I would like to address three recent letters written to the editor about the sheriff’s race.
Wildey has not been absent from the department for nine years. He has in fact been working as a dedicated volunteer to help out with the deficiency in staff for the majority of that time. This not only has kept him in touch, but has also provided him a unique perspective from the trenches that the administration staff does not get. While Hart may have worked several positions in the department, he has not worked and commanded all those departments.
He also hasn’t provided a detailed listing of his experience, only who says people should vote for him. In contrast, both Wildey and Pursley have not only been members of all the department, they both have commanded those departments. Wildey submitted his resume to the people early on in the campaign and it is still available to anybody on his website.
Wildey never said he would remove the requirement for gun registration. This is an outright lie. He stated he would accept self-defense as valid “Good Cause” for Concealed Carry Permits, which is by state law at the sole desecration of the local licensing authority, which for Santa Cruz County is the sheriff. Wildey also stated he would exercise his option under state law to require a basic physiological evaluation of any permit applicant. Currently, Wowak requires letters of reference from the applicants’ friends, just like the good old boy network normally works. As far as statistics, they are unreliable, not collected in a way transparent to the public, and are politically spun to favor the Board of Supervisors.
I tend to trust the man who does not owe political favors for endorsements, from the start has only asked for the endorsement of the people at the ballot box and has over 30 years of inside knowledge. When Hart received his endorsements is critical as it is directly related to the 20-year tradition of trying to rob the people of a fair election for sheriff. It also indicates potential use of the taxpayers’ money and department’s time to campaign for personal gain based on insider knowledge not presented to the public. Finally, one of the letters was from Las Vegas, and I don’t appreciate people who have no vested interest in the results of this election trying to effect the future lives of this community.
Monty Matteson
Felton