News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sheriff-elect Les Stiles has begun to work on his transition into the office he will assume in January after an overwhelming victory at the polls last week.
Stiles said he has begun discussions with the District Attorney's office, Oregon State Police and other law enforcement agencies to narrow a list of potential candidates for management positions.
"I'll be selecting a management team and I'll be looking for input from each and every one of those agencies," Stiles said.
He said he plans to hire an Undersheriff and new captains. He also plans to eliminate the office's Public Information Officer Rick Meyers and some half-time sergeant positions.
He does not, however, plan to fundamentally change the structure of the organization.
"The organization should last Deschutes County for the next 20 years, way past Sheriff Stiles," he said.
An equally urgent task, according to Stiles, is preparing to go to the voters in March for a continuation of the sheriff's operating levy.
"I'm not going to ask for a single penny increase," Stiles said. "In fact, I'm going to look for ways to cut it a little, but I'm not sure that's going to happen."
The sheriff-elect does not assume that the better than 60 percent support he enjoyed at the polls in his election will translate into overwhelming support for the operating levy.
"I'm not taking it for granted. I think I'm going to be under the same microscope (as predecessors proposing levies)," Stiles said.
The sheriff-elect said he takes the voters' mandate seriously.
"It's humbled me," he said. "It's an incredibly humbling experience. It reaffirms my faith in the voters informing themselves about the issues."
Outgoing sheriff Greg Brown said he plans to stay in the area.
"My hope is to stay right in Sisters and go from there," he said.
Brown noted that he has received warm support from his neighbors since his defeat at the polls.
Brown noted that he remains the appointed director of Adult Community Corrections and the Work Release Center for Deschutes County.
He said he will decide soon whether to ask the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners to continue that appointment.
Brown tried to put his stinging defeat in the hard-fought race into perspective.
"I think I'm a tremendous visionary -- and I'm proud of the legacy I left -- and probably a bad politician," Brown said.
"And that's all right. I'm proud that I always served the public."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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