Announcement Speech
2/5/04

Good morning everyone. Thank you for attending the official announcement of my candidacy for Canyon County Sheriff.
I want to say a special thank you to Jorge and his staff for the use of this beautiful facility. Everyone in the Treasure Valley should take pride in The Hispanic Cultural Center and it's goals. Keep up the good work, Jorge.

For those of you who know what a big sports fan I am, I wanted to dispel a couple of rumors. First, there is very little truth to the rumor that I waited until after the Super Bowl to focus on my campaign. I actually wanted to wait until next week when the pro bowl was over. I also checked and it looks like the Oakland Raiders have not yet been mathematically eliminated from next year's playoffs. That was a lie being spread by some Kansas City Chiefs fans.

But now that I am focused on my campaign it's important that before I look to my future, I acknowledge my past and present. My dad was one of the original Boise PD Reserve Officers, a long time member of the Whitney Fire Department and coached my youth baseball teams. My mother was always involved in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other church sponsored youth activities. I want to thank them for supporting me and giving me a strong desire toward public service. Most of all I must thank them for instilling in me a strong work ethic, which has been described by some as border line excessive compulsive.

I must thank my wife, Elena, and step-daughters, Monica and Alicia, for their supporting my decision to run for office. There are times when they seem more excited than me about this adventure. Their confidence gives me strength.
I also need to thank Brent Boster for sharing the belief that we can create the best Sheriff's Office in Idaho.

Most of you who know me well, know that I would be more comfortable taking an armed felon out of a building than I am standing here giving a speech. When I began my law enforcement career 35 years ago I had no dreams of being the boss. I just wanted to do the job. I loved (and still do love), the adrenalin rush of catching a criminal, putting him in cuffs, and locking him up. My experience comes from being a street cop, and if elected sheriff, I will maintain a close relationship with the deputies working the street. I believe that street cops are the backbone of any agency and this will be a key to my administration.

I have outlined 3 goals that I will achieve during the next 4 years.

Goal #1: Put more deputies on the street during high crime hours. I will accomplish this by implementing a swing shift operating from 2:00 PM until 2:00 AM. This will give our patrol areas double coverage from 7:00 PM until 2:00 AM.

Goal #2: Reduce auto accident deaths and injuries on our county roads and highways. This will be accomplished by assigning deputies to a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program. This team will study each serious accident to determine the cause then take action to correct the problem.

Goal #3: Solve our jail problems. The problems I have outlined are overcrowding, medical cost, and the mental hold process. While learning to run a large jail will be my greatest challenge, the opportunities it presents is very exciting to me. I believe that the jail issues should be solved by every agency that has prisoners being housed at the Canyon County Detention Center. I would appoint a jail task force consisting of command staff officers from all police agencies that use the jail. I would also include representatives from the third judicial district and all local prosecutors. This task force will work toward solving those problems and would be available to work out procedural problems that are identified.

I believe that these are attainable goals and if elected will work to make them a reality.

In closing I would like to say that becoming the Canyon County Sheriff presents a unique opportunity. It will allow Chief Homer, Assistant Chief Vincent, Brent Boster, and myself to build a bond of cooperation between Canyon County and the Nampa PD that has not existed in the past. My hope is that the bond would continue far beyond the 4 years that I am Sheriff.