Clark County sheriff candidate Shane Gardner announced Thursday that he’d made a verbal commitment to hire a law enforcement veteran as his undersheriff if he’s elected in November.
And while the name may lack sizzle in Clark County, it’s a familiar one across the Columbia River.
Gardner said he would hire former Washington County, Ore., Sheriff Rob Gordon, a 36-year law enforcement veteran.
Gordon, 58, retired from the sheriff’s office in Washington County in 2011 after 10 years in office. While there, he made a name for himself as a plain-talking cop with a tough take on medical marijuana. He also supported the privacy rights of conceal-carry license holders.
Gardner said he was thrilled Gordon accepted his offer to be undersheriff, provided, of course, he wins the election.
“Rob’s experience, combined with his fresh perspective, will be a tremendous asset to our community,” Gardner said.
Gordon, who would relocate to Clark County for the position, said he’d complement Gardner and bring his operational and management expertise to the job. Gordon became sheriff after working in Washington County’s jail division.
He said he was attracted to Gardner’s enthusiasm and ideas. The two first met at a 2012 leadership conference.
“I have a strong belief that a sheriff’s office can make a lot of positive change in a community, if it’s run right,” Gordon said.
While he expects to hear criticism that he’s not from Clark County and has never worked in Washington, Gordon noted that the “management principles were the same. They cross state boundaries.”
Gardner, a nonpartisan candidate, is running against Republican Chuck Atkins, a retired Clark County Sheriff’s Office commander.
Atkins has reportedly told the sheriff’s office guilds he’s met with that he plans to hire Cmdr. Mike Cooke to be undersheriff.
But Atkins said Wednesday that he’d made no final decision on whom he’d hire, nor did he plan to make it a campaign issue.
“I will finalize my administration after the election,” Atkins said. “I want the voters to evaluate me on my own merits and my own qualifications to lead the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.”
Gardner, a sergeant, has been criticized for lacking experience. While Gardner has noted that Atkins “has years on me,” he said the position of sheriff is more about leadership.
Still, Gardner said it was important to bring someone onto his team with decades of high-level law enforcement management experience.
In August, former sheriff’s office Cmdr. John Graser, who came in third during the August primary, discussed being added to Gardner’s campaign in exchange for the undersheriff position.
Graser, who eventually endorsed Atkins, said he had concerns about Gardner’s managerial experience and had extended the offer to take the undersheriff position to deflect that criticism away from Gardner.
Gardner’s campaign said it never intended to offer Graser a position within the sheriff’s office and was only looking for an endorsement.
Gordon doesn’t plan to stump much for Gardner, but he will tour the community to acquaint himself with it.
While sheriff in Washington County, Gordon was known for his outspoken views.
He refused a 2008 judge’s order to release the names of conceal-carry permit holders, citing privacy rights. He also stood against issuing gun permits to medical marijuana patients, saying he believed doing so would violate federal gun and drug laws.
He was twice selected as Oregon’s Sheriff of the Year, in 2006 and 2008 — a title bestowed by colleagues.
“This is about surrounding yourself with the right people for the job,” Gardner said. “(Gordon) has navigated these fields before and been successful.”
