Sheriff showdown at the school

The two candidates for the office of Deschutes County Sheriff went toe-to-toe at the Wednesday, September 23 political forum held at Sisters High School.

Incumbent Sheriff Greg Brown and Bend Police Department Lt. Les Stiles wasted little time in presenting the audience of high school seniors a clear picture of their differences in experience, endorsements, and issues.

Stiles portrayed Brown as a disruptive leader, pointing out two areas of strong disagreement Brown has with the District Attorney's office. Stiles said these issues were instrumental in his (Stiles') endorsement by the Deputy District Attorney's union.

Brown argued that the District Attorney's office--and Stiles--are "plain wrong" on the two issues. According to Brown, when investigating deputies find cause to suspect domestic violence, the arrested person oftentimes is released on his own recognizance.

"But sometimes the victim will call back and state that the arrested party has returned, against the court order's instructions," he said. "The District Attorney's office wants us to immediately re-arrest that person-- going just on the word of the complainant--and I'm not ready to do that...because of issues of probable cause."

Stiles, on the other hand, said that he supported the D. A.'s office and their policy of re-arrest. Further, he charged that a second disagreement, this over the use of different reporting forms for domestic violence cases, had further poisoned the relationship between the sheriff's office and that of the D. A.

Brown countered by saying "We generated this computer form and it's used by the Redmond and Black Butte P. D.'s--it's formatted for the (county) system."

But it may be in their leadership styles that the candidates most differ. Stiles portrays himself as a career officer who has the strong backing of the "rank and file," as represented by his endorsement by "the state police, Redmond police, and the deputy district attorneys and sheriff's associations of Deschutes County."

He also underscored his executive credentials, including his master's degree in public administration.

Brown, on the other hand, proudly pointed out that "my support comes from my peers-- I have the support of thirty-two of the thirty-five other county sheriffs, and such leaders as State Rep. Ben Westlund and Governor Kitzhaber."

Brown also underlined his administrative experience preceding his current position, and his role in bringing the school safety officer and the "Drive 2 Survive" (a driving enhancement class) programs to the high school.

Over the past several weeks, much has been made of the endorsement of Stiles (a Bend Police Lieutenant) by the county's law enforcement union. Stiles claims it represents how out of touch "Brown is with his own staff."

Brown, for his part, said, "it's a handful of union leaders that are at odds with management."

"You know," he continued sometime after the meeting, "they (the union) have contested several disciplinary actions -- and they lost every time...no one likes accountability, but I have promised it." He ended his comments with: "After the election, they (the union) will know who the boss is -- things will work out fine."

Since 1998, all Oregon elections are vote by mail. The registration cards of potential voters must be postmarked no later than 21 days before the November 7 election. Ballots must be received (postmarks do not count) at the election office, or designated drop sites, by 8 p.m. election night.