Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Coming from the small town of Suring instilled a philosophy in Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright that he said he still lives by today.
“Your word and a handshake was as good as a contract, if not better,” he said. “That’s the philosophy I grew up on.”
Wright said the people he’s talked to going door-to-door as he seeks another term as sheriff know that about him.
“They know me. They understand that if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it,” he said. “That’s what’s going to get me through this campaign.”
Wright said this has been a rougher campaign than his last two runs for office, but not just because of the politics involved.
On the personal side, his grandson Noah was born premature and his father-in-law and his wife’s cousin both passed away.
“It’s been very hard to juggle family, work and getting out and doing the campaign,” Wright said.
After nearly eight years in the job, Wright said he hesitated before deciding to seek another four-year term.
“Before I took my papers out I gave it a long hard thought,” he said. “But I just don’t see myself retired yet. I’ve got 10 grandkids now. I could be out fishing and playing with them.”
Wright said he still loves getting out meeting and being with the people of Shawano County.
“I just can’t see myself doing anything different,” he said.
Wright has been in law enforcement since he was in tech school, he said, balancing his education with work as a part-time deputy for both Oconto and Brown counties.
He then worked as a part-time deputy for Shawano County while getting his associate degree and joined the department full-time in 1976, moving from jailer to dispatcher to road deputy.
He went over to the Shawano Police Department in 1981, working as a patrolman there for 25 years until he ran for sheriff in 2007.
“By that time I’d already handled everything from dog and cat complaints to homicides,” he said.
Wright said his philosophy in leading the Sheriff’s Department has been one of teamwork.
“The sheriff’s office is going to be only as good as the people you have working with you,” he said. “I’ve got a great bunch of people working for me. They come to me with their ideas, they present things to me, I look at them. It’s an exchange. There’s no I in the word team.”
Wright said his highest priority has been keeping that team and the public safe.
“I know I can’t save the world, but I will try my best to keep people safe and secure,” he said. “Keeping (the deputies) safe, the public safe and everybody safe. That’s been my goal.”
Wright said he considers himself a conservative who doesn’t want to see taxes go up.
“But yet if there’s a need here in the county, I’m going to stick to my guns,” he said.
That stance has sometimes made the last eight years a rough ride.
“Have there been some bumps and bruises? I’ve got to say there was,” Wright said. “But I’m ready to do it again.”