Orcas Islanders Question Sheriff Candidates at LWV Forum

State and national candidates decline to attend forum, some at last minute

At the League of Women Voters (LWV) Candidates Forum, Sheriff Candidates Brent Johnson and Rob Nou had nearly an hour to explain their views, as did proponents and opponents of the Park and Rec District funding measure spoke to an audience of about 50 at the Orcas Senior Center on Saturday morning.

Last minute changes to the roster of candidates reduced the presentations for Jeff Morris and his opponent in the 40^th District race, John Swapp, to statements read by Caroline Theobald, speaking for Morris, and Cindy Carter, for Swapp. The presentation for Morris emphasized his record in the U.S. House of Representatives, especially his work on behalf of the ferry system and the oil spill prevention tugboat stationed at Port Angeles.

Marian O’Brien, speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters, said the League tried to accommodate schedules so that candidates could come in person and face-to-face dialogue could happen. Last minute cancellations thwarted that purpose, O’Brien said.

Carter read a letter in support of Mike Newman, while his opponent in the race for the seat held by Representative Dave Quall, Kris Lytton, was not represented. Newman said that jobs were the number one issue, and that he supported small businesses’ efforts to create jobs.

Sheriff Candidates

The Candidates for San Juan County Sheriff entertained a number of questions after presenting their introductory comments.

Brent Johnson, currently detective with the San Juan County Sheriff Department, spoke of the multi-layered aspect of the Sheriff’s job, emphasizing the vision needed to work on strategic planning and his support of local causes such as Orcas Rec, Island Rec, DV/SAS and the Islands’ Prevention Coalitions, saying they were important because they “lowered calls, lowered assaults, and lowered costs.”

Johnson cited his 21 years with the Albuquerque Police Department as teaching him to prioritize, delegate, motivate and multi-task.  He spoke of his commitment to community policing and representation of law enforcement as the principal function of government.

Rob Nou (pronounced “No”) spoke of his 30-year experience in police work, including a four-year period when he was Chief of the Burns, Ore. Police Department. As a Sergeant Deputy, Nou built teams of “patrol, detective, records and civil” departments, from” recruiting, hiring training scheduling, discipline and discharge.” Describing San Juan County as “a unique and amazing place,” Nou said that the drug and alcohol abuse in the county “will be confronted full force and head on,” through “education, prevention, suppression and enforcement.”

In the question and answer period, Bob Connell asked how each candidate will make their mark so that a year from now “we will know you were elected, and not your opponent.”

Johnson said, “You’ll see me on the island, and through a website blog and guest columns in local media, particularly in columns exposing “scams.” He intends to work with the Recreation District and the Prevention Coalition, as the results of the “Healthy Youth” survey, which island kids will take this month, become known in 2011.

Nou said that he plans to rotate sheriff deputies county-wide so that they work a couple of shift a month on each island. He said that communication would be further improved as the whole department got the same training.

Ian Lister asked about the size of the Sheriff Department’s budget, and how much of it went to prevention.  Both Johnson and Nou explained that about 80% of the $2.3 million budget goes to fixed personnel and operations costs, including salaries, benefits, utilities, rent and gas.

Nou responded that prevention is part of the officers’ daily routine and said that $125,000 in federal funds is spent on prevention on each island.

Johnson noted that the discretionary amount left after the fixed costs were expended has been cut in Sheriff Bill Cumming’s budgets over the last three years.

Johnson said that a STOP grant for prevention is administered through DVSAS training, and that, as of last week, all grants had been cut by 6%. He also said that the Sheriff is on the board of the San Juan Prevention Coalition and that he intended to go to the meetings.

Budget questions continued to define the forum, as County Council Chair Richard Fralick asked if the Sheriff’s budget, which is 20% of the County General Budget, were cut by 5 or 10%

Both Johnson and Nou agreed that if the Sheriff’s budget was cut by 10%, positions would have to be cut. Johnson said, “The council has to understand that the county can’t go there. On the mainland you can call for backup. We can’t lose deputies because of that.” He repeated that safety is the number function of government.

After noting that the Sheriff’s Guild had agreed not to take the cost-of-living increase allowed them this year, Nou said that the Sheriff Department is “tasked to respond to emergency services. Agreeing to personnel cuts is not an acceptable solution.”

Patty Miller asked if, beyond reducing personnel, the Sheriff candidates had evaluated whether current operations warrant the current level of funding.

Nou responded that several ideas had been “floated in the primary,” such as teleconferencing court appearances of persons in custody rather than transferring them in person. He also suggested that face-to-face contact may not be required in response to all calls, and that patrolling via telecam and walking may eliminate vehicle fuel costs.

Johnson brought up that the Sheriff’s Department must respond to all calls, whenever they come. He suggested that by reducing the time prisoners are kept in jail, funds may be saved by reducing department personnel costs. Prisoners instead may wear ankle tracking bracelets and be assigned to work crews, which make money for the county.

Johnson also noted that the Defense Attorneys for the Bar Association had rejected the idea of teleconferenced court hearings.

Cathy Ferran, on behalf of a friend, asked the doomsday question, “What happens if the County goes bankrupt?” The drama of the question stopped the debate cold for a minute, but both Johnson and Nou agreed that, in the case of county bankruptcy,  judges and attorneys would be responsible for re-organizing county debt,  salaries and services may be cut; however, by law, the county must provide the functions of the Sheriff’s Department.

Bob Connell brought up the matter of a recent lawsuit  against the sheriff’s department for an illegal search. Nou said, “Because of the nature of the case, even if everybody follows training, there will be the occasion where the Sheriff’s Department gets sued.”

Nou said the department can “manage and mitigate [lawsuit] risk” through policy updates, checklists, clear training, and the “expectations and culture regarding risk management.”

Johnson said that police officers “have to make decisions quickly – in minutes or seconds – while attorneys and the courts will look at it again and again.”  Johnson said that the “passion and direction” of the sheriff in upholding best police practices will minimize the likelihood of lawsuits.”

Marian O’Brien asked if management at the Sheriff’s Department should be considered in reducing costs.

Johnson explained that only three department staff are exempt from collective bargaining, but pledged that if he becomes sheriff and the Sheriff’s Guild keeps their cost-of-living increase at 0 or 1%, he will “write a check” paying back 3% of his salary, “until the economy gets better.”

Nou said,” The Sheriff’s Department is hardly top-heavy in management,” and that there are not many “levels of management” within the department.  “The sergeants are out in the field chasing calls along with the deputies they’re working with.”

(A report on the discussion of the Orcas Island Parks and Recreation District funding proposal, Proposition 1, will follow this article).