff’s department becomes the central location of that network.”

Since 1997, Neitz has been part of several major drug investigations with the East Drug Task Force under the state attorney general’s office. He began his career as an investigator nearly 20 years ago with the Lewisburg police after graduating from the Allentown Police Academy Criminal Investigation School.

“The sheriff’s department is exposed to a lot of things through serving bench warrants, providing courthouse security and transporting prisoners,” Neitz said. “Because of that, the sheriff’s department is great source of information.”

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