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Who Should Replace Garry Lucas as Sheriff?

by lewwaters

Sheriff BadgeAs we know, Sheriff Garry Lucas is retiring after this term ends. What we may think of his time in office is now irrelevant as we seek to wade through four candidates, so far, that have filed to replace him.

This blog cannot make an endorsement at this time and likely will not endorse in the primary, but all four, John Graser, Ed Owens, Chuck Atkins and Shane Gardner have been sent a questionnaire with identical questions that I hope to use to provide a fair comparison of each. Chuck Atkins has earned this blogs endorsement due to his being the most experienced candidate running.

So far, Chuck Atkins has acknowledged receipt of the questionnaire and John Graser as returned it filled out. I await Ed Owens and Shane Gardner.

Once I have all four and can compare their stand on some issues I came up with that I hope reflects the views of others too, I will summarize their positions in hopes of selecting the best candidate to lead the Sheriff’s Department and address some of the problems we have in the County.

In the meantime, I hope you all will be able to attend the Sheriff’s Candidate forum scheduled for May 22 at the YWCA, 3609 Main Street, Vancouver, Washington 98663.

Full video of the Sheriff’s Candidate Forum from May 22, 2014

Posted on May 5, 2014 at 7:34 PM in Clark County Issues   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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19 Comments to “Who Should Replace Garry Lucas as Sheriff?”

    
  1. K.J. Hinton
    May 5, 2014 at 8:46 PM

    Owens is out for me.

    “Ed Owens… Ed Owens… I thought I’d heard the name somewhere.

    He was over on the democrat hate site, C3G2, looking for support.

    And I thought…”where have I heard that name before?”

    Then it came to me: He was the one who tried to get his 11 year old step daughter to take the fall in his little boy’s shooting.”

  2. Chuck Miller
    May 6, 2014 at 1:29 AM

    Kelly, Owens is out for me also and it looks like the lefties are lining up behind Gardner!!!

  3. Goldenoldie
    May 6, 2014 at 7:00 AM

    Chuck Atkins gets my vote.

  4. CarolynCrain
    May 6, 2014 at 9:54 AM

    I won’t be able to make the sheriff’s forum after all since there is a HROC forum in Olympia that day and I need all the republican support I can get! Hope you all go and make a great assessment for me… post and let me know the responses if you would please.

  5. Pete
    May 6, 2014 at 10:30 PM

    Chuck, the lefties are lining up behind Gardner and I found that odd as he is the only candidate that I know has prior to running for office claimed to be a Republican and donated to the party. I know Shane and David Madore have a good relationship, otherwise I don’t think Couv.com would have made the video about him. I think they are attracted to Shane because he has been so involved in the community as the neighborhood liason and they trust him. Adkins is courting the union hard and I wonder what will be the pay back to the union. I know Shane and he is a conservative Christian man that believes in upholding the constitution. He may end up with Madore support and the anti-Madore crowd. I also know he is running as non-partisan because he is an on the street working deputy and when he stops bad guys he is non partisan and that is why he chose to file as such.

  6. Mike
    May 7, 2014 at 7:40 AM

    I’m supporting Gardner at this point. I’m not liking Akins pdc reports. How can a man run an office where all your subordinates give you contributions and endorsements. He’s playing the insider card. I do appreciate non partisan on this one.

  7. CarolynCrain
    May 7, 2014 at 8:08 AM

    Shane is not non partisan. He is a democrat who realizes that the majority of our county isn’t aligned with his party so registering non partisan is his way of getting elected in the county election climate we have. Are you suggesting I should run as a non partisan for my seat and not let the voters know the truth considering that the 49th has a majority leaning toward democrat?

  8. lewwaters
    May 7, 2014 at 9:14 AM

    How about everybody wait until the comparison of where each stands is made?

    I appreciate there everybody seems to have gotten behind someone, but we have a few months to go and few of us actually know where each candidate stands. That is why I sent out the questionnaire and want to compare all four.

    I received acknowledgement from Shane Gardner last evening on his, but as a working Deputy and a candidate, I imagine his time is very tied up.

    At any rate, let’s see where they all stand.

  9. Chuck Miller
    May 7, 2014 at 12:39 PM

    Hope all have looked at who is endorsing Gardner!

  10. Craig Sayre
    May 7, 2014 at 1:25 PM

    I’d be inclined (though not committed without further investigation) to support the person who receives plenty of endorsements from both sides. I know only a couple of the names of people supporting Gardner. One is a liberal and one is a conservative.

  11. lewwaters
    May 7, 2014 at 3:28 PM

    I’ve never been one to support any candidate based upon endorsements. They really carry no real weight with me.

    That is why I sent them all the questionnaire with questions I didn’t see covered in their webpages.

  12. Craig Sayre
    May 7, 2014 at 3:48 PM

    “They really carry no real weight with me.” True, but I was referring more to an idea of consensus. If one side or the other primarily supports a person for that office, it may be more difficult for them to do their job because it becomes politicized.

  13. CarolynCrain
    May 7, 2014 at 11:55 PM

    So several people reached out to me from the republican party today and said that Shane is not a democrat. Perhaps we should ask him. Several democrats told me he was so now what to think what to think eh? Please ask him.

  14. lewwaters
    May 8, 2014 at 12:35 AM

    Shane is running as a non-partisan. Such a declaration has always disturbed me somewhat.

    I did ask him on his facebook page and received in response;

    I’m running as a Nonpartisan candidate because the Clark County Sheriff’s Office does not make policy. And I’m not the only one who thinks the office shouldn’t be partisan! From an article in the Columbian on October 4th, 2010, posted at 0600 hours: “There is one similarity between Lucas and Shotwell. Each man believes elections for sheriff should be nonpartisan…”.

    I said it this way in my first campaign video: “When someone calls 911, we don’t ask for political affiliation. We serve everyone equally.” Other candidates have said they agree that the office should be nonpartisan. I am the only one who has backed up that belief with actions.

    I believe the elected Sheriff is the person who the community trusts to represent their best interests while serving and protecting. The community wants to know that their tax dollars are being well spent, on quality individuals who have an ability to provide tenacious customer service. Some of the customers we serve are violent, and in those cases all of our training, knowledge, and experience as law enforcement officers comes into play.

  15. Chuck Miller
    May 8, 2014 at 1:13 AM

    With Boldt and Vandinter supporting Gardner that is a concern for me!!!

  16. CarolynCrain
    May 8, 2014 at 10:33 AM

    While I appreciate his response Lew I am still concerned. I want a sheriff that will uphold the constitution and that includes the second amendment. I want a sheriff that is not an egomaniac nor a maniacal power monger. I want a sheriff that acknowledges the reality of racial profiling, perhaps even the necessity for it without reducing either the response time or altering the type and quality of service provided regardless of race, age, sex, sexual orientation, or wealth. I want a sheriff who will lead his staff by example of honesty and ethics and caring. I want a sheriff with the skill sets to analyze a budget and maneuver through the politics of the office he holds to achieve success for his team. So okay… I want some one close to perfect but I’ll settle for some one that can hit high on these marks.

  17. lewwaters
    May 8, 2014 at 12:06 PM

    That is what I hope to do with the comparison, Carolyn. Let everybody judge for themselves who they feel best suits the job.

    I have responses now from Graser and Atkins, hope to get the rest soon, but realize they are all busy

  18. Craig Sayre
    May 8, 2014 at 1:32 PM

    I’m still waiting for a response from Gardner too. Maybe he doesn’t do email.

  19. lewwaters
    May 8, 2014 at 1:55 PM

    I wouldn’t get too critical of Gardner. He’s still an active duty Patrol Deputy. I am sure his time is very limited.

    

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