Dear Editor,

This current race for Sheriff has been contentious. Not necessarily between the two candidates, but amongst their supporters. Some of the more troubling attacks I’ve seen revolve around the support the deputies have shown for Mark Crider. In one previously published UB letter to the editor, a former sheriff’s deputy wrote about the unprofessionalism of the deputies for voicing their opinion on whom the next Sheriff should be. He stated there was “a great deal of quiet support” for Matt Stroe amongst the “professional” deputies. Eighteen deputies voted to support Mark in their Associations endorsement. The number of total deputies at the Sheriff’s Office is 24, so 18 of 24 are supporting Mr. Crider (are more quietly supporting him?). Sounds like a large majority are supporting Mr. Crider. When I did some additional research, I saw that 100% of the support staff at the Sheriff’s Office is supporting Mark Crider. Are all of these people unprofessional for voicing their opinion while off duty?

In another previously published UB letter to the editor, the author compared the deputies supporting Mark Crider, who wear blue campaign shirts to events, to the brown shirt thugs utilized by the Nazi Party during their rise to power in Germany. Now think about this; deputies supporting Crider at public events are akin to Nazis. So in terms of slander, the deputies supporting Crider for Sheriff are unprofessional at the very least; at worst, they’re Nazis.

Just like during the primary, the current deputies of the WWSO have come under fire for supporting a candidate they feel is the best fit for Sheriff. As others have pointed out, it is the deputies who have the most to gain or lose as a result of this election. In Matt Stroe they would have a Sheriff who is a nice guy and is “from here.” but has very limited law enforcement experience. In Mark Crider they would maintain a leader who is the current Undersheriff, has a working and intimate knowledge of the budget, has an impressive law enforcement career and a proven track record of service to this nation.

Professionals recognize one another. The deputies have recognized Mark as the professional they want. I support our deputies and will be voting Mark Crider for Sheriff.

Todd Sedam

Walla Walla