I’m voting for Coffman
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Editor,
There’s no doubt politics are in full swing and the Lake County Sheriff’s election has especially received a lot of attention, rightfully so; the sheriff is the top law enforcement official in the county. I’ve decided who I’m voting for and this is how I came to my decision: I reviewed the LCSO annual report. This included 144 burglaries, 55 trespasses, 344 theft/fraud, 111 criminal mischief/vandalism, 196 DUIs, and 352-drug related crimes. These crimes have one theme in common: they are considered non-violent crimes. Of 1,349 bookings, 821 were released back into the community after being “booked.” Does this deter crime? Have the victims of these crimes received justice? Over the last four years, 13 deputies and 14 detention officers have left LCSO and Lake County Dispatch is no longer overseen by the sheriff’s office. Is this a good thing? Has this cost the county money in training new hires and/or in litigation? These are questions we should all be asking ourselves. I’ve heard David Coffman’s speeches, read his articles and spoken with him. David approaches problems with well thought out plans. He’s committed to taking responsibility for developing three proposals for the construction of a new jail facility; he will bring back the voter-approved SWAT, boat patrol, reserves, a stronger emphasis on drug enforcement and a chaplaincy program. A collateral SWAT program trains local officers; instead of waiting for a neighboring agency’s team to arrive, these highly trained tactical patrol officers could respond and take appropriate action quicker should a critical incident occur. Having an active boat patrol will provide a quicker response time to emergencies on the water. These ideas are a unifier, David Coffman is a unifier. A conservative Republican, with strong faith, morals and ethics, David is intelligent, hardworking and well qualified for the position. We are a rural area with big city crimes; David comes with 30 years of big city experience. This is what we need and what we should ask for in a sheriff’s candidate. I will be voting for David Coffman on June 5.
Tony Isbell
Polson
