Says Sheriff election comes down to two candidates

May 13, 2016 To the Editor: Why I believe Dave Kramer is our best choice for Sheriff. Some of you may remember my run for Sheriff in 2012. I had no law enforcement experience, I had only been here for 2 years, and I ran as an independent, pretty much three strikes. Given that, I still earned nearly 1500 votes. Based on that, I believe our county is searching for an alternative to our incumbent. Greg Sprungl has been Sheriff for numerous terms. Those who know Greg personally or have had casual contact with him know he is a nice guy, as I do. · If you are aware of the issues and liabilities our county has regarding the outdated and poorly maintained systems and processes of our Sheriff’s Office, vote for Greg. · If you want a Sheriff that basically disappears for four years until election time, and raises no issues, vote for Greg. · If you have no problem with multiple in-custody fatalities in the past two years, and think the county does not have liability, vote for Greg. · If you think calling 911 and getting a recording directing you to press 1 is that way it should be, vote for Greg. Greg does not see the problems and opportunities because he has been in office so long he owns the problems. Greg needs to retire. We have two viable candidates. I believe both are qualified. I also believe they are both running for the right reasons, and both have goals and objectives that will help bring the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office into the 21st century. The questions is not who is most qualified, but who is best qualified to accomplish those objectives? Dave Shuman has been here a number of years and has worked in the current office during that time. He has prior military experience with law enforcement and touts his leadership and administrative skills. He is proud to be a “Constitutional Sheriff” as I would be. I cannot question any of those qualifications. I do question why he hasn’t run sooner. Many of the issues in the Sheriff’s Office arose while he has been employed under the current administration. He may have a good understanding of what needs fixing, but what attempts has he made to fix them under Sprungl? Dave Kramer has been in Bonners Ferry his whole life. In the six years I have known Dave Kramer, I have seen him donate his time and experience to our community. Most of you have seen his history and if not, visit his webpage http://electkramersheriff.com/ Dave Kramer is well respected around the state and has the ability to bridge the gaps between our county law enforcement and other counties and agencies. Many of you think Dave Kramer is a “Good Old Boy.” For those of you that think this is a bad thing, I need to point out the difference between a Good Old Boy and a Crony. The difference is motivation. Good Old Boys are motivated by community. While they may be power players in our small community, they act for the good of all of us. Cronies are motivated by power and control. They act in their own best interest. Dave Kramer is no Crony. From our first meet 6 years ago, I have seen nothing but selfless acts by Dave. He volunteers for the Special Olympics Torch Run each year, and I think he has not missed a Penguin Plunge. I said we have two viable candidates. Dave Schumann and Dave Kramer. Both may make a good Sheriff. The question is, which one is right for this time. I believe Dave Kramer has the skills and support of our community to accomplish great things. Dave Schumann has the talent to be a Sheriff, but not right now given the current state of our County. Thank you, Gary Leonard