While serving as a Lieutenant for Mohave County Sheriff's Office, I was the SWAT commander, over-seeing many critical drug raids, barricaded entries and warrant retrievals. On Christmas Eve of 1992, I was the Commander in charge of quelling a riot in the jail. I had only minutes before the control pods would be breached, allowing the inmates to literally control a population of over 300 prisoners. Using all of the up-to-date training and the equipment at our disposal, my team penetrated the barricaded doors, took 15 violent inmates into custody and restored control of the jail to the Corrections Division.

During my career, I have made hundreds of arrests of violent felons. I was hand selected by the Flagstaff (AZ) Division of the FBI to assist their office with the covert investigation of a suspected serial murderer. I was the lead investigator in a homicide case, and assisted as investigator in many others.

During my service as Lieutenant, I supervised two Patrol Districts, and the Marine Division. Lake Havasu is one of the busiest lakes in the United States. Patrol responsibilities were shared by many local, state and federal agencies. Mohave County Sheriff's presence on the lake was manifested by more watercraft than any other agency. Lake Mohave and Lake Mead were also patrolled by Mohave County Sheriff's boats under my command.

As a District Commander, I participated in establishing the budget, and then operated effectively within those guidelines. Sometimes, when budgets were tight, I was forced to be creative in allocating necessary materials for the operation of the Office. One year, with the Sheriff's blessing, I approached the local steel mill, the railroad and the mines in donating materials to complete a firearms range refurbishment, and an excellent range was created for the use of area agencies and their SWAT personnel.

Risks can be minimized by two rather simple concepts: Training and fairness. I assisted greatly in this process by becoming an instructor, and by treating my subordinates fairly. I believe that someone selected for any level of service within an agency should receive proper training prior to being assigned tasks

Currently in Latah County, a recruit is sent to the basic academy for the required amount of time, and then participates in the Field Training program. Once this has been accomplished, training classes are few and far between. I want to change that. Additionally supervisors should not be selected and placed without any training for his or her new responsibilities. These decisions affect everyone; subordinates, peers, supervisors and the public. This principle applies to any level of employee, and runs the gambit from malfeasance, misfeasance, prejudice, bias, sexual harassment, etc.

Fairness is just as important as training. To be fair, policy and procedure must be interpreted and enforced equally by those in charge. To put it simply, "the stove has to be hot for all who touch it." Unequal treatment and discipline affects all the employees, not just those who receive it.

Many people understand that to properly analyze a process or problem, there are five steps in doing so. (1) The group assigned asks, "Is there a problem?" (2) The problem is defined. (3) A solution is presented. (4) The solution is implemented. (5) The group must then go back to step 1. If this process is valid, no division, group or individual is exempted from it. It is also appropriate that the process is assigned to a group, and not left to an individual.

Employee A is determined to be a liability by Company 1. He is branded as a troublemaker, and advised or encouraged to move on. Employee A is then hired by Company 2. He becomes a great employee, and all are happy with him. Ok, maybe Company 1 was correct. But when employees B, C, D, E, F, G. follow the same path, a thinking man has to ask, "What's going on in Company 1?" This is a good time to question the management practices of Company 1.

My solution to this problem is simple. People must be treated with dignity and respect. Policy must be enforced fairly and equitably. The task is not more important than the person performing it. The position of Sheriff is not a status symbol or a divine calling. It is a public service position created to serve the citizens of the County. A Sheriff must communicate well with others. Communication has two facets. Talking and LISTENING. I believe that ideas expressed by employees are not a threat to authority, but a valuable contribution to the function of the department.

I believe it is detrimental to the agency to segregate and divide its various divisions to such an extent that each operates separately from the others. Detective case files are pass-coded, and cannot be accessed by the patrol division, who are the eyes and ears of the agency. Dispatch acts under a whole different set of rules and a separate chain of command. When this interferes with a deputy's ability to do their job, the deputy cannot address the problem with the dispatcher, but must report it to his or her supervisor through the chain of command. If the supervisor is not immediately available, the problem persists, and has no immediate solution or remedy. In any productive organization, teamwork is an applied principle, not a mantra that has no foundation in the actual status quo. This must change. All sworn employees must share information regularly within the agency and with other agencies in order to be more productive in fighting crime.

Endless "Internal Investigations" beat down any and all employees. Internal investigations should be reserved for serious allegations of misconduct or criminal behavior. They should not be used when allegations of a minor nature are made. Most internal investigations are done by the detective division. At times they have had to refuse working on a criminal case, because they were tied up with investigating their fellow employees. I believe serious complaints should be handled by an outside agency, and complaints of a minor nature should be assigned to the employee's immediate supervisor.

Latah County has many new officers. New officers are less likely to have developed the degree of expertise of their veteran counterparts. However, the staff members in this department are very dedicated. I believe that in spite of all the obstacles they encounter, Latah County Sheriff's employees are second to none in this county.

I also intend to have a much closer and open relationship with the local media. Public service announcements are very helpful tools in maintaining public safety. Many crimes are solved through citizen witness reports. If the citizen doesn't know the Sheriff's Office needs information, they may not realize their knowledge is important to solving a case.

After graduating at the top of my class academically, I went to work for the Cochise County Sheriff Department in rural southeastern Arizona, where my wife and I had grown up. I worked as a deputy sheriff and served with the Special Response Team that included both Search and Rescue and Tactical Operations.

In 1990, I moved my family to Tucson and went to work for the Tucson Police Department but soon discovered that a city police force "beat" did not provide the challenges and satisfaction that I had enjoyed in a Sheriff's Office.

I accepted a position with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office and my family relocated to Kingman, Arizona. The crime rate was very high, primarily due to the extreme drug problem there. The Kingman Justice Court was the busiest in the state and the Sheriff's Office' caseload at that time was running above 47,000 calls for service annually.

I served as a deputy, a detective, a sergeant, and lieutenant, having command over 2 districts and the marine division. The waterways included 45-mile long Lake Havasu, a well-know spring-break party destination. I became a firearms instructor and then range master, overseeing the firearms training. I worked with the FBI on a serial murder case on special assignment and was given an award for valor, in the rescue attempt of three little boys from a burning manufactured home.

In 1997, I and my wife felt the need to leave the high-crime, high stress of Mohave County. Our two daughters were high school age, and we felt we would all benefit with relocation to this area. I was hired by the Latah County Sheriff's Office and we made our home here. (I would note that the previous year Latah County's calls for service were running around 4,700!)

I served as a deputy, then detective, then sergeant. I was a firearms instructor here as well. My experience and leadership earned the respect of the men I served with.

I chose to run for sheriff, not because I have a need for power and control, but because I saw a critical need for experience in leadership and accountability to the citizens of our communities. There is a grave need for communication and cooperation, not only with the residents, but with other Latah County Offices and law enforcement agencies. As budgets grow tighter, the only effective way to serve the citizens is to work together, combining resources and sharing information wherever possible.

Having seen firsthand the destruction that drugs wreak in communities, I want to bring my experience to the job to keep Latah County from becoming like the Arizona communities I worked in that suffer increased burglaries, domestic violence, assaults, robberies and homicides. I ask for your vote in November, 2004 for Latah County Sheriff.

Finally, I want the residents of the City of Moscow to consider this. The residents of the communities of Genesee, Juliaetta, Kendrick, Potlatch, Onaway, Princeton, Harvard, Bovill, Helmer and Viola do not have a police department to protect their lives and property as you do. They must rely solely upon the Latah County Sheriff's Office for their service. As I went to these communities and spoke with their mayors and city council members, I was advised of the same thing time and time again. The residents of these communities are not happy about the level of service they receive. They are particularly unhappy about the drug problems that flourish in their neighborhoods. This is not a problem that reflects upon the enforcement members of the Office, but rather, a problem with the philosophy of the man in charge. Because Moscow has a larger population than these communities combined, the result of an election is in your hands. Ask yourselves, "How would I vote if I were in their shoes?"