Island County Sheriff

Island County Sheriff

Lane Campbell, R
https://folkc.com/
Deputy Sheriff Lane K. Campbell Announces Candidacy for Island County Sheriff

“Serve through Experience, Lead by Example”
I Pledge to ALL Citizen’s when Elected Island County Sheriff, I will be your best Advocate for Building Community Trust by ensuring that laws are enforced with respect, compassion and absolute resolve; with complete transparency to everyone.

I have dedicated 37 years of my life in law enforcement, the last 27 and a half of which has been as a Deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.  I have a strong commitment and personal bond with the community that I have served for over half my life.  I have gained a vast working knowledge of Federal, State, City and County agencies over the course of my career.  I believe the variety of agencies and nearly four decades of experience has afforded me the knowledge necessary to effectively supervise and manage the position of Island County Sheriff.  My pledge to the citizens of Island County is to utilize your hard earned tax dollars in a responsible, effective and transparent manner.

When elected Sheriff I will have an open door policy and it is extremely important to me that neither I nor my administrative staff ever forget where we came from or who we serve.
In Island County we face the same challenges as our surrounding larger cities and counties.  We all have homelessness, we all have substance abuse and we all have our share of the mentally ill.  Society has been confronting these issues for many decades and generations.  Having worked the streets for the past 37 years, I intend to introduce new and innovative community programs, which focus on early detection, prevention and building trust. Dealing directly with our substance abuse problem each and every day, I feel there needs to be a societal commitment to solving this epidemic. When I am elected Sheriff my office will continue to offer services as requested by these individuals.
Effectively and respectfully managing the mentally ill challenges can be and are at times truly significant.  Over the 37 years of my service, I have had one on one experience with thousands and thousands of mentally ill citizens.  This experience has given me a unique insight and advantage in dealing with these individuals.  Even though our county is small and our resources are limited, as your Sheriff I will work tirelessly with the local mental health organizations and laws such as “Joel’s Law”, Sheena’s Law” and “Ricky’s Law” to ensure that these citizens are treated with respect, dignity and with their best interest at heart.         
https://folkc.com/about-lane/

SERVE THROUGH EXPERIENCE, LEAD BY EXAMPLE: I would like to thank you for taking the time to learn about your next Island County Sheriff.  I am nearly 53 years old, the last 27 and a half-years of which I’ve been serving the Island County citizens as a Deputy Sheriff.  I began my career in law enforcement 37 years ago at the age of 16 when I became a cadet for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.  In 1985, at the age of 20, I began full time employment with the Suquamish Tribal Police near Bainbridge Island. After completing the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Academy, I remained with the tribal police for approximately one year.   In 1986 I was hired by the Winslow Police Dept. on Bainbridge Island where I remained for the next 4 years.  In 1989 I was one of 7 law enforcement officers in the State of Washington to be chosen for the “Steal a Cop” program with the Washington State Patrol.  I remained with the State Patrol for approximately 6 months before coming to the realization that I personally needed more diversity to my career than traffic enforcement.  In 1990 I began my career with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, where I’ve worked ever since.  Even after 37 years, I am not ready to retire however I am ready to change my role in our communities.  I have decided to run as your next Sheriff and introduce some new and innovative strategies into our communities.  It is truly time to address 21st century problems with 21st century ideas.  If you are looking for a Sheriff that serves our communities with experience and leads through example I’m your man.  Thank you for your support.  For more information please visit my website at: www.folkc.com    

PLATFORM: I have a number of issues that I will be addressing as your next Island County Sheriff.  This department needs to see positive change while maintaining the core values of our community.  The following are some but not all of my top priorities:

PUBLIC SAFETY: As your next Sheriff, I will continue my commitment to public safety by collaborating with community members, other agencies and county administrators to identify and address:
Problems that are unique to each of our many individual communities.
Current programs with a history of wasting tax dollars and producing low rates of success.
Career criminals.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: As your Sheriff, drug dealers will not be tolerated.  I will provide my deputies with the tools and recourses necessary to identify, arrest and convict these individuals.  I will work closely with our judicial system and county government to ensure:
That drug dealers will be held fully accountable and not simply recycled through a current system.
That substance abusers who want help will receive help from programs that have proven results, are financially sustainable and provide long-term follow-up support.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP: 37 years of being on the road has given me unique insight and the firm belief that direct contact is important for administrators and deputies alike.  As your Sheriff, my administrative staff and I will be out in the field to ensure that:
We continue to build trust between the Sheriff’s office and the community.
We collaboratively and effectively solve problems.
We never forget where we came from or whom we serve.

 COMMUNITY CARETAKING: Island County shares many common problems such as homelessness, substance abuse and mental health.  Not all of these individuals are criminals.  As your Sheriff, I will:
Ensure that all citizens are treated respectfully and equitably
Provide services for those individuals who request help
Advocate for alternatives to incarceration for those with special circumstances

I was able to hear Mr Campbell speak at two candidates’ events. I think he is a good man trying to do his job. I think he is a road cop, which is an important job. I don’t think he would do well as a sheriff because he does not seem to know what that job entails. At the end of the Freeland event he said that he would not be ensconced in an office but would be in his car, on the road, meeting people. That’s a road deputy’s job description, not the sheriff’s.  He gave no evidence of understanding all the aspects of the sheriff’s job.
Since I did not have the opportunity to speak with him I posted to Mr Campbell the same question I had posted to Mr Felici, about “recreational bulldozing.” His response was positive, but it was also less than literate. Not that I would be a snob or anything, but I expect my public servants to be reasonably well educated. I believe the fact that Mr Campbell has remained a road cop for all these 37 years demonstrates that this is the job where he does best.

Rick Felici, R
currently #2 person under Mark Brown
https://www.rickfelici.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rickfeliciforsheriff/

Philosophy: I am running for Island County Sheriff because I believe in efficient, effective and integrated public safety across all aspects of life in Island County. I believe the Sheriff has a duty to protect and serve all who live, work and play in Island County. We live in a beautiful, dynamic and growing rural county. Growth has many positive benefits, however with growth comes additional strain on limited public resources and increased criminal activity.  I see this election as an excellent opportunity for me to contribute to the citizens of Island County by sharing my experience, leadership and vision for new levels of integrated and effective law enforcement.  I love what I do because I know it makes a difference to all members of our community.

Issues:
Drug Enforcement & Quality of Life:  Drug abuse, including the unprecedented use of heroin and other illicit drugs, homelessness and people suffering from mental health issues are some of the largest challenges to public safety today. Management of these issues requires an effective combination of enforcement, education and treatment.  As your Sheriff, I will work tirelessly to combine the strengths of all available resources to combat these problems as they relate to public safety & quality of life. There is not one perfect solution. However, I believe that collaborative work with fellow  governmental agencies, concerned citizens and community organizations will yield positive and measurable results.

Cyber Crime: Internet and Web-based technologies bring new opportunities for criminal activity such as identity theft, sexual exploitation fraud and harassment.  While the Island County Sheriff's Office currently has a cutting edge team investigating computer crimes, I believe the threat of cyber crime is still in its infancy. We must continue to grow in this area to combat this emerging type of crime. I am proud of the work our Office does in investigating these crimes and I believe education is key to personal safety online. 

As your Sheriff, I will work to ensure that resources are dedicated to internet safety education in our schools & community, as well as supporting investigation and enforcement of cyber crime laws. 

Property Crime: Theft, fraud, burglary and other "property crimes" continue to be an unfortunate reality in our society. There is no doubt these crimes have a direct relationship to illegal drug use. We must find ways to dedicate resources to more proactive drug investigations to effectively address property crime. As your Sheriff, I will work to ensure that available resources are focused on proactive narcotics enforcement.

Traffic Safety: In my experience, traffic safety is one of the most frequently voiced concerns of our community. Serious injury and fatal collisions occur far too often on our roadways. We must continue to work with our enforcement and education partners to combat this public safety issue.

In 2015, Rick was appointed to his current position as the Chief Criminal Deputy for the Island County Sheriff's Office. He is responsible for the leadership and management of Patrol, Investigations, Marine Safety and Animal Control Divisions.  Along with these responsibilities are budgeting proposals, office development and hiring of new employees.  Rick focuses on fostering an environment of leadership, accountability, fiscal responsibility and customer service.
  
 Rick is a law & order public servant and will continue that tradition as Sheriff.  His door is always open to his team members, public and private leaders and members of the community.

I have now had the opportunity to watch and hear Rick Felici at two candidate events. After the first one he told me that he had not been at his best because he was operating with only 2 hours’ sleep. This is one of the problems of running for office while still having to do your day job. My sense of Mr Felici is that he is competent, and actually understands all the various parts of the sheriff’s job.
I was very favorably impressed that he actually remembered a conversation we had a good ten years ago concerning what I call “recreational bulldozing.” This is the practice of doing work which the landowner knows requires a permit. Rather than going through the process they just hire a friend of a friend who shows up late Friday and is finish by Sunday afternoon. I asked Mr Felici if he would be willing to send a deputy to such a situation to ask that work stop until Monday when county staff could come evaluate the situation. Current sheriff Mark Brown had told me, with dripping disdain that “I won’t risk one of my deputies on a mere civil matter.” Mr Felici, just a couple of weeks ago, said that he would be willing to send a deputy, but that I needed to understand they actually have no authority in such a situation. Yep. I’m only too well aware of that. Still, when a deputy shows up at the work site, a lot of people will do as the deputy asks.

My impression is that Mr Felici was a good road cop, a good investigator, and now he’s a good administrator, which is what the sheriff needs to be.

I will be voting for Rick Felici for sheriff.