Candidate for sheriff Chuck Atkins is amassing an impressive compilation of endorsements from many of the local and regional law enforcement organizations. Before assuming this equates to Atkins being the best qualified for the job, consider the following – that people resist change.
Atkins retired from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office just long enough for a cup of coffee and to provide assurances to the other lawmen in the state that it will be business-as-usual in Clark County if he is elected.
Working relationships can and should be built in months, not years. The risk of long-term employment in a single agency is a narrow focus, limited vision, and complacency. Favors and markers are what are accumulated over time. Of necessity and obligation, Atkins would be working off debts and the promises made during his touted 35-year career.
What we need is a fresh perspective to solve our current problems, and to position us for the future needs of this evolving and changing county, without the burden of debt that is carried by the old guard.
A vote for Atkins is a choice for yet more cronyism in the leadership of our county. Let’s move the needle in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office – vote for Shane Gardner, John Graser or Ed Owens – it’s time for something different.
John Snyder
Brush Prairie
