Why I Support Mark Crider

Dear Editor,

I support Mark Crider for Walla Walla County Sheriff.

I was born in Mexico and came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 10. I have lived in Walla Walla since 1992 and attended Walla Walla public schools; graduating in 1999 from WA-HI. As a legal resident, I served in the Marine Corps for four years and received an honorable discharge. After my enlistment, I worked 6 years for BMAC conducting community outreach work as a neighborhood organizer for Commitment to Community. I’ve worked as an intervention specialist at both Edison and WA-HI; where I also coached 9th grade soccer. In 2015, I took a job at the Juvenile Justice Center as a Juvenile Detention Officer. In 2016, I accepted a job as a Sheriff’s Deputy with Garfield County. I worked in Garfield County just short of two years before accepting a deputy position with the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office. I have been a Deputy here for over three months and feel honored to serve the Walla Walla Valley and its residents.

I want readers to ask themselves if I would be considered local; if I am qualified to protect them as I was not even born in the United States let alone in Walla Walla. I want readers to ask themselves how did I serve in the Marine Corps as a legal resident and then work for BMAC, the Walla Walla School District, Juvenile Justice Center, and now a Deputy Sheriff for Walla Walla.

When serving this great country, I was never asked where I was from. I was a Marine and that’s all it took for people to know where my core values stood. I was hired as a deputy in Garfield County because my life experiences said something other being local. Garfield County did not hire me because of their Spanish speaking population. They hired me to serve and protect the citizens of Garfield County and to uphold Washington State Law.

I have done my homework as I have always done before deciding what’s going to affect my family’s life. I was not born here, I am not local. I spent many years to be where I am and sacrificed years to be here. I am a proud deputy with the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office and am my own person. I am supporting Mark Crider for Walla Walla County Sheriff.

Federico Diaz

Deputy Sheriff

Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office