Letter to Editor: 911 Dispatcher Endorses Krebs for Sheriff

— from Michael McElrath —

My name is Michael McElrath. I am a 911 Dispatcher with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.

In the election of 2010 I voted for the incumbent Sheriff. I strongly believed he was the right person for the job. I could not have been more wrong. In the Dispatch center we rely on clarity. Clear vision, clear guidance, clear procedures, clear communication. In short, clear leadership. Over the course of the last four years clarity has dissipated like vapor in the wind and communication between the man in the corner office and the rest of the department is practically non-existent.

Will Ron Krebs make a better Sheriff? Why should you take a chance and vote on change? I mean, I freely admitted I backed the wrong guy last time. Why would you listen to what I say? I can only answer for myself. Ron Krebs and Sheriff Nou were invited to speak to the Sheriff’s Guild. They attended individually, first the Sheriff, and then Deputy Krebs. Each was given 15 minutes to give an opening statement before taking questions. Sheriff Nou, as his opening statement, read, eyes on his paper, the exact same statement on the Home page of his web site. To us. His own people. While answering questions he was, in many cases, incomplete, evasive, and dissembling. When Deputy Krebs spoke he spent his time looking directly at us, speaking directly to us, and didn’t read anything. He laid out very clearly, why he wanted to be Sheriff, what he wanted to accomplish, how he planned on accomplishing his vision, and why he felt a change was needed in the first place.

To my knowledge Ron Krebs answered every question asked of him in a direct and forthright manner. On at least one occasion he admitted he didn’t know the answer but he articulated a clear plan to get the answer and move it forward. I’m voting for Ron Krebs because of his community involvement, dedication to family and stability as a father, his record of local service, combined with a clearly articulated vision for moving the Sheriff’s Office forward. Currently, the Sheriff’s Office is paralyzed, stagnant, unable to move. Oh, sure, we have some shiny new toys; a boat, some new vehicles, “upgraded” phone and radio equipment. These are just things; tools we use to bring service to the residents of San Juan County. Without communication, guidance, and vision, however, these “things”, these tools, are nearly useless. The, by now overused, definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I choose not to risk insanity.

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One Comment

Pat Timmins October 19, 2014 at 1:48 pm

Nice letter it pretty much sums it up when the Guild votes to endorse Mr. Krebs over their current sheriff. Pretty simple almost no one in the Sheriffs office has no confidence in their current Sheriff. The endorsement of the Sheriffs Guild says it all. Please put your political differences aside and vote for the right man who will put the residents of San Juan County first and lead the Sheriffs Office to a better future. Vote for Ron Krebs as your next Sheriff.