Former Secret Service officer launches bid for Harford sheriff

Harford County politics have been shaped by conflict between law enforcement and politicians, sheriff candidate Keith Runk says. He thinks it is time for change.

Runk, pointing to tensions between Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler and County Executive Bob Cassilly over the past three years, said he is running on the belief that there is no place for police to influence the political landscape.

“I know I am in a political arena, but I am getting elected to be a policeman — not to get in depth in the politics,” Runk said. “People are tired of the way the fighting has been going, and they want a change but haven’t been given the opportunity because [Gahler] has run unopposed. I am offering that change.”

The Republican candidate filed this week to challenge Gahler, also a Republican, in the June primary for the office.

The last time Gahler faced a Republican opponent for the sheriff seat was in 2014, when he defeated John Ryan in the primary election. He faced Democratic challengers in the 2014 and 2018 general elections, and he ran unopposed in 2022.

Runk, a father of five, has been in law enforcement for over 35 years, dating back to when he joined the Ocean City Police Department as a cadet in 1979.

He served in the Secret Service Uniformed Officer Division working the White House under the Reagan administration, and he commanded SWAT and other elite units when he was in the Maryland State Police.

Runk has also advised on panels for federal agencies and has trained schools, businesses and other first responders in active shooter response — earning him awards from the Maryland Govs. William Donald Schaefer in 1992 and 1994, Parris Glendening in 1998, and Larry Hogan in 2015, as well as two medals for valor.

“Since I was 4 or 5 years old, all I ever wanted to do was be in police work,” Runk said.

If elected, Runk said he would look to enhance the sheriff’s office’s transparency and crime reporting statistics since he said he received complaints from constituents regarding crime data.

His push for transparency also stems from the 2022 police shooting of 53-year-old John Fauver in Forest Hill. Following the shooting, Runk said he reviewed news reports that a Harford County judge ruled that Gahler must submit all evidence from the shooting to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office following a dispute between the two offices over access to evidence.

“What happens is people lose trust after these kinds of issues because it gives the impression that you’re not being forthcoming with the truth,” Runk said. “As a sheriff, you have an obligation to not only protect the people and the residents of people of Harford County, but I have to protect the rights of my officers and make sure I am not influencing the investigation one way or another.”

Gahler said his conflict with the attorney general stemmed from new legislation that was passed at the time that Gahler did not agree with.

“I will not bow to attacks on public safety,” Gahler said. “Standing up to bad policy from a Democrat attorney general’s office is what a sheriff should do and anything else is a betrayal of my deputies and my oath of office.”

Runk said he would like to explore adding police deputies to every school in the county, as long as the additional school resources are fiscally feasible and do not take away from other law enforcement operations.

Funding of additional student resource officers in Harford schools has been a flash point in ongoing arguments over law enforcement funding between Gahler and Cassilly. Runk said the controversy only erodes collaboration.

“There is a lot of tension between the sheriff and the county executive and my job if I am in that seat is that I can’t cut off my nose to spite my face and I can’t bite the hand that’s feeding me,” Runk said. “I depend on that county executive and that County Council to allocate my money and legislate for me and we are not always going to agree but my decisions can’t be based on personal conflict.”

Noting Runk’s position on his conflict with Cassilly, Gahler said he is a “proud conservative Republican” who leads the Harford County Sheriff’s Office on conservative public safety principles that he plans to continue to do for the next four years.

“Speaking up when legislation or local decisions weaken or threaten community safety isn’t politics, its leadership,” Gahler said. “As a conservative sheriff, I will push back, every time, against laws or county decisions that endanger our communities or fail to support the deputies who keep Harford County safe. I will never stop calling out those who erode public safety in Harford County.”

Runk and Gahler will face off in the primary June 23. The winner will face Democratic candidate Terrence Rogers in the November general election.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.