Where I stand
A Department That Answers to the Public, Not Private Interests
On April 18th, I watched sheriff’s deputies take direction from private security contractors. Public servants, paid by our taxes, answering to the hired guards of the private business they were protecting. At one point the facility owner’s son-in-law, who also happens to hold public office as the town constable, was overheard coordinating with deputies on their tear gas supply.
Step back and look at the whole picture in Blue Mounds: the facility’s own head veterinarian chairs the town board. The owner’s son-in-law is the town’s peace officer. And when a thousand people showed up to object to what a judge found probable cause to call felony animal cruelty, the Sheriff’s office put itself between the public and the facility, and let the facility’s contractors help run the show.
A Sheriff’s department exists to serve the people of this county. All of us. Not a private company, not its security firm, and not the well-connected.
As Sheriff, I will:
- Never place deputies under the direction of private security contractors. Command of public law enforcement is not for hire.
- Refuse deference to any private interest, no matter how established or connected.
- Disclose and manage conflicts of interest between the department and the people or businesses it polices.
- Disclose when private parties shape a public operation, and account for it openly, so the public knows who the department was serving.
The badge is a public trust. I intend to treat it that way.