Voters unsure of whom to back in the race for Snohomish County sheriff are not alone in their indecision.
The union representing the men and women who wear the department’s uniform is torn, too.
The Snohomish County Deputy Sheriff’s Association has yet to endorse — and probably won’t — in what is the first true contest for department leadership since 1995.
Rick Bart won that year and twice more without much of a fight. But he’s termed out, making this a battle for an open seat.
In the primary, the deputy sheriff’s union lined up behind Sheriff’s Lt. Rob Beidler, only to see him come in third behind state Rep. John Lovick and Sheriff’s Chief Tom Greene.
After the election, Beidler backed Lovick.
But the union didn’t follow along.
Deputies are apparently split between those favoring Greene because he knows which gears to pull to operate the department and those feeling Lovick’s political acumen trumps his lack of such knowledge and will pay better dividends later.
Some wondered if an endorsement might emerge after the two candidates appeared at the union-hosted forum Oct. 9. Leaders did meet the next morning but no one pushed to back either man.
Which leaves any undecided voters to wonder which candidate the rank-and-file most wants to call boss.
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Some political debates are probably best left unseen and not heard.
Like Tuesday when U.S. senators confronted one another on where best to search out aliens — in this country or in outer space.
Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign ignited the debate when he proposed taking $150 million out of NASA’s budget and giving it to local law enforcement “to deal with aliens coming into this country.”
He wanted to boost the budget of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which helps in the capture and prosecution of illegal immigrants who commit crimes, activity that Ensign said is “wreaking havoc on communities around the United States.”
In touching NASA’s budget, he touched a slice of apple pie.
“We are in a space race,” responded Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, who pointed out the Bush Administration and Congress have agreed on a vision for exploring new worlds.
“The return of our astronauts to the moon is a priority and we have provided the funding to accomplish that goal,” he said.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., jumped on Ensign’s proposal, arguing it would devastate NASA’s mission, undermine national security, damage the nation’s honor and force the U.S. in the future to hitch a ride with an ally if it wanted back into space.
Senators voted to delay a decision on the proposal.
Nothing alien about that.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield’s column on politics runs every Sunday. He can be heard at 8 a.m. Monday on the Morning Show on KSER 90.7 FM. He can be reached at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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