Dear Editor,

I’m writing to express my ardent support for Matt Stroe as a candidate for sheriff of Walla Walla County. I met Matt as a student at Whitman College while working for the Security Department in a work study position.

Matt is an outstanding director of security. He found innovative ways to improve safety on campus and gained the trust of students in a way that facilitated a to-my-knowledge unprecedentedly positive relationship between the student body and security.

Outside of his accomplishments for the Security Department, Matt went well beyond any of the responsibilities of his position to support and encourage students in many ways.

Personally, I remember him staying all nine innings for a number of baseball games (often times in very cold weather) in support of myself and other members of the team, agreeing to attend a College Republicans meeting to share his perspective at a particularly polarizing time, and even letting me use his own office for a job interview my senior year — just to name a few of many kind gestures.

It’s important that a sheriff have the experience and knowledge of law enforcement to lead his office, but I think most important to his success in running a strong department, is the quality of his character. I understand some of the anecdotes I mentioned might sound trivial, but I wanted to share them to help give a glimpse of the kind of person and the kind of leader Matt is.

I deeply believe he possesses genuine care for others and the highest level of integrity. I’m thrilled that he is running because I couldn’t think of a better person to be sheriff for Walla Walla.

Garrett Atkinson

Lake Stevens, Wash.