SPRINGFIELD – Hampden County Sheriff candidate Jack Griffin will formally launch his campaign at a kick-off party at 7 p.m. March 11 at the Elks Lodge of Springfield on Tiffany St.

“I want to get my message out,” the former career correctional officer told Reminder Publications.

Griffin discussed several of the issues that have come up so far in the race for sheriff so far.

Speaking of the Western Massachusetts Alcohol Correctional Center controversy, Griffin said the Mill Street location in the Maple High Six Corners neighborhood is “probably the most ideal site in Springfield, but it has been shoved down the throat of the neighbors. But I think the community will embrace it once it’s fully staffed and in service.”

He called the center a “political football.” On Feb. 28, Governor's Councilor and candidate for sheriff Michael J. Albano sent out a press release that stated he “will lead a three pronged effort by citizens against the siting of a proposed correctional center on Mill Street, the Albano committee announced today.

“Separate actions will be filed this week by Attorney Shawn Allyn on behalf of residents of the Maple High/Six Corners neighborhood of Springfield.

“The complaints will be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD); and in US District Court, citing violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968; and with the State Ethics Commission, citing violations of M.G.L. C 268 A; and other violations including the procurement laws of the Commonwealth.”

Griffin called Albano’s announcement “grandstanding.” Griffin said the region is in a “total addiction crisis.”

He readily acknowledged that he is the “outsider” in the race, even though “I’ve been in corrections my whole life.”

“I know what I’m up against, “ he said of his competitors. “I know my reasons are real. My gut-felt reasons are real.”

Downplaying the political side of the job, Griffin said, “If I’m elected, I’m going to work. I’m not going to be at those luncheons.”

He is in support of a regional lockup for addicts to take the pressure off of local police departments and he emphasized he wants to “hold inmates accountable.”

He said Sheriff Michael Ashe Jr. has “done a good job, but I want to put my stamp on it.” Griffin asserted the current operations of the jail has too many managers. He also would like to see more Sheriff’s Department involvement in neighborhood-based C-3 policing initiatives.

Griffin said the sheriff “needs to know about corrections, the inner workings of a jail.”

He has been campaigning and has handed out 3,000 of his business cards and added the reaction has been positive.

“What people are saying is they’re sick of the status quo,” Griffin said.