By Tamas Mondovics
With the candidate filing deadline past and no opponent running against him, David Gee is now in line to begin a fourth term in office as Hillsborough County Sheriff.
“Running unopposed is a great reflection of the job he has done for the past 12 years,” said HCSO Public Information Officer Larry McKinnon. “The sheriff’s outstanding leadership and care for the community is the reason for his and the department’s continued success.”
A lifelong resident of Hillsborough County, Gee has served the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the community for nearly four decades in a number of progressive positions of leadership, including homicide investigator, internal affairs supervisor, public information officer, chief financial officer and chief deputy.
In 2004, Gee was elected sheriff to manage the tenth largest suburban law enforcement agency in the nation, with now close to 5,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $380 million. Gee was re-elected in 2008 and 2012.
Beside his impressive roster of educational achievements, Sheriff Gee is deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service and by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration as a Task Force Officer and is a member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Chairman of the Attorney General’s Region 4 Gang Reduction Task Force, and Co-Chairman of the Region 4 Domestic Security Task Force.
Over the years Sheriff Gee has become known for his community involvement, close interaction with his deputies and desire to improve the department while keeping residents safe.
“He is very hands on,” McKinnon said, adding that his boss is closely involved with his deputies, which includes ride alongs and examining the needs both inside and outside his office.
Under Sheriff Gee’s oversight the department has continued its successful crime rate reduction within the county’s boarders.
Recent data revealed that compared to 2014, the overall crime rate in 2015 was reduced by three percent, while “violent crime” rate is also the lowest in Hillsborough County since 1985.
While the number of residents in unincorporated Hillsborough County has grown, the number of victims of crimes reduced from 18,086 in 2014 to 17,552 in 2015, which equates to a total of 19.4 victims of crime per 1,000 residents versus 20.4 victims in 2014.
Sheriff Gee is an avid outdoorsman. He and his wife, Rhonda, have four children. For more information about HCSO, visit www.hcso.tampa.fl.us.
