The Duncan Banner emailed some questions to all the candidates running for political office that members of Stephens County will be voting on Nov. 4. What follows is this candidate's responses to these questions.



Questions for Wayne McKinney, Republican candidate for Stephens County Sheriff:



1) What qualifications do you have for running for Stephens County Sheriff?



My extensive background of law enforcement will help me understand the needs of the community, as well as the duties of being Sheriff. I have a broad background, having served in all levels of law enforcement and public service. I have been a County Attorney Investigator, a Deputy Sheriff, a Police Officer and Detective, a State Trooper and an investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration. I have over 2,000 hours of law enforcement and public service training. I am the only candidate that has certifications in two different states. I was TCLOSE certified in Texas (Texas Commission for Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education) and also POST certified (Peace Officers Standards and Training) with the state of Arizona. I am the only candidate that had national authority to enforce federal laws across this country as a Federal Investigator. I have been a chief pilot with the Maricopa County Sheriff Office, as well as a large commercial aviation company. I am licensed commercial pilot in fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.



Also important is the economical and efficient administration of the Sheriff’s Department. A 2? million dollar budget requires the Sheriff to have the capabilities to prioritize the needs of the public. I have a proven track record of success in business which has prepared me to manage the special administrative duties of a sheriff. The Sheriff must be a leader, manager and businessman and must be ready and capable of making tough decisions. I have that valuable experience of managing personnel, balancing a budget, and solving challenging budget decisions.



2) Why are you running for Stephens County Sheriff?



The answer lies in my Faith in God, being a servant to my fellow man and ensuring the safety of my family and friends. Their safety is important to me and this effort extends into the community. Stephens County is my home by choice and I believe that I am uniquely qualified to ensure the safety and well-being of our county’s citizens. It is where my friends and family live, including two of my wonderful grandchildren, Natalie and Jacob. It is where teachers are worried about the drugs and gang presence in their classrooms. It is where farmers, ranchers and businesses are worried about the increase in theft of equipment and livestock. All citizens are worried about the economy and how they will survive over the next years.

It’s a new and different world and it’s time for a fresh approach and new ideas that will help our community grow, prosper and be safe in their day to day living.



3) What is the most important issue to you and how will you work to alleviate the problem if elected?



There are many issues important to me and to the safety of Stephens County Citizens. One top priority would be the surge of violent gang activity. Last January when I announced that I would be running for Sheriff I said it was time for the Sheriff to take the lead in this criminal activity. As your Sheriff I will take a proactive and firm approach to this extremely serious and growing threat to the public.



I will create a Special Operations Unit consisting of highly trained personnel that will coordinate with other enforcement agencies targeting known areas of gang activity within Stephens County. I will support efforts within schools by educating teachers to recognize gang activity. We will actively show a presence of uniformed deputies in and around our schools.



All of us, as citizens of Stephens County, must take this issue very seriously. Our future and the ability to raise our families in a safe place requires action.



4) What specific changes are you going to make once elected to office? Please specify at least two.



The housing of the inmates in the County jail comes at great cost to the taxpayers. I will establish a new program that puts non-violent prisoners to work for us. These inmates can help remove roadside trash and assist county workers in projects requiring manual labor, saving taxpayer dollars and improving efficiency.



I believe the Sheriff’s office must have a visible presence in all areas of the County. I will establish districts and assign uniformed deputies in marked cars to patrol them.



I will enhance courthouse security, ensuring the day-to-day safety of both courthouse employees and citizens.



I will create a specialized group of highly trained regular and reserve deputies that will target gang and drug activity and high areas of thefts throughout the county.



I will establish policies, procedures and job descriptions for all personnel to provide them with proper direction and to better hold them accountable for their actions.



I firmly believe in the power of crime prevention. I will work closely with our school districts to provide support and training for recognition and prevention of drug and gang activities in the school.



5) In 2005 there were 401 felony charges filed in Stephens County. In 2006 there were 330. In 2007 there were 368. What will you do to help make the community safer? Is there a way to lower the number of felony charges and keep the community safe?



First would be to increase the sheriff’s presence in the county by increasing the amount of deputies and/or reserves in the field and utilizing marked cars. This visual deterrent is an inexpensive and psychological approach to crime prevention. I will accomplish this by dividing the county into districts. The deputies that are assigned the responsibility of patrolling their district will patrol their area and allow faster response times to crimes, as well as responding to the needs of the community. This patrol presence will increase the likely hood of apprehending criminals thereby increasing the amount of felony arrests.



When criminal acts are committed, a thorough and professional investigation will be conducted and a case prepared in cooperation with the District Attorney’s office. This will allow not only charges to be filed, but ultimately a conviction in our courts.



It will take time to actually lower the amount of felony charges. However, with the increased presence of sheriff’s deputies within the county, faster response times to calls for service, community involvement, thorough investigations and follow up, and a good conviction rate in courts, we can deter those who may be consider committing a crime in our county. Ultimately, this will lower the rate of charges filed.



6) There are 11 deputies currently serving in Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. What is the ideal number of deputies serving in the Sheriff’s office to do what you want to do? A follow up question to this comes from a Duncan Banner reader.



At this time I cannot say exactly the amount of deputies that would be needed to accomplish my plan for the Sheriff’s office. It is possible that the staffing level you mentioned would be sufficient. However, until I have completed a reorganization and reviewed and reprioritized the current budget, I would be premature in an arbitrary figure.



The area that I can speak too at this time, however, and one that is vital to the sheriff’s office, is the reserve deputies. The reserve program is an extremely important asset. These well-trained men and women who volunteer their time provide needed support to the regular paid deputies and to the citizens of Stephens County. This is at little, to no cost, to the taxpayers. I do plan to grow this program and hope to increase it by 30% during the first two years of my term.



6a) Where will you get the staff to fill the duties of the officers or will you retain those already on staff?



We will first look at the current deputy staff and, if needed, recruit from the outside. There are no plans to arbitrarily eliminate staff at the Sheriff’s Office. This would be detrimental to the program.