Three months after losing to Republican incumbent Greg Sprungl in the primary election for Boundary County Sheriff, Jeff Ennis is trying to do what only a handful has accomplished: Win in the general election as a write-in candidate.

Backed by a groundswell of supporters who urged him to run as a write-in this November against Sprungl and Independent Arthur Gemmrig, Jr., Ennis has been doggedly campaigning almost from the day he lost in the primary by 294 votes.

"I wouldn't pursue this as passionately as I have been if I didn't feel as strongly about the position as I do," says Ennis, Boundary County's jail commander, who served as the Sheriff's Department administrative officer for a year.

"When the results of the sheriff's race in the primary came in, I initially thought of throwing in the towel. But within a few days, people were encouraging me to go on, and I was convinced I could win."

Ennis - who became only the second jail commander in Idaho to receive a "Certified Jail Manager" designation from the American Jail Association - knows he has to educate voters on writing his name in on the ballot in November.

But he is convinced it's hardly a deal-breaker.

"It's really not that complex," says Ennis, who served 12 years as a deputy Sheriff for the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department in Stockton, Calif. "It's a little out of the ordinary. But once people understand all it takes is writing the name Jeff Ennis on a line, I don't think it's as big a problem as some make it out to be. We're out there trying to educate voters about the process."

Ennis and his backers have been going at it full-bore for the last couple of months. Along with manning a booth at the Boundary County Fair that helped put him back in the public eye, he has organized a team of supporters informing voters what they need to do for writing in his name for the Sheriff's race in November.

A member of nine law enforcement agencies, Ennis says he is planning to canvas the county with political signs, advertisements and a mass-mailing that may include peel-off stickers of his name for voters to use in lieu of writing in his name.

Despite losing to Sprungl by a wide margin in May, Ennis believes his chances of winning in November will be decidedly stronger.

"I was surprised by the nearly 300-vote margin in the primary," says Ennis, whose resume includes 1,600 P.O.S.T. hours, 300 of which are in supervision and management. "But voter turnout was considerably less than when I lost by 97 votes in 2000. Only 1,500 people voted in May compared to nearly 2,200 eight years."

Whether the smaller turnout stemmed from voter apathy or from what Ennis says may simply have been forgetfulness, he believes his message - bringing a more effective level of leadership onto BCSO - is being heard by voters who will write his name in on the ballot in November.

"Many Democrats who said they supported me couldn't vote for me because the primary doesn't allow for cross-party voting," he says. "There should be a bigger turnout in November because there's a Presidential election, which I think will be decisive in the Sheriff's race."

Ennis says that statewide, BCSO has a poor reputation among 108 law enforcement agencies in Idaho, something he pledges to change if elected. He points to an FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, which ranks law enforcement agencies on cases handled versus cases cleared. Ennis claims the report ranks BCSO near the bottom in Idaho.

"In 2006, the Bonners Ferry Police Department ranked in the top five law enforcement agencies in Idaho while BCSO was in the bottom five," says Ennis. "BFPD had effective leadership and teamwork in handling cases and cases reviewed."

He says that has not been the case at BCSO.

"Case reviews have been questionable, and sometimes not at all," he says. "As Sheriff, we would have weekly case reviews with a joint-team effort. I have been in this profession for 24 years, and I like to see things done right. It's because I have a passion for this job, and I can bring effective leadership into the department."