Jan 6, 2009 7:29 pm US/Eastern
Al Lamberti Sworn In As Broward County Sheriff
Lamberti Is The First Elected Leader To Spend His Entire Career At The Broward Sheriff's Office
SUNRISE (CBS4) ―
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Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti sworn in at the Faith Center in Sunrise.
CBS
Al Lamberti was officially sworn in Tuesday morning as the Broward County Sheriff.
After taking the oath, Lamberti then swore in thousands of deputies, firefighters and civilian employees.
He is the first elected leader of the department to spend his 31-year career at the sheriff's office.
He told the audience at the Faith Center in Sunrise, "It's not about me, it's about six thousand men and women who come to work each day professionally serving the people of Broward County"
Four former Broward County sheriffs were on hand for the historic ceremony: Tom Walker, George Brescher, Bob Butterworth and Nick Navarro.
He was appointed interim sheriff by Governor Charlie Crist after Ken Jenne resigned amid corruption charges.
In November, 2008, Lamberti, a Republican, beat Scott Israel, a Democrat, in a close race for the office. According to the county's Supervisor of Elections, Lamberti received 348,420 votes to Israel's 333,045; a difference of about 2 and quarter percent.
The powerful position of sheriff brings an enormous workload. The office has more than 6,000 employees and a budget of nearly $700-million. Lamberti is the only Republican to currently hold a countywide office in Broward, where Democrats outnumber republicans 2 to 1.
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