Anthony Maness worked for Sheriff Bryan Murphy for several years and considers him a friend. He even supported Murphy’s prior election campaigns. But now, he’s running against him in the Republican primary on Aug. 6.
“When I look at the sheriff’s office now compared to what it was when I left, I’ve noticed a reduction in services,” he said. “You don’t wake up and decide to run against one of your best friends on a whim. For me, this is about doing the right thing, even when it’s not comfortable. There’s no animosity, no grudge. I just believe the citizens deserve more.”
Maness said his concerns include a lack of communication between the sheriff’s office and state law enforcement agencies, local officials and the public. In particular, he highlighted a recent death by suicide of an inmate at the county jail. Although Murphy and his office followed appropriate protocol in alerting state authorities, local officials and the public were not notified until a Register reporter sought information.
“You can’t share everything about an investigation, especially when it’s in the hands of the KBI or the FBI,” Maness said. “But you can start that conversation, acknowledge that people have a right to know, and demonstrate that you’re handling it appropriately.”
Similarly, Maness pointed to criminal cases in the past two years where two former deputies face separate and unrelated charges of engaging in sexual relationships with a minor. Maness continues to work part-time as a background investigator for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and said he believes more could have been done to research those employees.
“We’ve got to restore the community’s trust in the agency,” he said.
Maness said the three pillars of his campaign are leadership, service and training.
MANESS grew up in Iola and joined the Iola Police reserves at age 18. He worked as a dispatcher before he was hired by the police department.
He worked for the Allen County Sheriff’s Department from 2011 to 2020, when he joined the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. This past November, he joined Allen Community College as Criminal Justice Studies program coordinator, with a goal to educate and train future generations of law enforcement and corrections workers.
Given his current job as a teacher, it’s not surprising one of his goals if elected sheriff is to improve training opportunities.
“I was very fortunate that I was allowed to make mistakes throughout my career and, more importantly, to learn from them. When I stepped into higher ed, I was a little intimidated. But what I found was that I was still allowed to have a learning curve,” he said.
A big advantage of his college teaching experience is learning to better communicate and connect with young adults, he said.
“Everyone talks about this younger generation and how they have different life experiences. I’m going to be hiring this generation so it helps to understand how to communicate with them. Instead of standing in front of a classroom lecturing, I sit down with them and have conversations. An important part of leadership is developing confidence in your employees. While there needs to be respect for the chain of command, you absolutely have to connect with and empower your employees.”
Maness wants to make sure deputies and corrections officers are able to pursue the type of training they desire. He gave Murphy credit for encouraging employees to attend a variety of training opportunities, but said he would like to revitalize the field training program for new hires. He also believes strongly in defensive training tactics and a focus on mental health. His goal is to encourage officers to seek certification so they can train others in the department.
“Community engagement is important to me, and I want to help my employees figure out what that looks like for them,” he said.
