Letter: Time for a new sheriff in town?

Published 12:55 pm Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Rumor has it Sheriff Souvenir was seen in Chinook waving at the cars passing by, but again, that’s just a rumor. I personally have not seen him in public since he was elected three years ago.

Now that he has a challenger for his job, could it be true? Is he really out there amongst the people of the community he was elected to serve and protect?

Souvenir is not a shoe-in for sheriff. Naselle resident Daniel Garcia will be on the ballot for Pacific County sheriff in November’s general election. Will Mr. Garcia be able to recruit and retain new, qualified deputies? Rumor has it he has excellent leadership skills but no law enforcement experience. Sheriff Souvenir has the experience but what about his leadership skills? PCSO was short staffed when Sheriff Souvenir was elected and it appears that little or no progress has been made in recruiting and retaining new, qualified personnel during his tenure.

What will these men do to improve the livability in Pacific County? What are their top three priorities? I for one would like to know, will they have a debate, will there be a Q & A, how do we go about making informed decisions if we do not know the answers to the questions that affect all of us living in the county?

Three years ago, Sheriff Souvenir’s priorities were replacing his aging motor pool with “a fleet of new trucks and achieving a 90% approval rating.” He’s got several new trucks; however, his approval rating is as much of a mystery as he is. He touts the drug task force as one of his accomplishments. I could be mistaken, but I thought it was his predecessor who worked to bring back the task force and the funding finally came through after Souvenir won the election. How is the task force doing? They have had a few arrests but do you really need a task force to seize immature medical marijuana plants and arrest your own brother-in-law?

What will Mr. Garcia do about the drug problem, and mental health issues facing Pacific County? How will he address them?

And of course, I can’t forget to mention the traffic safety issue. What will Mr. Garcia do about the traffic speed that rivals emergency vehicles with lights and sirens blaring?

I know Souvenir won’t pull you over for speeding, but slow down, you may get a glimpse of him on the street waving as you drive by.

LAURA BOHLMANN

Ocean Park