Page 8 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

SHERIFF CANDIDATES
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - Read #1, 2 & 3 in April issue
The primary elections will be in June, but many people vote in May, so this is our second round of questions for Sheriff Office candidates. Each has the same questions and word count for answers. Please read the first round on our website at SonomaCountyGazette.com.
Mark Essick, John Mutz and Ernesto Olivares are all asking for your support. Learn who they are, where they stand on issues that impact our community, and please vote for who you believe will best serve our home. Statements are in the order in which they were received from the candidates...
Mark Essick
I believe the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office needs to get back to the basics – ensuring public safety, being fair and accountable, and building partnerships to better engage with the community we serve.
I’ve worked for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 24 years. Having served as both Administrative and Field Services Captain, I have been responsible for the day-to-day operations, managing budgets greater than $50 million, and overseeing more than 250 employees.
I represented the Sheriff’s Office on the Local Law Enforcement Task Force and led the Personnel and
Internal Affairs units – giving me perspective about what works, and what needs repair. As program director of the Sheriff’s Office Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program, I worked to train peace officers in de-escalation and intervention techniques to assist those in mental health crisis.
I’m confident that if we all work together, we can keep Sonoma County a special place to live for another generation. I’d like to earn your support.
Ernesto Olivares
In this election our residents are asking for change in key areas like police accountability, transparency, diversity, trust, and community policing. The public has been asking for these changes for years with little or no meaningful progress by the Sheriff’s Office.
I bring the perspective of an experienced outsider with a clear vision to lead the Sheriff’s Office toward a new culture of 21st Century Policing. I have current hands-on experience in dealing with the issues that are important to our residents.
Even after retiring from the Santa Rosa Police Department and during my current role as a Santa
Rosa City Council Member, I have continued my commitment to building safe and healthy communities as Director of the California Cities Violence Prevention Network.
I have helped cities across the nation to address the same issues we are facing here in Sonoma County including reducing violence and building trust.
John Mutz
8 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/18
We can bring that experience here, we can create our own success story — and we can prove to the community that we are worthy of their trust.
Please elaborate on an issue you feel is important for voters to know about you and how you plan to lead the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
The ongoing issues at the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department have not improved, community trust is still strained, and the culture that allowed the Andy Lopez tragedy hasn’t been addressed. Nearly five years later, our community is still waiting for more than lip service.
I’m ready to begin on day-one. As Commander in a prior department, I knew our system was broken. I was instrumental in leading teams that rebuilt
the core culture from the top down, so I already know how to make this shift and how to create a new culture based on dignity and respect. Our new
culture successfully restored trust, provided better officer support, reduced costs, and kept people safer.