The first woman elected to serve as Bexar County’s Sheriff was sworn in at one minute past midnight on the first day of the new year.
The day after her successful bid to defeat incumbent Amadeo Ortiz, Susan Pamerleau said she got busy, building relationships with county officials, assembling her administrative team, and taking a look at the $105 million budget she will manage.
"This isn’t just the appropriated budget of $105 million. There’s also the use of asset forfeiture monies and grant monies. So those are so important in doing some of the things that we might not otherwise be able to do," said Pamerleau.
Former County Judge Cyndi Krier, who gave the oath to the new sheriff, said Pamerleau has the expertise to change the long history of contention between county commissioners and the sheriff’s office.
"It is so important for the Bexar County Sheriff and the Bexar County Commissioners Court to work together in fighting crime," said Krier. "They can’t be fighting each other. They can’t be struggling over taxpayers’ dollars. They have to team up against crime in our community and I think we’ll see a huge difference in the coming year.”
Pamerleau, who retired from the Air Force as a Major General, has experience in managing multi-million dollar budgets and said she looks forward to working with County Manager David Smith, with whom she’s met several times.
Although the sheriff’s job will keep her busy, Pamerleau must also become a certified peace officer.
"I’ve already met with the Alamo Area Council of Governments’ Law Enforcement Academy, and that’s where I’ll be taking the majority of courses and taking classes on a regular basis until I get that certification. Like any other cadet," she said.
Pamerleau said she has two years to become certified and she is on schedule to start the course this month.
