Crider is best Candidate for Sheriff

Dear Editor,

I am the wife of a United States Marine and a Sheriff’s Deputy. In years past, I watched my husband mount up and go to war. I knew he was fighting alongside the best men America had to offer and I knew the leadership he served under was well prepared, experienced, and qualified to get the mission accomplished. Now I watch my husband go out shift after shift and proudly serve the citizens of Walla Walla County. Like his combat deployments, I know my husband is working with an assortment of exceptional men and women and has leadership that is experienced, qualified, and tested.

That leadership is about to change. In the current race for Sheriff, I have seen only one candidate who I trust with the life of my husband. That candidate is Mark Crider. When I began researching the candidates, I was looking at more than where they were from. I looked at years on the job, training certifications, leadership accomplishments, and dedication to the profession of law enforcement. From that aspect, the choice wasn’t even close. Mark Crider knocked it out of the park. When I heard Mark speak for the first time, I was thrilled to discover that his primary concerns were the influx of drugs into the county and the rising tide of gang activity. These two issues should concern all residents of Walla Walla County and, luckily, Mark Crider has extensive and tested experience in combating both. During Mark’s 22-year FBI career, he participated in and led task forces that focused on these very issues and he did so with great success. As Sheriff, he will bring that knowledge to the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office and tap into the resources and relationships he’s built over a decades long career in law enforcement.

But most important of all, I know that Mark will put the deputies first because that is what a leader does. A leader gives of himself to guarantee those in his charge are best prepared to accomplish their mission. Mark Crider will ensure that the deputies of the Sheriff’s Office are the best trained, best equipped, and most professional law enforcement officers possible. The deputies don’t need a boss or a politician; they need a leader. Mark Crider is that leader.

Please join me in voting for Mark Crider for Sheriff!

Lucy Johnson

Walla Walla