Randy Wright
Age: 58
Family: Wife Mary, four grown children and 10 grandchildren.
Experience: Sheriff 2006 to present; Shawano police officer 1981-2006; Shawano County deputy 1976 to 1981. Homicide death investigation; evidence technician; front-line supervisor; incident command structure; Mid-States Organized Crime Information Center data entry; Wisconsin Sheriffs Training 2007; Fox Valley Technical College-Executive Development Institute 2007-2008; National Sheriff Institute and Sheriff Training 2009; National Sheriffs Association Training.
Education: Suring High School; NWTC-Green Bay, associate degree in police science; Fox Valley Tech College recruit class.
Community Involvement: Junior Achievement volunteer; fundraisers for SOS-K9; Matthew Chapter 25 Homeless Committee; ThedaCare Community Health Advisory Team; Homme Home Advisory Committee; help keep up the grounds of the St. James Retreat; past Boy Scout troop leader; past Little League coach; past PTL St. James Lutheran School; past PIE organization Shawano High School.
Some have said that, as a Republican, you should accept that Adam Bieber is the Republican nominee rather than challenging that. How do you respond?
Adam Bieber won the primary and is the Republican candidate. I’m a Republican running as a write-in. Within a week of the primary, I received over 100 phone calls from people all over the county who said that they did not vote because they assumed I would win in a landslide. I have been contacted by Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the county wanting to support me. People should always have the choice to vote for the most qualified and experienced individual. I was humbled by this outpouring of support and felt that I owed the taxpayers of Shawano County a choice.
You’ve said the roughly $10,000 in transportation and outfitting costs for the MRAP would be funded by asset forfeitures and $300 a year in maintenance would come from bond forfeitures. Why not use that money, or money from your 1 percent carryover, to fund the department’s K-9 unit?
Asset forfeiture money cannot be used for wages or salary, only for equipment. As for the 1 percent, the amount of money in the budget depends largely on how much money is left over in our operational budget at the end of the year. Each year, this 1 percent amount varies. Also the 1 percent is used for equipment failures or unexpected costs that occur throughout the year. Furthermore, the 1 percent cannot be utilized for salary and fringe benefits or ongoing expenses. Placing the K-9 units under either of these two options is not viable.
How do you respond to concerns that local law enforcement is becoming too militarized?
In a recent article in the Wausau paper, the Marathon sheriff outlines their use of an MRAP. Officers wear body armor to protect themselves. In selected situations when we can use this to provide safety to officers or to residence we will. Drugs are a concern and drug dealers are becoming more heavily armed. Every chief of police in Shawano County supports getting the MRAP. Please talk to your chief. The MRAP would be just another resource available to the police agencies in Shawano County, should it be needed.
Some County Board officials maintain there could have been an evidence storage building years ago if your office had compromised. What is your view of the previous proposals and the reason there is no evidence storage facility today?
There have been compromises made throughout the planning for the building; a wood structure, rather than concrete. There was talk about it being a three-year project to spread out the money borrowing, rather than a one-time borrowing. The only recommendation that was made was for it to be completed within three years. It was not my decision to stop the process. In 2012, I was informed that all of the studies done to research the most feasible options for buildings from 1999 to then would roughly add up to $400,000. Still to this date, the County Board has not made a decision on what to build.
The attorney hired by the county’s Administrative Committee — as well as the county’s corporation counsel — appear to have differing views from you regarding the county’s ability to investigate and discipline your staff. Do you believe you and your staff are not accountable to anyone outside your office?
The committee and the attorney are conducting an investigation; the purpose is not clear. The only purpose I can see is to diminish the role of the voter-elected sheriff. The Sheriff’s Office is not the same as a department head. This misunderstanding is the base cause of disagreements with a small number of board members. The sheriff’s deputies are disciplined by the sheriff working in concert with the County Board. This is a simple explanation but this fact has been defended on numerous occasions. Correcting this misunderstanding will be my number one goal should I be honored with another term.
Your opponent has argued that there is not enough cooperation or sharing of resources with other agencies. He has also said there is no interdepartmental training going on. Is there a reason for this, or are there examples you can cite that would dispute this?
Earlier in the campaign (the Shawano Leader) did an article; please reference that. Talk to the chief of police for your area about the cooperation between the Sheriff’s Office and their department. City police officer Lenzner has unlimited access to the Sheriff’s Office forensic and computer lab. The Sheriff’s Office has conducted 14 training events this past year and agencies inside the county and outside were invited. Many crimes worked in the county require cooperation and collaboration between agencies. Please do not take my word for it but do contact your chief of police for verification of cooperation.
Regardless of your contention that it’s been a minority of the County Board that has been the problem, what reason is there to believe there will be any change in the relationship with the board or any progress made on evidence storage and other outstanding issues if you are reelected? Won’t we simply be looking at more gridlock and contention?
Every person who is aware of county politics knows that it is a very small number blocking and hijacking the process. Many people around the county have expressed their frustration with this small group. My number one goal will be to educate everyone on the difference between an elected sheriff verses a hired department head. My objective with this education effort would be to heal the differences in Shawano County. Should I be honored with another term, I will see that as a mandate from the voters and will work to educate everyone on the relationship that is constitutionally protected.
Your relationship with the county has included ethics complaints, cease-and-desist orders over retirement contributions and public comparisons at committee meetings to dictatorial rule. Do you have any regrets about the way you’ve conducted yourself with the county?
I do not have any issues with the majority of the county board. There is a small group that needs to be corrected or informed from time to time. I swore an oath as your sheriff to not only protect and serve you but also to protect the sanctity of the office of sheriff. I speak the way I see it.
You’ve called the Administrative Committee’s investigations of your department a witch hunt intended to influence the election. Yet you are the one who made those investigations public. Why?
The county board was making my deputies appear at specific dates and times for questions and the deputies could talk about the case. So it was not being conducted in secret or a closed secession hearing. The fact that there was an investigation was already made public anyway, so I felt I needed to get in front of this. Because I did not get in front of issues earlier this year there is now too much false information in the public. I did not want that to happen, plus I wanted to protect my deputies.
You were a Shawano police officer when you ran for sheriff. Adam Bieber is a police officer now. How does the experience you had in 2006 differ from what he has today?
Prior to becoming a Shawano police officer I worked at Oconto and Brown County while going to police science. Then I started working for Shawano County as a jailor, dispatcher, courthouse and road deputy prior to being hired by the city. By the time I was honored with my first term as the Shawano County sheriff, I had twice as much law enforcement time as Bieber. Another advantage was my time at the Sheriff’s Office gave me a good understanding of what the difference between the two departments is.