Michael Hennessey
Encyclopedia
Michael Hennessey is the longest serving Sheriff in the history of San Francisco and is currently the longest tenured Sheriff in the State of California. Hennessey was elected in a run-off election in December of 1979 and has been reelected in seven subsequent elections. At the end of the current term (January 2012), he will have served as San Francisco’s Sheriff for 32 years and has received more than one million votes as Sheriff. No other San Francisco Sheriff has served for more than sixteen years. On February 18, 2011, he announced that he would not run for a ninth term of office.
Sheriff Hennessey’s tenure has been notable for the development of prisoner education and rehabilitation programs, by construction of three major jail
facilities and by expansion of powers of the Office of Sheriff.
, a town of 900 people in western Iowa. Hennessey graduated with a degree in History from St. John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota) in 1970 and then moved to San Francisco to attend law school. He graduated with Honors from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1973, where he helped found the school rugby team and served as an editor of the Law Review.
Following graduation from law school, Hennessey took a temporary job in the San Francisco Sheriff's Department
as Legal Counsel to Sheriff Richard Hongisto
(December 1973 – June 1974) and then joined the newly created University Year for Action (UYA) program providing a variety of social services to prisoners in the San Francisco county jail. UYA was a Volunteers In Service to America program (VISTA), a domestic version of the Peace Corp. In this capacity, Hennessey created a legal services program for county jail inmates. After a year as a UYA participant, Hennessey attracted the support of the San Francisco Bar Association, who served as his sponsor for the next several years.
offered him the position of Chief of Police. In early February 1978, Mayor
George Moscone
appointed Eugene Brown to replace Hongisto. With a non-elected Sheriff facing the voters in November 1979, Hennessey and five other challengers ran against Sheriff Brown. Hennessey garnered the most votes in the November election, but not the 50% required to win the post. In a December runoff election, Hennessey easily beat the incumbent and took office in January 1980. Dianne Feinstein
was elected Mayor in this same runoff, after having been appointed Mayor in November 1978 to serve out the balance of George Moscone’s term.
Until 1986 there were no “qualifications” to run for the elected office of county sheriff. The fact that there were no limits on who could run for sheriff resulted in some interesting challenges to sheriffs in the state, frequently from other elected officials and even the wives of prisoners. The California State Sheriff’s Association lobbied heavily to create “qualifications” for eligibility standards to seek the office and in 1986 Governor George Deukmejian
signed a bill into law limiting candidates to current and former peace officers. The law also grandfathered in “those already in office at the time this law goes into effect.” Sheriff Hennessey was the only person to whom this last provision applied.
escape by hiding him in a laundry cart and pushing him out to freedom via the jail’s freight elevator.
More controversy followed the Sheriff when he hired an ex-offender to run the jail’s rehabilitation programs. The ex-con, Michael Marcum, had been a UYA social worker when Hennessey was part of the UYA program. Marcum had served seven years in California prisons for the murder of his father in the 1960’s. Hennessey and Marcum became life long friends and their friendship resulted in many controversies, including a vote of no confidence by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and a demonstration by deputies when, in 1993, Hennessey promoted Marcum to the position of Assistant Sheriff, the third highest position in the Department.
In spite of these controversies, Hennessey remained popular with San Francisco’s voters and was regularly returned to office every election. He rarely faced serious opposition, twice running unopposed. His popularity is largely attributed to his progressive leadership in introducing innovative rehabilitation programs in the jails, aggressive hiring within San Francisco’s minority communities, and improving the professionalism of the Department.
Hennessey is considered a visionary in bringing rehabilitation and education programs into the jails. Most of the programs that Hennessey initiated were ahead of their time, but are now not uncommon in jails and prisons: substance abuse counseling, alternatives to incarceration, education and anti-violence counseling. This last effort resulted in a program called Resolve to Stop the Violence Program (RSVP) which received the national Innovations in Government Award from the Kennedy School of Government (2004).
Hennessey frequently has been asked to speak on his violence prevention program. He is a vocal critic of the federal Secure Communities
deportation program.
Hennessey also was an early proponent of a new technique for jail management, called Direct Supervision. This method of creating a dialogue with prisoners in the jails was also accompanied by the construction of two new San Francisco jails that were designed to maximize visual supervision and to eliminate “blind spots” from staff observation. The result has been safer jails almost completely eliminating escapes, sexual assaults and other inmate misconduct.
Another controversial effort by Hennessey was to introduce AIDS
education to both inmates and staff in the jails. Hennessey began this program very early in the AIDS crisis which hit San Francisco’s large gay population especially hard. As a result of his efforts in this field, Law Enforcement News, a publication of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, named Hennessey “Law Enforcement Man of the Year”. These and other efforts led to Hennessey being called “The Best Sheriff in America” by Salon.com.
Hennessey also greatly expanded the duties of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department to include helping provide security for visiting dignitaries, including sitting Presidents, heads of state and Pope John Paul II
. During Sheriff Hennessey’s tenure, the Department also was tasked with providing building security in San Francisco’s historic City Hall, in San Francisco General Hospital
and several other public buildings.
Hennessey’s other interests of note are researching and writing about the history of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department , riding a horse in local parades with a group called the San Francisco Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, and a quirky interest in San Francisco’s punk rock culture. He is widely quoted in a recent history of the local punk rock scene, Gimme Something Better, by Jack Boulware and Spike Tudor.
Among the rehabilitation programs started by Sheriff Hennessey are:
Sheriff Hennessey’s tenure has been notable for the development of prisoner education and rehabilitation programs, by construction of three major jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
facilities and by expansion of powers of the Office of Sheriff.
Early life
Michael Hennessey grew up in Manilla, IowaManilla, Iowa
Manilla is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the West Branch of the West Nishnabotna River. The population was 839 at the 2000 census...
, a town of 900 people in western Iowa. Hennessey graduated with a degree in History from St. John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota) in 1970 and then moved to San Francisco to attend law school. He graduated with Honors from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1973, where he helped found the school rugby team and served as an editor of the Law Review.
Following graduation from law school, Hennessey took a temporary job in the San Francisco Sheriff's Department
San Francisco Sheriff's Department
The San Francisco Sheriff's Department is the sheriff's department for the City and County of San Francisco. The department has 850 deputized personnel, and support staff....
as Legal Counsel to Sheriff Richard Hongisto
Richard Hongisto
Richard D. Hongisto was a businessman, politician, sheriff and police chief of San Francisco, California, and Cleveland, Ohio.-Early life and education:...
(December 1973 – June 1974) and then joined the newly created University Year for Action (UYA) program providing a variety of social services to prisoners in the San Francisco county jail. UYA was a Volunteers In Service to America program (VISTA), a domestic version of the Peace Corp. In this capacity, Hennessey created a legal services program for county jail inmates. After a year as a UYA participant, Hennessey attracted the support of the San Francisco Bar Association, who served as his sponsor for the next several years.
Election as sheriff
Sheriff Hongisto was reelected for a second term in November 1975, but left the office midway through the term (December 1977) after Cleveland, Ohio Mayor Dennis KucinichDennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
offered him the position of Chief of Police. In early February 1978, Mayor
Mayor of San Francisco
The Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of San Francisco's city and county government. The mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch....
George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
appointed Eugene Brown to replace Hongisto. With a non-elected Sheriff facing the voters in November 1979, Hennessey and five other challengers ran against Sheriff Brown. Hennessey garnered the most votes in the November election, but not the 50% required to win the post. In a December runoff election, Hennessey easily beat the incumbent and took office in January 1980. Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
was elected Mayor in this same runoff, after having been appointed Mayor in November 1978 to serve out the balance of George Moscone’s term.
Until 1986 there were no “qualifications” to run for the elected office of county sheriff. The fact that there were no limits on who could run for sheriff resulted in some interesting challenges to sheriffs in the state, frequently from other elected officials and even the wives of prisoners. The California State Sheriff’s Association lobbied heavily to create “qualifications” for eligibility standards to seek the office and in 1986 Governor George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. born June 6, 1928) is an Armenian American politician from California who as a Republican served as the 35th Governor of California and as California Attorney General .-Early life:...
signed a bill into law limiting candidates to current and former peace officers. The law also grandfathered in “those already in office at the time this law goes into effect.” Sheriff Hennessey was the only person to whom this last provision applied.
Sheriff of San Francisco
Six weeks after taking office, four federal bank robbers escaped from the City’s oldest jail, though they were all captured within 24 hours. A few weeks later the San Francisco jail suffered the largest jail break in City history. A gun was smuggled into the jail’s high security unit and thirteen dangerous prisoners escaped from the downtown Hall of Justice. A year later, one of the Department’s own deputies helped a leader of the Hells AngelsHells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
escape by hiding him in a laundry cart and pushing him out to freedom via the jail’s freight elevator.
More controversy followed the Sheriff when he hired an ex-offender to run the jail’s rehabilitation programs. The ex-con, Michael Marcum, had been a UYA social worker when Hennessey was part of the UYA program. Marcum had served seven years in California prisons for the murder of his father in the 1960’s. Hennessey and Marcum became life long friends and their friendship resulted in many controversies, including a vote of no confidence by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and a demonstration by deputies when, in 1993, Hennessey promoted Marcum to the position of Assistant Sheriff, the third highest position in the Department.
In spite of these controversies, Hennessey remained popular with San Francisco’s voters and was regularly returned to office every election. He rarely faced serious opposition, twice running unopposed. His popularity is largely attributed to his progressive leadership in introducing innovative rehabilitation programs in the jails, aggressive hiring within San Francisco’s minority communities, and improving the professionalism of the Department.
Hennessey is considered a visionary in bringing rehabilitation and education programs into the jails. Most of the programs that Hennessey initiated were ahead of their time, but are now not uncommon in jails and prisons: substance abuse counseling, alternatives to incarceration, education and anti-violence counseling. This last effort resulted in a program called Resolve to Stop the Violence Program (RSVP) which received the national Innovations in Government Award from the Kennedy School of Government (2004).
Hennessey frequently has been asked to speak on his violence prevention program. He is a vocal critic of the federal Secure Communities
Secure Communities
Secure Communities is an American deportation program that relies on partnership among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , the interior immigration enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, is the program manager.John...
deportation program.
Hennessey also was an early proponent of a new technique for jail management, called Direct Supervision. This method of creating a dialogue with prisoners in the jails was also accompanied by the construction of two new San Francisco jails that were designed to maximize visual supervision and to eliminate “blind spots” from staff observation. The result has been safer jails almost completely eliminating escapes, sexual assaults and other inmate misconduct.
Another controversial effort by Hennessey was to introduce AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
education to both inmates and staff in the jails. Hennessey began this program very early in the AIDS crisis which hit San Francisco’s large gay population especially hard. As a result of his efforts in this field, Law Enforcement News, a publication of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, named Hennessey “Law Enforcement Man of the Year”. These and other efforts led to Hennessey being called “The Best Sheriff in America” by Salon.com.
Hennessey also greatly expanded the duties of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department to include helping provide security for visiting dignitaries, including sitting Presidents, heads of state and Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. During Sheriff Hennessey’s tenure, the Department also was tasked with providing building security in San Francisco’s historic City Hall, in San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital is the main public hospital in San Francisco, California, and the only Level I Trauma Center serving San Francisco and northern San Mateo County...
and several other public buildings.
Hennessey’s other interests of note are researching and writing about the history of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department , riding a horse in local parades with a group called the San Francisco Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, and a quirky interest in San Francisco’s punk rock culture. He is widely quoted in a recent history of the local punk rock scene, Gimme Something Better, by Jack Boulware and Spike Tudor.
Among the rehabilitation programs started by Sheriff Hennessey are:
- Prisoner Legal Services (1974)
- Eviction Assistance (1980)
- SWAP (Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program) and other alternatives to incarceration (1984)
- SISTERS (A therapeutic community approach to substance abuse for women)
- Roads to Recovery (A therapeutic community substance abuse program for male prisoners)
- RSVP (A therapeutic community program for violent offenders)
- The Garden Project / Earth Stewards
- PREP (A Post Release Education and Employment Program)
- Medea Project (Rhodessa Jones) (A Women’s theater/therapy program)
- Collaboration with Community Works, Arts Programs
- HIV/AIDS Training
- Condoms in jails
- New San Bruno Facility (Closed the oldest jail in California)
- 5 Keys Charter High School
- Women’s Reentry Center
- RSVP Day with The Giants
- Veteran’s Program (COVER)