PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for Jefferson County sheriff met in their eighth forum Monday, reiterating their positions on issues including the tenor of the campaign, a vacant undersheriff position and law enforcement presence in schools.
Wendy Davis, 47, a human resources manager and payroll specialist for Port Ludlow Associates LLC and a former officer with the Bremerton and Poulsbo police departments, and David Stanko, 66, a retired Fullerton, Calif., police lieutenant, addressed about 80 people at the weekly meeting of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
The candidates, both running as democrats in the general election ending Nov. 4, acknowledged that the campaign has been a negative one but said they have done their best to steer the dialogue toward key issues.
“This has been one of the most difficult elections that Jefferson County has ever seen,” Davis said.
“I know that my supporters have been positive, and I have tried to run a positive campaign.
“My message has been consistent and my attitude has been consistent, and yes, there have been days where I just didn’t want to deal with this anymore.”
Opponents of Davis have criticized her record, sometime anonymously, something that Stanko has disavowed.
“My team and I have taken what we call the high road,” he said.
“We have not been negative; we have been all positive. I have also denounced anything negative that has been out there.”
While both candidates praised former Jefferson Sheriff Tony Hernandez, who left to become Milton’s police chief, they also said department policies need to be re-examined.
“Traditional law enforcement is not working,” Davis said.
“We’re arresting the same people and putting them in jail, over and over and over again. It’s a revolving door, and I’d like see that changed.”
“I am going to bring a mission statement to the sheriff’s department that is we are committed to developing community partnerships,” Stanko said.
“This will emphasize a caring attitude and a physical presence.
“I’ve talked to people in south county, and they feel they’ve been neglected. How do we fix that?”
Stanko said he favored a citizen advisory committee where people can talk directly to the sheriff’s department.
Both candidates said some reorganization will be necessary, beginning with filling the undersheriff position that has been vacant since 2009 due to funding restrictions.
“There is no more money to put into the budget,” Davis said.
“Once of the criticisms I hear a lot is that money in the sheriff’s department is not being spent appropriately, so we need to do a real review of that.”
Davis defined the undersheriff as the second in command who manages personnel and operations, giving the sheriff the opportunity to go outside the office and interact with the community.
Davis said she has a tentative choice from outside the department for the undersheriff job, though she did not identify the person.
“A good use of our resources is our number one issue,” Stanko said.
“When I get to the sheriff’s department, I will talk to the command staff and all of the employees to determine what’s going on before making a recommendation as to how to change the budget.”
Stanko said he’d attempt to put more sheriff’s deputies on the street.
“Our job is public safety,” he said.
“I will evaluate the appointed positions to see if they are really necessary. We have two captains now, which I think is not appropriate.
“I think they would serve better working for you, on the street.”
Both candidates said they supported the idea of a permanent resource officer in local schools but did not feel the financing was available to put one in place.
“I don’t know if we can dedicate a deputy, but I will make sure the deputies will get out on the campuses, with permission of the schools, to be available to talk to,” Stanko said.
“Once we establish that the deputies aren’t there to put people in jail, that will really help with our campuses.”
Stanko said that deputies are “busy, but not that busy.”
“I will encourage deputies to get out of their offices and out of their cars and talk to people,” he said.
“I don’t believe there’s money in the budget right now for a school-resource officer,” Davis said.
“Right now, we have two or three deputies working at any one time to cover a very large area, and although it would be ideal to have someone in the schools with a mentorship role, I think we need to find different ways to interact with youth and engage with our kids and our community.”
Davis cited a cadet program now operating in Port Townsend as a possibility, where kids interested in law enforcement can learn the basics about the job.
“If deputies go to the school to interact with the kids, even just shoot a few hoops with them, it can be a very positive thing.”
Ballots were mailed to Jefferson County voters on Oct. 15 and must be returned to the auditor’s office by 8 p.m. Nov. 4.
Those who have not received a ballot can call Betty Johnson, election coordinator in the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office, at 360-385-9117.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
