With Clark County’s population expected to expand by more than 100,000 people in the next two decades, the four candidates running for sheriff say now is the time to start addressing any future growing pains.
And, while at the same time tipping their hats to Sheriff Garry Lucas, who’s served as the county’s top cop for more than two decades, some of the candidates said it’s time to move in a different direction.
Drug trafficking, jail overcrowding and a depleted number of deputies on the road were the issues the candidates tackled during a meeting of The Columbian’s editorial board Tuesday. The candidates — Chuck Atkins, John Graser, Ed Owens and Shane Gardner — want to succeed Lucas, who announced earlier in the year he would not seek another term after 23 years in office.
Among the topics debated was whether it would be possible to add 28 deputies to the road by reallocating resources within the office. The proposal is at the center of Graser’s campaign.
He said the sheriff’s office must look at ways to manage its resources differently before going to county commissioners with requests for more money. One way of accomplishing that, he added, would be to look at daily call times and put more deputies on the road during peak call periods.
“We can do more with less during certain times of the day,” he said.
The other candidates were skeptical of the proposal. Of the 28 additional deputies, county commissioners have already approved funding for eight. They likely won’t hit the road for a couple of years, however, because they first need to be hired and trained.
Owens said the next sheriff must work to ensure that money “dedicated” to the sheriff’s office isn’t siphoned off to the county’s general fund.
“I don’t feel we can take 20 bodies and put them back on the road,” said Owens, a former sheriff’s office detective who’s currently suing the county for wrongful termination.
He said more should be done to build relationships in the county.
While the candidates were mostly supportive of the work Lucas had done over the past two decades, Graser said he would run the office differently. He said Lucas had served as sheriff too long.
“Garry has done what police administrators have done since the beginning of time,” he said, adding that certain task forces, such as those for gangs and drugs, could be combined for efficiency.
Jail, drugs
Speaking of his own managerial style, Gardner, a sergeant and the office’s community outreach officer, said he would “facilitate change, not mandate change.”
He said the sheriff’s office could reduce jail overcrowding by providing more resources to the county’s drug addicts.
“We have a problem with addicts in jail,” he said, adding he doesn’t think the office should focus on filling the jail with street-level dealers because many are also addicts.
If elected sheriff, he vowed to work one shift a month with a different branch of the office to understand how they operate.
Atkins, a former sheriff’s office commander, said it was up to the sheriff’s office to take the lead on busting serious drug offenders, including cartels that use the Interstate 5 corridor for trafficking.
“The cartels are here, and they are slinging a ton of dope,” he said. He added that, as sheriff, he would not want to concede local jurisdiction to the federal government, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Speaking of the jail, Atkins said he believed in redemption but also in holding people accountable, even drug addicts.
The candidates will participate in a candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Clark County at 6 p.m. July 9 at the Vancouver Public Library, 901 C St.
