Untermeyer, Green
square off

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

As Tuesday’s primary election nears, Michael Untermeyer continues to make his bid to head the Sheriff’s Office known in many public places — including 19-year incumbent John D. Green’s church.
Untermeyer, 56, recently spoke at Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in South Philadelphia. Green, 59, who is seeking his sixth four-year term, did not attend the service.
"I’m feeling great. I keep getting more and more traction," Untermeyer told the Times last week.
Untermeyer remains Green’s sole opponent. Another Democratic candidate, Green’s former acting chief deputy sheriff, Jacque Whaumbush, was knocked from the ballot after a three-judge panel ruled that he should have reported two creditors who had secured court judgments against him. Whaumbush’s appeal was rejected last week. There is no Republican candidate in the race.
Untermeyer, a prosecutor-turned-developer, says he wants to bring personal and financial responsibility to the Sheriff’s Office. The office’s main duties include transferring prisoners from jail to court hearings and managing foreclosure and tax sales.
The challenger, who lives in Old City, says Green has a history of financial mismanagement that has been the subject of audits by the City Controller’s Office and a lawsuit alleging that the office didn’t distribute funds from sheriff’s sales in a timely fashion.
Untermeyer adds that the cost of advertising homes in foreclosure — a last attempt to get them sold before they head to sheriff’s sale — could be lowered.
Green, who in March told the Times he had met with his opponent to discuss the workings of his office "because (Untermeyer’s) a taxpayer," but never agreed to debate him, says he’s maintained a good financial and public service record.
For instance, he transferred fees from the sheriff’s office, which operates on a $12 million budget, to an interest- bearing account to generate more money for the city’s general fund.
Green, of Mount Airy, has also tried to educate homeowners about foreclosure. His Junior Posse anti-drug project targets public school students throughout the city.
If re-elected, Green says he wants to implement a new computer system and continue to decrease the foreclosure rate in the city in a time when the national rate is increasing.
If he wins, Untermeyer wants to end no-bid contracts — he mentions Green’s relationship with Reach Communications, an advertising firm that operates the Web site for the Sheriff’s Office — and transfer some police duties to sheriff’s deputies to free up officers to patrol the city’s most crime-ridden streets. The office employs a staff of 263.
Untermeyer also plans to target the often untimely transferring of prisoners from jail to court hearings. At first, he proposed privatizing bus service but now says that simply making sure sheriff’s deputies pick up prisoners listed on a bring-down list would improve the system.
Green has won endorsements from City Controller Alan Butkovitz and District Attorney Lynne Abraham, while Untermeyer secured support from the 5th and 8th wards in Center City and the Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club. On Monday at 6:30 p.m., Untermeyer will host a meet-and-greet at Copabanana, in Grant Plaza II at 1619 Grant Ave. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com