Fred Harran Projected To Win Bucks Co. Sheriff Race By 9,000 Votes

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Tallies have come in for a number of critical local races in Bucks County.

This year, Democrat Mark E. Lomax and Republican Fred Harran faced off to be Bucks County's next sheriff. Current sheriff Milt Warrell, a Democrat, initially made a bid for re-election, but lost in the primaries and was not on the ballot Tuesday.

With all of Bucks County's 306 precincts reporting unofficial results, Harran was in the lead one week after the election, with 99,930 votes to Lomax's 90,346 votes.

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Bucks counted 40.8 percent voter turnout in this election, or 193,694 ballots cast out of 475,049 registered voters.

Harran has emphasized his combination of police and municipal government experience as a key factor in his candidacy.

"My approach to policing involves thinking 'outside the box,'' he wrote on his campaign website. "In all situations, I strive to create partnerships — not only with other government agencies, but also with the community I serve."

Lomax was a major with the Pennsylvania State Police for 27 years and the executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association for five years, and is currently a police management consultant. Harran is Bensalem's Director of Public Safety since 2006 and has held a directorial role with the police department since 1997.

Part of Lomax's platform involves seeking accreditation for the Bucks County Sheriff's Office, as well as seeking to improve police responses in cases where mental illness is a factor.

"As a law enforcement consultant, I have been hired, nationally, as a subject matter expert on the use of force, racial profiling, civil unrest, and police management," Lomax wrote in his Patch candidate profile.

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