SUNRIVER, OR -- The two men running for Deschutes County Sheriff took part in their first live forum Monday night, discussing issues like campaign donations and endorsements, the agency’s spending and perceived conflicts of interest.
Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp was asked what role DCSO should take with other public safety agencies. He responded, "We’re at a point, right now, where we need to re-engage our partners in public safety and in the community, and collaborate on things. We have lots of hot topics, which I’m guessing are in his pile of papers there somewhere, like drugs, homelessness, and crime. Those are all areas where we need to re-engage with our partners." But Captain William Bailey says those relationships are already in place, "It doesn’t matter if it’s fire evacuation, public safety, fire risk off China Hat, we’re having regular meetings, regular conversations and collaborating and working together."
They spent a lot of time on the budget and agency spending. DCSO faced criticism last year when it maxed out its tax rate. But Capt. Bailey says the move came much later than originally thought, back when the taxing districts were created in 2006, "Those tax districts were expected to be maxed out in 2013. It’s very clear from the literature, they expected those not to last as long." Sgt. Vander Kamp disagreed, "The 2013 number is new. I’ve spoken to the people involved in this, and I’ve also looked at their math and studied their math. And 2013 was not where this was supposed to take us." Vander Kamp says he wants to reign in spending and balance the agency’s budget.
The candidates agree the agency needs to do more to recruit and promote women. VanderKamp said it’s important to have staff who think differently, "It’s a mostly male-dominated industry; it has been for years. Maybe in the last 10 years, we’ve seen growth into women and minorities more. But we have a good ol’ boys system. And to get into that circle of trust has been difficult." He went on to note, though, he believes promotions should be based on ability, skill and talent, not a person's gender or race. Bailey says an active recruitment effort is underway, "When I was a patrol sergeant, we didn’t have any female deputy sheriffs at that moment, and so I think we’re at six now. We’ve come a long way in hiring and recruiting female deputy sheriffs." But, he acknowledged unpredictable shift work makes it tough for some women.
Monday’s event was hosted by Sunriver Republicans and facilitated by the nonpartisan group Connect Central Oregon. Click HERE to watch the forum.
If no other candidates file to run for Sheriff before March 12th, the election between Bailey and Vander Kamp will take place in November.
