Running in a city that’s elected just a couple Republicans to a municipal office in decades, Roanoke sheriff candidate James Creasy said he needed to take a gamble.

So the GOP candidate retired from the sheriff’s office in the middle of the race so he can campaign full time. Creasy’s last day as a student resource officer was Aug. 4. He was stationed at Highland Park as sergeant over elementary schools and worked for 24 years with the sheriff’s office.

“I’m going all in,” he said of his decision.

Creasy is campaigning on solutions to crime and the city’s homelessness issues. He said he would like to put more deputies on the streets, walking neighborhoods and knocking on doors to stay in touch with everyday issues, such as problems created by homeless people.

But Creasy has also been critical of Sheriff Antonio Hash, filing a formal complaint with the commonwealth’s attorney over alleged conduct. And he’s also questioning a new inmate resource center opened by Hash, as well as the involvement of Republican City Councilman Nick Hagen, who has yet to endorse Creasy.

On July 30, Hash, choking back tears at one point, opened the new downtown sheriff’s office Unified Reintegration Resource Center during a ceremony attended by dozens. He said he believes it will make a difference with reforming those who have been incarcerated as they return to society.

A network of organizations will offer inmates training, mental health and other services in the building, eliminating the need for appointments and travel to various locations. 

“I don’t do this as a political game, because before I was sheriff, I was still doing these things,” Hash said during the ceremony. “We should be in a position where we give back to our community. And it doesn’t take a title. It just takes people who are committed for the betterment of a human being.”

Creasy is critical of the timing and the funding for the center at 301 Campbell Avenue, which Hagen owns with his parents and is where Hagen lives.

Creasy said he doesn’t believe Hagen should have involved himself as a sitting councilman in a lease deal with a city department.

“It’s a you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours deal,” Creasy said, adding that it’s not lost on him that the Democratic incumbent Hash opened the center during an election year.

Hash, in earlier interviews, said he was in search of a location to house the center so it will be close to the sheriff’s office on Campbell Avenue. After several options failed to materialize, Hash struck a deal for the building owned by Res Ipsa Properties., Hagen says he has about a 10 percent stake in the family business.

The sheriff’s office, which is using $103,000 in grant money for the project, is paying Res Ipsa $3,125 a month, according to the lease agreement.

Hagen said he was not involved in the lease negotiations, and he made the city attorney’s office aware of the matter as soon as Hash expressed interest in the property. 

Hagen recused himself from a city council vote last month to approve $60,000 for one grant being used, supplied by Total Action for Progress. Hagen’s involvement prompted the city attorney’s office to ask the state Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council for an opinion. City Attorney Tim Spencer said the actions taken by Hagen to recuse himself adequately address the situation.

TAP Executive Director Angela Penn said she supports the resource center’s mission, and TAP has set up a review process to make sure the money is being spent effectively. Another question raised by Creasy is the potential for duplicative services. 

“The services provided at the URCRC are not duplicative of our agency's work,” Penn said in an email. “Rather, they are complementary. We will be offering our services at this location on a scheduled basis, integrating our efforts with others to create a more coordinated and effective support system, as we recognize that reducing crime requires a community-wide effort.”

Penn said such services “have been shown to reduce recidivism, reduce the burden on law enforcement, and to reduce crime – which offers us all an opportunity to enjoy a high quality of life in Roanoke, and throughout the whole region.”

Creasy also questions whether Hagen’s lack of an endorsement of the Republican’s sheriff campaign to this point could be tied to the lease deal involving Hash.

When asked if the lease deal has anything to do with the lack of an endorsement, Hagen said: “It does not.”

Hagen said he was approached by Creasy for an endorsement before Hash inquired about the availability of 301 Campbell.

Hagen said he’s “looking forward” to more conversations with Creasy.

“He is the Republican nominee,” Hagen said.

Creasy, too, has filed a formal complaint against Hash over other matters. The complaint, which Commonwealth’s Attorney Don Caldwell is evaluating, focuses on what Creasy alleges are questionable uses of the sheriff’s office by Hash for political purposes.

On Monday, Caldwell said, at this point, “I’m having a difficult time seeing that this has any criminal context.”

Hash maintains the complaint is baseless, and is nothing more than election year tactics to try to taint his accomplishments.