Two police officers
challenge Femling
for sheriff
"There are more traffic
accidents and drug cases, and violent crime is up. We’ve hired no new
deputies in the last ten years. We’re going to be trying to do more with
less. It takes a lot of creativity to meet the needs of the community."
— WALT FEMLING, Blaine
County sheriff
"There is a need to be able to
communicate with (Spanish speakers). I want to take that over to the
Sheriff’s office and make it county-wide."
— JEFF GUNTER, Hailey
Police Department Lieutenant
By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer
The contest for Blaine County
Sheriff became a two party race Wednesday when Hailey Police Lieutenant
Jeff Gunter, 43, threw his hat in the ring as a Democratic candidate.
Fellow Hailey officer Steve
England, 28, two weeks ago announced his intention to run against
incumbent Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling, 47, in the May 25
Republican primary.
WALT FEMLING, Blaine County
sheriff
Femling, who is entering his fifth
election cycle, is no newcomer to political races. He is seeing a repeat
of his first race in 1988 when he beat a Republican competitor in the
primary election and a Democratic candidate in the general election.
"Seems like we’re picking up more
candidates for this position all the time." Femling said. "I’ve been
here before, and I look forward to getting our campaign up and running."
Only in 1992 was Femling
re-elected unopposed.
Gunter said he considered running
for sheriff in the last election but decided he needed more experience
first. He first began working for the Hailey Police Department in 1990.
Then, after a two-year stint serving the city of Bellevue as marshall
and city administrator in the late 1990s, he returned to the Hailey
police force as a sergeant in 2000.
"I am running because I believe
the next few years are critical for the law enforcement community and
the Wood River Valley," Gunter said. "There are huge tax dollars at
stake. I want to ensure that our tax dollars are used wisely and
efficiently, and that all options are explored.
"I am also running because I
believe the Blaine County Sheriff’s Department will improve dramatically
under my leadership."
JEFF GUNTER, Hailey police
lieutenant
Gunter, who said he would expand
upon his campaign platform before the Democratic primary, did stress
cooperation and information sharing between departments as a major goal.
He also emphasized the importance of improving communications with the
Hispanic population in the county.
"We have three bilingual employees
in the Hailey Police Department. Blaine County had to have us help them
with language (during the Sarah Johnson murder investigation)," he said.
"There is a need to be able to communicate with (Spanish speakers). I
want to take that over to the Sheriff’s office and make it county-wide."
Femling has laid his platform out
in more detail, selling his 24 years as a police officer as his major
card in the race.
"I see some critical issues in
store for the sheriff in the next four years," he said. "They are going
to take some real experience and leadership to get through."
Femling said implementation of
E911 and consolidated dispatch will be important tasks for the sheriff
as well as planning for a new jail that he refers to as a "public safety
facility." It would house the dispatch center and sheriff’s office as
well as hold prisoners.
Femling is on the executive board
for E911—which he hopes to see implemented this year. He is chairman of
the Idaho State Jail Standard Committee and president of the Idaho
Association of Counties.
Femling has done a needs
assessments for new jails in Caribou, Twin Falls and Elmore counties.
Plans for any new jails have yet been implemented, Femling said.
"We’re starting the process with
the needs assessment. It is a tremendous undertaking getting from the
design phase and finance phase to building," he said. "Planning is going
to continue for the next couple of years to get a model in Blaine County
that everybody will feel good about."
March 19 is the filing deadline
for anyone wishing to enter the race leading up to the Nov. 2 general
election. So far, Gunter has no Democratic opponents.
STEVE ENGLAND, Hailey
patrol officer
England has yet to elaborate on
his platform, but all three candidates have said one of the biggest
challenges facing the county has to do with growth. The county
population increased nearly 50 percent in the past decade.
"There are more traffic accidents
and drug cases, and violent crime is up. We’ve hired no new deputies in
the last ten years," Femling said. "We’re going to be trying to do more
with less. It takes a lot of creativity to meet the needs of the
community."