Goggin, Dyer reflect on race for sheriff

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Facing his first challenge on the ballot in more than 20 years, Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin was re-elected last week by a 4,664-3,086 vote over Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer.
    Goggin was part of the county-wide Republican sweep while Dyer was running as an independent.

    Although Dyer — making his first bid for public office — took almost 55 percent of the vote in Dover-Foxcroft (1,020-840) and Brownville (278-244), Goggin showed considerable strength in the western half of the county.
    The incumbent took 80 percent of the votes cast in Guilford, 79 percent in his hometown of Sangerville, 77 percent in Parkman, 64 percent in Monson and 63 percent in Greenville.
    “I was surprised by the margin of victory,” Goggin said. “I thought it might have been a little closer in Dover-Foxcroft. But as results from the other towns started coming in and things evened out a little bit, I felt more reassured.”
    Goggin said that the campaign was an eye-opener in some ways. “Most of all, I learned that I’ve lost contact with some of the decent people in Piscataquis County,” Goggin said. “We arrest people. We answer complaints. And I’m so used to dealing with the criminal element that I don’t get a chance to socialize or ask decent folks what they think about the sheriff’s department.”
    Dyer said that he was disappointed in the loss, but considered the campaign a “positive experience, overall. I met a lot of good people I would not have met otherwise.”
    He said that the county’s Republican committee “really worked hard for the sheriff. They went door-to-door, put up signs and really promoted his candidacy. I didn’t have an organization behind me.”
    Dyer said that there were also some rumors about changes he would have made if he were elected sheriff “which just weren’t true. But I think some people were worried.”
    The local police chief said that while it’s too early to make a decision, he hasn’t ruled out running again. “I’ve still got four years to think about it,” he said. “But if I do, I’m still running as an independent.”