You hailed his opponent for DNA efforts [September 27 Hotseat: "Mission district: DNA dude explains his sheriff quest], but during the late 1980s, Larry Claytor and his colleagues at the Virginia Forensic Science Academy Alumni Association pushed for the State Forensic Lab to replace conventional serology with DNA. Also, during 1989, as a member of the executive board of the Association, Claytor and his colleagues lobbied the State Legislature to pass legislation to provide funding to create the DNA data bank initially as a sex offender data base. The legislation was expanded in 1990 to include all convicted felons. The DNA data bank went on-line in 1993 with its first official hit.

Claytor is running for Sheriff of Albemarle, and I support him. As criminal defense lawyers, my colleagues and I came to hold Claytor in the highest esteem because of his unflinching integrity and principles of honesty, fairness, and treating everyone with respect.

He is a professional, but he is also a warm and decent person. Here is an individual who defines himself not just in law enforcement-- he has been protecting Albemarle County for 30+ years-- but in his community service as a six-term president of the rescue squad and 30+ year rescue squad volunteer.

Claytor is a member of more community organizations than there is space to list, usually serving in positions of leadership. He is a master police officer, a teacher at the Training Academy, and a CSI technician for major crime scenes in Albemarle County. 

Please vote to make him our new Sheriff.

Steven Rosenfield
Albemarle County

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