Why I\u2019m Running for Sheriff
\nA message from David Kosola<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you the candidate we should vote for?\u201d<\/p>\n
In the last few years, the department has lost more deputies than it has retained. By no means am I saying this is due to the current administration, as I understand we\u2019re up against a challenging economy and folks have to do what\u2019s best for them. This is an issue I will take seriously and work to address nonetheless.<\/p>\n
If elected, I will work diligently with our commissioners and communicate directly with deputies to find solutions that work best for everyone, with the goal of significantly increasing retention. It costs in excess of $80,000 to get a new deputy fully trained and operational, and taxpayers should not have to continually shoulder that burden only to see deputies transfer elsewhere.<\/p>\n
I want our county to become a destination for deputies rather than a temporary stop in their career. With the right approach, we may even be able to attract experienced deputies from other parts of the state \u2014 or the country.<\/p>\n
We have also experienced challenges with hiring and retaining dispatchers and detention officers. These positions are absolutely critical to emergency response operations throughout the county. At times, staffing shortages require deputies or administrative personnel to step away from their primary responsibilities in order to assist. Staffing an emergency call center is not optional.<\/p>\n
These professionals perform exceptional work in demanding and often thankless roles. While it is encouraging to see employees step up with a can-do attitude, it is not always the best use of county resources and personnel.<\/p>\n
Among the deputies we lost was our School Resource Officer. Filling that position took significant time because it requires a very specific kind of individual to serve effectively in that role. As many citizens have pointed out, maintaining a strong presence in our schools is essential.<\/p>\n
I also want to ensure the DARE program returns in full capacity. At present, I am the only deputy trained to teach DARE. Due to scheduling changes, medical leave, and staffing shortages, the program has become nearly nonexistent. I intend to change that.<\/p>\n
My goal is to build depth within the department by training additional deputies to teach the program, budget permitting. This is not a simple task \u2014 the training takes several weeks and is only available out of state. Coordinating DARE classes with every school in the county also requires considerable planning and time behind the scenes that the public rarely sees.<\/p>\n
While I hope to make immediate progress, reaching the full vision will take time.<\/p>\n
I strongly believe the Sheriff\u2019s Office must hold itself accountable both publicly and internally. Although I do not believe there are major crises within the department today, improving education and training for deputies can increase the number of citations and cases that successfully hold up in court.<\/p>\n
Recently, we have seen serious crimes committed by repeat offenders whose previous charges were dismissed for various reasons. I intend to work closely with the County Attorney\u2019s Office to ensure they receive the information and support they need to keep dangerous offenders out of our communities.<\/p>\n
Small improvements create meaningful long-term results.<\/p>\n
Finally, I will do my best to remain available and accessible to the people of this county. I understand how important communication is between elected officials and the communities they serve. While staffing shortages can make that difficult at times, addressing those shortages remains one of my top priorities.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve mentioned before, these are the issues and priorities that matter most to me personally, and they should not be interpreted as criticisms of any other candidates.<\/p>\n
Respectfully,
\nDavid Kosola for Sheriff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why I\u2019m Running for Sheriff A message from David Kosola \u201cWhy are you the candidate we should vote for?\u201d In the last few years, the department has lost more deputies than it has retained. By no means am I saying this is due to the current administration, as I understand we\u2019re up against a challenging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34,"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidkosola.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}