WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: Sheriff candidates have showdown at Old Goats

Karina Andrew reports from the Old Goats’ luncheon on Fri., Sep. 16, 2022.

A candidate for Island County Sheriff criticized his incumbent opponent’s leadership abilities and track record at an Old Goats — Fully Informed Voters luncheon on South Whidbey Friday….

The terse exchange was only the beginning of a two-hour question-and-answer session, during which the candidates fielded questions from the largely conservative Old Goats about their plans to fulfill Island County residents’ needs with regards to public safety. Department staffing issues, the prevalence of drugs in the county and how to increase department funds all arose as key issues.

They Said It

“Our current sheriff has had over three and a half years to improve employee and community relations, but in my opinion, has drastically missed the mark, essentially leaving the helm unmanned and the ship with no direction,” [Deputy Lane] Campbell said. “A vast amount of the public don’t even know who the sheriff is, let alone the vision for making Island County a safer place to live and raise their families.”

[S]heriff [Rick Felici] identified increasing staff as his top priority, saying that implementation of other programs, such as a police canine program that one forum participant asked about, would take a backseat to this more urgent matter.

“You can’t justify the purchase of a snowmobile if you’re barely making the rent, and at this point, staffing has to be the priority,” he said.

Campbell, meanwhile, said the money spent on a canine program would be little compared to the amount loss of staff is already costing the department, and he would be willing to invest in a police dog if it would assist in efforts to keep drugs off the streets.

Campbell said mitigating drug use in Island County would receive his immediate attention should he be elected sheriff, promising that he “will not let Island County turn into King County” and again criticizing the current administration of the sheriff’s office, which he said has “done nothing in over seven years with the drug issues here.”

Felici said the sheriff’s office has requested additional funding from the county every year since he started working there almost 30 years ago. He said funds for the sheriff’s office come from the county’s general fund, and that he and the county commissioners don’t always see eye-to-eye about how much money the sheriff’s office requires to function.