Why am I running for Sheriff?
I have asked hundreds of times… why would I want to run for Sheriff? I have the perfect little family. I have a wonderful full-time job as a Police Officer. I make decent money. I love what I do.. I am happy.. I am comfortable.
Well, the short answer is because we NEED serious change in our Sheriff’s Office - positive change! Our communities deserve so much more for their tax dollars. With me as your leader, YOU are going to always come first.
Community Involvement
We need more engagement in our communities, specifically in our schools & with our youth. As your Sheriff, we will offer several community events, self-defense classes, CPR/AED classes, a citizen academy, and much more.
These things have been asked of for years and it just hasn’t happened. We should want to help keep our communities safe and more informed. The best part? Most of these things are FREE!
Love & Appreciation for our People
As your Sheriff, our staff will be supported and appreciated - regardless what they believe in or who they voted for. I will reward outstanding performance. Employees will be recognized when they go above and beyond. I will promote based on merit, not favoritism. Everyone will be treated fairly - no more witch hunts and one-sided investigations. The “Good Ole Boys” mentality will officially be GONE! We will officially be a harassment free workplace, just the way that it should be.
We will always support our area first responders! I am in the process as we speak to host our first ever “1st Responder Ball”. This ball will be a magical night, as it will consist of dinner, drinks, professional photographs on the red carpet, handouts, awards ceremony, live music, and much more. This is the least we can do for our area first responders who put so much on the line for strangers, day in and day out.
People over Politics
Regardless of political stance, ALL citizens and staff will be treated fairly & appreciated. No more favoritism, no more retaliation, and NO more harassment. Just because you are a Wilz supporter, you won’t have to fear retaliation or losing your job. Just because a citizen or company is a Wilz supporter, you won’t have to fear being harassed. Those days will be OVER.
There will always be new ideas, new ways of looking at things - we will always welcome that! Again, the “Good Ole Boys” mentality will be gone.
Highway Safety
We will promote and advocate for highway safety. This will always be a priority, not just after someone loses their life.
We will also strive to keep our County Highway workers safe in construction zones. You rarely ever see extra patrol being done in these busy construction zones (I know, I was one of few that did them when I worked for the Sheriff’s Office). There are crashes in construction zones every day, and we need to step it up so our men and women with County Highway and the DOT can get home safe to their families.
We will also be more involved and more engaged at Waupaca County Highway Safety meetings. I have attended these meetings. There is a lot of good information provided (construction updates, DOT statistics, etc.), but rarely is there ever any discussion that takes place on solutions to the many problems we have on our roadways. It seems to me that most times, the attendees just want to the meeting to be done and over with. What is the point of these meetings then? Let’s make these meetings productive and SAVE LIVES.
Transparency & Fiscal Responsibility
Our citizens will get to actually know and see just what their tax dollars are going toward - and have a say in it! The days of spending money carelessly will be over.
Did you know that there are non-sworn staff members that get to take a squad car to and from work each day? Did you know that there are tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees that the County taxpayers are footing the bill for? Transparency should be a priority.. but it’s not.
We will encourage our administration to assist our staff when needed. I.E. a bad tornado hits Waupaca County and there are hundreds of calls for service. While our dispatchers and patrol officers are overwhelmed with these calls, there are anywhere from 6-8 members of command staff (getting paid salary) sitting in their office. Why can’t they get in their squad cars (that costs a pretty penny) and help their fellow people out with calls? I have seen it happen but it is VERY rare. In doing such, it could save from having to pay someone overtime to come in and work. Therefore, saving the County tax payer dollars that can go toward other priorities!
More Community Policing
Our patrol officers will be encouraged to conduct more frequent business checks - making sure that doors & windows are secure and no crime is afoot. Right now, it doesn’t happen enough. When it does happen, most times officers don’t even get out of their squads to check doors & windows. They simply drive around the building and call it “good”.
Our patrol officers will be encouraged to conduct more frequent extra patrols. I.E. officers have a program called “MACH” in their squads. It is a mapping system that shows where every squad is located. It also is able to “pin” extra patrols to certain addresses or locations for officers to check on during their shift. I have personally seen citizens call in requesting extra patrol around their house or place of business for several days - and not ONE extra patrol got performed. This is unacceptable. There would be citizens in the upper north part of the county who would request extra patrol and I was the only one who would drive up there and perform said extra patrol.
Officers will also be encouraged to spend more time visiting schools, parks, community events, etc.
Agency Partnerships
Our Office will establish and maintain good working relationships with all other agencies. Every agency will be treated fairly and politics will have absolutely NO bearing.
We will have multi-jurisdictional trainings and ALL county-wide agencies will be invited to participate.
Officers will respond to ALL EMS & Fire calls for service. Currently now, officers are only required to respond to an EMS or Fire call if it is a true emergency. I personally have seen (numerous of times) a medical call come out of an elderly male with difficulty breathing and the deputy did not respond. The deputy was less than 5 miles away! This is unacceptable. Not only could seconds matter during calls like these, but members of EMS and ambulance services greatly appreciate a helping hand - especially if things start to go south. Waupaca County is one of the only jurisdictions in this area that don’t make this a priority.
Drug Addiction & Mental Health
Our Office will advocate & support our citizens - even at a time of crisis. Just because you are struggling with depression, anxiety, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, etc - it doesn’t give us a free pass to treat them any different than others. If anything, we should be supporting them that much more. We want people to get better.. be a better version of themselves.. get clean!.. be a functioning member of society. Negative comments within our Office about people who struggle with these types of issues will come to an end on DAY 1.
We will partner with DHHS & CAP Services - to better provide resources to those who need them. Right now, there are programs out there, specifically CAP Services, that often times get overlooked or passed up. This is because administration isn’t pushing for it so deputies don’t offer these resources.
We have to lose the “lock away the problem” or “let them die” mentality. No one deserves to die. We are here to help people!
Protect YOUR Rights
Our Office will advocate & support our citizens Constitutional Rights. We have to realize that mistakes will happen - but it is how we make things right afterwards that is just as important. Officers (including administration) will review case law and strive to use good judgement when conducting a search or detaining or making an arrest of a citizen.
Employee Compensation
I will strongly advocate for better wages for certain positions within the Sheriff’s Office, specifically dispatchers and jailers. They do such an amazing job day in and day out - and we NEED them to keep our Office running smoothly and cost effectively.