Community members filled the meeting room of the John Silas Bass North community building Thursday evening as hopefuls for county and state office answered questions. The candidate forum, hosted jointly by the Allen County Democrats and Allen County Republicans, was moderated by Tim Stauffer, managing editor of The Iola Register. The offices covered included Allen County Sheriff, Allen County Commission District 3, 2nd Congressional District and 12th District Senate.
Sheriff Candidates
Running for the office of Allen County Sheriff are two Republican candidates: Incumbent Sheriff Bryan Murphy and Anthony Maness. In his opening statement, Murphy noted he has been in law enforcement for 32 years and has held the office of Sheriff for the past 12 years. Maness is a 25-year law enforcement veteran, having worked locally and with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
What are your thoughts about transparency and accountability? How do you work to make sure citizens are informed?
Maness noted the sheriff’s office should be in direct communication with the citizens. “When it comes to accountability and transparency, I think the Sheriff needs to lead by example,” said Maness.
In regards to crime prevention, he added that the role should be proactive versus reactive. “Rather than waiting for people to feel comfortable to approach us, we should be initiating conversations and soliciting information,” he said.
He stressed that law enforcement, in its “purest form,” includes direct interaction with its communities and citizens.
Murphy said the most important thing he tells deputies is to stop and talk to citizens. “We have 13,000 people we answer to,” he said. “Without the citizens and their input, we don’t know what we need to change, address or correct.” He noted it is important to keep the media in the loop and informed about what is going on in the county.
“Is everything reportable? Sure. But, there’s certain decisions that are made during investigations,” he said. “If you’re asked a question, you answer it.”
What do you look for in potential hires? How do you screen them? What procedures are necessary to handle complaints against employees?
Murphy explained that intricate and thorough background checks are conducted on each new hire. This includes contact with prior employers and psychological evaluations. “We do not take it lightly,” he said. Referencing the separate arrests of two deputies in the last year, Murphy noted that they are not the only officers in the county who have been arrested. “Those background checks were conducted,” he explained. “I don’t have a crystal ball I can put on my table and articulate and show that these people are going to violate the law. It is important, though, that the community knows about it.” He added that if the Sheriff’s Office can conduct the investigation and arrest in-house, they will. “If not, we’ll refer it out and contact the state agency to do the investigation,” he said.
Maness said the short answer to the question is to find potential hires who have the right motivation. “If you find the right person with the right motivation, we can equip them with the knowledge,” he said. He noted that background checks and vetting must be thorough. “We want a culture of leaders who are dedicated to service to the citizens of Allen County,” he explained. “If that means putting the work into learning and training, then we want to do that. We have to address any complaints made to ensure community trust.”
Are the underlying issues pertaining to a lack of security at the courthouse still present? Is it an all or nothing deal? What’s a viable plan look like for the future?
As a candidate, Maness said it is difficult for him to speak about what should be done at tax expense for expansions until it is addressed that the county commission had allotted funding for a courthouse deputy.
“There were two deputies who were hired for that role and have since moved on out of the agency or onto other responsibilities,” he said. “Until the Sheriff’s Office fills that role, I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for more funding to address security until we’ve adequately utilized the funding we have.”
