{"id":11571275,"date":"2025-07-22T17:31:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11571275"},"modified":"2025-07-22T17:43:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:43:29","slug":"son-of-the-obi-wan-kenobi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/22\/son-of-the-obi-wan-kenobi\/","title":{"rendered":"Carroll sheriff’s race gets 2nd candidate whose father famously inspired ‘The Wire’ character"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time since 2018<\/a>, Carroll voters will have a choice in the sheriff’s race in next year’s primary election \u2014 and it might be a familiar name to fans of television shows “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “The Wire.”<\/p>\n

Jay Landsman Jr., announced this week he will take on three-term Sheriff Jim DeWees<\/a> in the 2026 Republican primary.<\/p>\n

Landsman is a 26-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department, most prominently as commander of the Towson precinct, and comes from a family focused on law enforcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He is the son of Jay Landsman Sr., who was featured on HBO’s “The Wire” in the early 2000s and inspired “Law & Order” character John Munch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Dad is like Obi-Wan Kenobi in policing, and that’s the way it is,” the candidate joked, referring to the “Star Wars” Jedi Master. “He has seen a lot of stuff.”<\/p>\n

After retiring from Baltimore County police in 2021, the younger Landsman, who will turn 50 this fall, was an administrative services manager with Westminster Police Department, but realized “after three months, this is not something I am going to be happy doing 10, 15 years.”<\/p>\n

He returned to Baltimore County to work for Towson University police, and left recently to pursue the Carroll sheriff job.<\/p>\n

Even while working as a sergeant for Baltimore County and eventually as commander, “I always had that interest in the political process,” he said.<\/p>\n

Landsman said Monday he has thought about a political post for a while, and was eager to give residents a choice in the election. He has lived in the Westminster area with his wife and two children since 1998.<\/p>\n

“Contested elections are good for democracy,” he said. “It gives the community a choice. It drives voter turnout.”<\/p>\n

His family’s work in police and fire departments goes back generations. His grandfather, \u00a0Lt. Charles \u201cBuck\u201d Pfaff, was killed in a fire-truck accident on Park Heights Avenue<\/a> in 1949.<\/p>\n

Regarding taking on DeWees, Landsman said: “The sheriff’s been in there 12 years. When you are in there, addressing crime and public safety, you don’t want to be stuck in the status quo, but a fresh perspective is good in a county that’s growing rapidly.”<\/p>\n

He said it’s important to focus on residents’ issues with traffic, in light of new development, and to address “bleed-over” crime from neighboring jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania. That especially means juvenile crime, of which he saw a lot during his time in Towson, Landsman said.<\/p>\n

“That juvenile crime situation is what’s going to drive crime in the future,” he said. “They are going to be tomorrow’s violent offenders, and it’s up to us to find that solution, build the model” so young offenders will face effective consequences.<\/p>\n

Candidates have until Feb. 24 to file to run in the 2026 primary election in Maryland.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay Landsman Jr. will take on three-term Sheriff Jim DeWees in the 2026 Republican primary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":1669310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-22T21:31:36Z","apple_news_api_id":"eb78c5ee-a19b-4d02-9870-a3b32e2a69a5","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-22T21:43:31Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A63jF7qGbTQKYcKOzLipppQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[75,80,76],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[301,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[3305],"class_list":["post-11571275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carroll-county-times","category-cct-latest-headlines","category-cct-news","location-carroll-county","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"75","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Carroll sheriff's race gets 2nd candidate whose father famously inspired 'The Wire' character","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"CCT-L-SHERIFF-CANDIDATE","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Jay Landsman Jr. will take on three-term Sheriff Jim DeWees in the 2026 Republican primary.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

For the first time since 2018<\/a>, Carroll voters will have a choice in the sheriff's race in next year's primary election \u2014 and it might be a familiar name to fans of television shows \"Homicide: Life on the Street\" and \"The Wire.\"<\/p>

Jay Landsman Jr., announced this week he will take on three-term Sheriff Jim DeWees<\/a> in the 2026 Republican primary.<\/p>

Landsman is a 26-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department, most prominently as commander of the Towson precinct, and comes from a family focused on law enforcement<\/a>.<\/p>

He is the son of Jay Landsman Sr., who was featured on HBO's \"The Wire\" in the early 2000s and inspired \"Law & Order\" character John Munch<\/a>.<\/p>

\"Dad is like Obi-Wan Kenobi in policing, and that's the way it is,\" the candidate joked, referring to the \"Star Wars\" Jedi Master. \"He has seen a lot of stuff.\"<\/p>

After retiring from Baltimore County police in 2021, the younger Landsman, who will turn 50 this fall, was an administrative services manager with Westminster Police Department, but realized \"after three months, this is not something I am going to be happy doing 10, 15 years.\"<\/p>

He returned to Baltimore County to work for Towson University police, and left recently to pursue the Carroll sheriff job.<\/p>

Even while working as a sergeant for Baltimore County and eventually as commander, \"I always had that interest in the political process,\" he said.<\/p>

Landsman said Monday he has thought about a political post for a while, and was eager to give residents a choice in the election. He has lived in the Westminster area with his wife and two children since 1998.<\/p>

\"Contested elections are good for democracy,\" he said. \"It gives the community a choice. It drives voter turnout.\"<\/p>

His family's work in police and fire departments goes back generations. His grandfather, \u00a0Lt. Charles \u201cBuck\u201d Pfaff, was killed in a fire-truck accident on Park Heights Avenue<\/a> in 1949.<\/p>

Regarding taking on DeWees, Landsman said: \"The sheriff's been in there 12 years. When you are in there, addressing crime and public safety, you don't want to be stuck in the status quo, but a fresh perspective is good in a county that's growing rapidly.\"<\/p>

He said it's important to focus on residents' issues with traffic, in light of new development, and to address \"bleed-over\" crime from neighboring jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania. That especially means juvenile crime, of which he saw a lot during his time in Towson, Landsman said.<\/p>

\"That juvenile crime situation is what's going to drive crime in the future,\" he said. \"They are going to be tomorrow's violent offenders, and it's up to us to find that solution, build the model\" so young offenders will face effective consequences.<\/p>

Candidates have until Feb. 24 to file to run in the 2026 primary election in Maryland.<\/p>

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753221158","print_workflow_exported_username":"Molly Fellin Spence","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24229","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":1669310,"title":"EAJKULCVCVFBNLIVVRK6BZ5AQA","filename":"EAJKULCVCVFBNLIVVRK6BZ5AQA.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/migration\/2017\/09\/26\/EAJKULCVCVFBNLIVVRK6BZ5AQA.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2017\/09\/26\/towsons-top-police-officer-to-be-promoted-replacement-to-be-named-later-this-week\/EAJKULCVCVFBNLIVVRK6BZ5AQA\/","alt":"","author":"154","description":"","caption":"Capt. 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