Drennan says he will retire from Sheriff’s Office

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 November 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tom Drennan is pictured directing traffic on Route 98 in Albion in August during the Metro 10, a 10-mile race. After a 23-year career with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Drennan said he will retire.

ALBION – After a close election defeat on Tuesday, Tom Drennan said he will retire “with my head held high.”

Drennan posted a statement on Facebook, thanking his supporters and saying he looks forward to the future.

“We will take a few days to regroup and then move on,” he wrote on Facebook this morning. “As I look out the window I see a beautiful sunrise. Just like we knew there would be.”

Drennan, the chief deputy of the Sheriff’s Office the past nine years, lost to Randy Bower in the race for sheriff, 3,951 to 3,507. Bower received 47.6 percent of the vote on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Drennan ran under the Independence and Reform party lines and received 3,507 votes or 42.2 percent of the total.

Don Organisciak, a retired Medina police officer and investigator, was backed by the Democratic Party and received 847 votes or 10.2 percent.

Drennan said he ran on his qualification in an “Experience Matters” campaign. He was challenged within the Sheriff’s Office by Bower, a public safety dispatcher the past 29 years.

“#1 I am a cop and not a politician,” Drennan said in a Facebook post last night. “Tonight the people of Orleans County spoke and they want to be led by a politician. I wish them the best.”

Many of the deputies, corrections officers and staff in the Sheriff’s Office openly campaigned for Bower, although Drennan also had many supporters in the department.

“To the satisfaction of some at the OCSO I will be retiring soon,” Drennan said. “I have had a great career and will be walking out with my head held high and it will be someone else problem to figure out.”

He thanked the community for a rewarding career.

“To the residents of Orleans County it has been an honor and privilege to serve and protect the past 23+ years,” he wrote. “As one door closes another door opens. I wish all of you safety and happiness in the future.”