Goshert Gets The Job Done
April 23, 2018 at 12:23 p.m.
By -
We attended the sheriff candidate forum on Tuesday night, and this is what we saw: three politicians and one proven leader.
Kyle Dukes was the most political of the bunch. He has perfected the politician's art of answering the question he wants rather than the question that was asked. His response to every single question — and this isn't an exaggeration — was "better cooperation among law enforcement." How would he deal with mental health issues in the jail? Better cooperation among law enforcement. How would he deal with the opioid crisis? Better cooperation among law enforcement. How would he protect our schools? Better cooperation among law enforcement. We are pretty sure that if you were to stop him on the street and ask the time of day, he'd respond that it's time for better cooperation among law enforcement.
Tony Ciriello was definitely the smoothest talker on stage. And like any good politician, he promised the moon. He claimed that an open-door policy wouldn't be enough for him as sheriff. You wouldn't need to come to him, he said. He'd come to you. How many times have we heard that promise during a political campaign? And how many times has it disappeared as soon as the election season passed?
Speaking of promises, Chris Rager promised an armed guard in every school, even after acknowledging a lack of funding. And how does he plan to get around that problem? We'll have to figure something out, he said. You just have to elect him first, you see.
That seemed to be a theme of the night: Big, flashy promises followed by vague references to figuring out how to execute them at some future date after the election.
Only one candidate spoke in concrete terms. Sheriff Goshert highlighted the practical things he is actually doing in office, not what he hopes or promises to do. He wasn't the slickest man on stage, but he seemed to be the only one who understood the job. When asked about the greatest issue facing the sheriff in the next term, all three of the politicians waxed poetic about "communication." Sheriff Goshert, on the other hand, spoke about running the jail and using its resources to battle drug addictions and reduce repeat offenders. That's where a sheriff's mind ought to be: on the nitty-gritty details of his everyday work.
Rocky Goshert's a work horse, not a show horse; a proven leader who gets results. We will be voting for him on May 8.
Jim and Jorie Webster
Winona Lake
We attended the sheriff candidate forum on Tuesday night, and this is what we saw: three politicians and one proven leader.
Kyle Dukes was the most political of the bunch. He has perfected the politician's art of answering the question he wants rather than the question that was asked. His response to every single question — and this isn't an exaggeration — was "better cooperation among law enforcement." How would he deal with mental health issues in the jail? Better cooperation among law enforcement. How would he deal with the opioid crisis? Better cooperation among law enforcement. How would he protect our schools? Better cooperation among law enforcement. We are pretty sure that if you were to stop him on the street and ask the time of day, he'd respond that it's time for better cooperation among law enforcement.
Tony Ciriello was definitely the smoothest talker on stage. And like any good politician, he promised the moon. He claimed that an open-door policy wouldn't be enough for him as sheriff. You wouldn't need to come to him, he said. He'd come to you. How many times have we heard that promise during a political campaign? And how many times has it disappeared as soon as the election season passed?
Speaking of promises, Chris Rager promised an armed guard in every school, even after acknowledging a lack of funding. And how does he plan to get around that problem? We'll have to figure something out, he said. You just have to elect him first, you see.
That seemed to be a theme of the night: Big, flashy promises followed by vague references to figuring out how to execute them at some future date after the election.
Only one candidate spoke in concrete terms. Sheriff Goshert highlighted the practical things he is actually doing in office, not what he hopes or promises to do. He wasn't the slickest man on stage, but he seemed to be the only one who understood the job. When asked about the greatest issue facing the sheriff in the next term, all three of the politicians waxed poetic about "communication." Sheriff Goshert, on the other hand, spoke about running the jail and using its resources to battle drug addictions and reduce repeat offenders. That's where a sheriff's mind ought to be: on the nitty-gritty details of his everyday work.
Rocky Goshert's a work horse, not a show horse; a proven leader who gets results. We will be voting for him on May 8.
Jim and Jorie Webster
Winona Lake
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