Letters to the Editor
Why I am Runnning For Boundary County Sheriff
Apr 18, 2008, 10:12

First, I would like to thank the people that have encouraged me to run for the office of Boundary County Sheriff. I have the support of my family, extended family and friends who believe I am the best candidate for the office.

I look forward to speaking with many of you about what you feel are the needs of the department, concerns you may have with the department as well as the safety of the people of Boundary County.

One of the reasons I am running for office are that I have heard countless stories from the people in our county stating "they do not respect or trust the sheriff's department." This saddens me and shows there is a need to change things.

The Sheriff's Department still has a very large turnover rate. Deputies need and wish for more training. They are not receiving the training they need in order to do a better job. I will attempt to address and correct this problem as well as the concerns for the betterment of our county.

I would like to institute a Citizen Review Board to receive and review complaints of misconduct filed by any aggrieved person involving the Boundary County Sheriff's Department, and/or its personnel. This would allow a panel of people to review the complaints and make recommendations to resolve the issues.

This would be a separate agency, and filled by unpaid/volunteer board members. These board members would receive appropriate training, enabling them to make fair and impartial decisions to report to the Sheriff and county commissioners.

Further, I would like to restart the Law Enforcement Explorer Post to get our young people involved in community service and provide a healthy program for them. This could encourage them to look at law enforcement as a possible career. They would provide additional volunteer service to the community for special events such as the fair. When positions become available, I would attempt to hire locally and promote from within the department.

I believe that I am the best candidate for the office of Sheriff of Boundary County for many reasons. I have had a life-long experience within law enforcement. I believe in an open-door policy and will be available to the people I serve and the people who serve with me. I have administration experience and have practical knowledge in budgeting, scheduling, supervising and other areas of business and law enforcement necessary to run this department.

I have more then 400 hours of Idaho P.O.S.T. training and also attended and paid for myself both the basic and advanced Marine Deputy Academy. I served as a military law enforcement officer in the U.S. Air Force and graduated as an honor graduate in my military academies with countless hours of training.

If elected, I would be on the road responding to calls for service, working different shifts to have a better understanding of changes that need to be addressed and be available to the public. I believe a good leader works side-by-side with the people who work for him. I believe the Sheriff's Department should develop good working relationships with other agencies such as city and state police, fire fighters, emergency services, SAR, CERT, ARRL (Amateur Radio) and others.

I was raised in Colfax, Wash. and have deep appreciation for a close community and have a vested interest in seeing this community prosper the future - yours, mine, our children's. I married a Boundary County native, and we moved back to her home. Our combined families have farmed, raised livestock and served Boundary County for many years. My father served with Whitman County for over 19 years as a law enforcement officer.

As I am running as an "Independent Conservative," I will not appear on the May ballot, but I will be on the November ballot. I welcome any and all questions from now until Election Day (and beyond).

If elected, I look forward to working with you to make the Boundary County Sheriff's office work for and with you for the betterment of the community.