McEathron explains process leading up to early retirement announcement

Sheriff McEathron behind his desk at the county Public Safety Building – Photos/Roger Bianchini

Royal Examiner sat down with Warren County Sheriff Daniel McEathron Monday afternoon in the wake of his announced retirement effective May 1, 2019. Sheriff for the last 16 years of a 37-year career at the department, McEathron announced August 1 of last year that he would not seek re-election this year. His final four-year term expires on December 31.

BREAKING NEWS: Sheriff McEathron announces he’ll retire May 1

So, why the early exit, we asked.

“After the last election, which was 2015, right, and I took office in ’16, my wife and I both sat down and talked about it – I was going to leave January 1, 2019. I was going to retire early. So, we decided as a family together two-and-a-half, three years ago,” the sheriff said of the hatching of a family plan to exit his last term as sheriff as much as a year early.

“But the more I got to thinking about it, that’s right when you submit your budget and it’s extremely important to any office. So I felt it was important for me to go ahead with that,” the sheriff observed of preparation and submission of the annual departmental budget. “So this decision, the first phase of this decision was made last year as far as leaving prior to the expiration of my term. But I felt it was important to submit my budget, present my budget and get through that process, which is usually April.

“And the office is running great, running smooth – this will be the first time in I guess four to six years where we’ll be totally full staffed. We won’t have the amount of vacancies we used to have; so we’re right where we need to be in the staffing. Everything is running good,” McEathron said of what he sees as an opportune moment to enact that early exit strategy developed on the home front in recent years.

The sheriff also joked that perhaps it is advisable to “retire” early on a chosen date, rather than see one’s contract “expire” for a final time as sheriff’s office contracts do at the end of the calendar year – “And this is not a joking matter… but it’s that word ‘expire,’ ” McEathron laughed.

Hey, having almost “expired” myself on a past December 31, I think it’s a GOOD CALL, sheriff.

“Personally everything’s great, the kids are doing good – why not take advantage of the summer; get ahead a little early. Professionally everything is going a way I can’t ask for it to go any better – we have a great staff here. So nothing’s going to change really, other than I won’t be sitting here,” the sheriff said looking around his office.

Standing by memorabilia including partners from his sheriff’s office K-9 corp days.

“But do you know what the most important part of today is?” the sheriff asked of the day he announced his pending retirement, “It’s my mother’s 86th birthday.” – GO mom.

And don’t worry, the soon-to-be-retired sheriff will be visiting much more frequently in no time.

Since his August 1st announcement he would not seek another term as sheriff, three people have declared as candidates to replace McEathron. Those include one from within the department, Michael “Mickey” Licklider, county resident and Winchester City Police Officer Jason Poe as well as county resident and Fairfax County Police Officer Mark Butler.

The press release announcing McEathron’s intention to step down noted that Major Michael Arnold will serve as sheriff for the remaining eight months of the incumbent’s term, which as noted above, “expires” December 31, 2019.

“By code the chief deputy, which is Major Michael Arnold, automatically takes over,” McEathron explained of the short-term succession plan.

Does Arnold’s appointment to complete Sheriff McEathron’s final year in office mean that a fourth candidate may emerge into the race to replace him?

“No, he’s not going to run – in three years he can retire too,” McEathron said of his immediate successor.

The sheriff outside the public safety headquarters building he pointed out benefited from excellent construction prices acquired during a down regional and national economy.