Goggin running for reelection

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Piscataquis County Sheriff John J. Goggin brushed aside any rumors of his retirement last week and announced that he’s running for reelection.
     “My paperwork is going into the Maine Ethics Commission this week, and I’ll need 150 signatures of registered Republicans by March 18 to get on the ballot,” Goggin said.

    Goggin, 68, said that he made his final decision after Chief Deputy Robert Young and some other key staff members approached him recently and urged him to seek another four-year term. “Bob (Young) said that he was not interested in running for sheriff because he was comfortable in his position as chief deputy,” Goggin said. “So with my staff’s support and encouragement, I’m running again.”
    Young also works as a part-time investigator for the district attorney’s office and serves on the Piscataquis County Domestic Violence High Risk Response Team.
    Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer will officially announce his candidacy for county sheriff next week, but he plans to run as an independent.
    Goggin started his law enforcement career as a part-time deputy in Guilford under the late Sheriff Frank Murch, worked his way up through the ranks and was elected as sheriff for the first time in 1990.
    But the past few years, Goggin acknowledges, have been rough on him. “I lost my wife, Bonnie, last year,” he reflected. “I’ve also lost some close family members and friends. Then five years ago, our farmhouse burned down.”
    The Goggins had bought the house and attached barn on Silvers Mills Road in Sangerville and had planned to renovate it for a retirement home. In addition to the structure, the couple lost a lot of antique furniture and farm equipment in the blaze.
    Nevertheless, Goggin said he’s in good physical shape. “I’ve had two stents in my leg since 1992, and I have to go into the doctor’s every six months to make sure they’re working okay,” he said, “but that’s it.”
    The veteran law enforcement officer said that running the department presents several challenges. “We’re got the second-largest land mass of any county in the state, but the smallest budget,” Goggin said. “Realistically, there is no ‘off season.’ We have winter recreation, spring and summer visitors and then you’re right into hunting season. There’s always a demand for services.”
    Goggin said that the economy today “is the worst I’ve seen it. It’s almost like a depression. Many revenue sources are cut off, and that can create a lot of friction in the communities.”
    But he added that he “couldn’t ask for a better team. They’re loyal to a fault. We’ve got low turnover and the people in the department want to live in Piscataquis County and raise their families here.”
    The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department has 33 full-time employees including corrections officers and support staff. Goggin said that a patrol position was cut a few years ago “and I’d like to get it back someday when the economy improves.”
    Goggin said that he’s especially proud of the county jail which has received consistently high ratings from state and federal officials. “The boarding fee that we’ve received over the years for housing federal prisoners has just about paid for the new jail,” Goggin said.
    The communications center maintains contact with every law enforcement agency and emergency service in the county, plus wrecker services, the gates at the North Maine Woods and even snowmobile groomers.
    While Goggin’s relationship with the Piscataquis County Commissioners was a bit rocky a few years ago, he said that he gets along well with the current board. “Over the years, I’ve had times when I didn’t always agree with the commissioners, but we respected each other’s views,” he added. “I’m looking forward to the next four years.”