Crider is Best Choice for Sheriff

Dear Editor,

I support Mark Crider for Sheriff. Mark is not your average administrator. One of the first interactions I had working with Mark Crider in the field was while responding to a drunk driver, who had attempted to flee into Oregon from College Place Police. As I responded to the area, I heard the dreaded sound no patrol officer wants to hear as they respond to a call…… The sound of an administrator calling over the radio that they are on scene. Instantly your day is ruined. You know exactly how it’s going to go. You are going to pull up and observe your fearless leader, who has not been a patrol cop for quite some time, wandering around, barking orders, and messing up your investigation.

As I arrived, I stepped out of my patrol car and prepared myself for this retired FBI Agent to come explain how I should conduct a DUI investigation. As he began talking I completely tuned him out and began mentally formulating how I would somehow thank him for laying out the steps I would need to take without sounding snide or getting fired. I looked down at a piece of paper he handed me and studied it as if I was an archeologist attempting to make out some ancient hieroglyphs. Did my eyes deceive me? He had already written down all the pertinent information I would need to get from the witnesses. Then I heard him say “is there anything else I could do to help you”.

For a split second I considered the possibility that I was hallucinating from lack of hydration, as it had been hot that day. To my great surprise I was not dying of dehydration. Mark genuinely wanted to know what he could do to ASSIST me. Mark proved to me that day and every day since that he is a caring leader who is not above listening to his people and getting his hands dirty.

Mark’s experience is vast; however, his attitude reflects a leader who is willing to listen, learn, and adapt as the situation dictates. I can’t think of anyone else I would rather have as the next Sheriff of Walla Walla County.

Corporal Dan Teel

Deputy Sheriff

Burbank