I am writing this to encourage you to consider voting for Jon VanGesen for Boundary County Sheriff. I am one of the few residents of our county who has had the opportunity to benefit directly from VanGesen’s leadership and feel I may be able to offer some insight as to why VanGesen is the right choice for Boundary County in this upcoming election.
The most obvious reason VanGesen is the best option out of the candidates running for Boundary County Sheriff is he has the strongest law enforcement resume to stand behind with over thirty years of experience, holding several ranking positions that exceed those held by any of the other candidates. The importance of this disparity in experience has already been addressed in more detail by several others who have submitted their opinions to local news organizations.
However, the thing that cannot be quantified is VanGesen’s ability to connect on a personal level with everyone he interacts with. Every member of the public and the Sheriff’s Office will feel like they are valued under his leadership.
This is the type of leadership that people want to work for as it builds comradery and will unify the personnel of the Sheriff’s Office.
VanGesen is a man driven by service, both in his professional and personal life, which is exactly the quality you want in the top law enforcement position in the county. I know that he is running for Sheriff because he knows he is the candidate most qualified to lead the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office and if he didn’t feel that way he would not be running for this position.
I know some of you are hesitant to vote for someone who is not originally from the county or has not worked in our county, but I encourage you to look at the candidate’s resumes, ask yourself who has the combination of qualifications and leadership to do the best job for our county and not vote for a candidate just because you know them or the name is familiar.
I think Police Chief Willie Cowell said it best when interviewed after the debate between the candidates when he said if he knew nothing about the race or the candidates before the debate he would be impressed with VanGesen. If the Boundary County law enforcement community had the opportunity to work with VanGesen as I have, there would be no question who they would be voting for in May.
Levi Shiell
Bonners Ferry