Sheriff Election

[Janet Harrington]

RE: KANSAS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER

KLETC is established by legislation and owned by the State of Kansas. The education part is governed by KU. That is the short answer without going into statutes.  Part of the fine money that is paid from traffic tickets supports KLETC, I believe.

[Mcordell]

I'm aware of the name of the deputy. It's not proper to post his name in an open forum. Giglio is the name of the ruling that requires disclosure of criminal issues or official findings of dishonesty or misconduct. I never said his name was giglio. Also, Rob did in fact leave here of his own free will to drive a truck.  He is no longer doing that.  I know what he is currently doing, however his certification is in good standing with CPOST because the giglio issues he should have incurred after committing misdemeanor crimes in Elk County were never pursued.  Compassion is a great trait, especially in a leader.  I'm quite compassionate, however I would never employ a law enforcement officer who is committing criminal acts whether on or off duty.  We, as law enforcement officers, derive our authority from the community and the community's trust should never be violated.  There is no excuse for that.

As for my wife, she has never once shown me a report or affidavit from the county attorney's office as that would be highly improper. The information in the affidavit is what is presented when the sheriff's office filed charges with the county attorney. It's also the information relayed to the jury as an arrest affidavit is a statement of probable cause. When an agency uses a singular form for the narrative and affidavit it becomes part of the public record.  It's the jury members themselves who raised the issue with me.  As for why he was convicted, I have had 2 separate jury members tell me they were absolutely shocked that they were able to agree on the conviction. 

You claim to know about me but it's clear you don't. I never worked for dish network. I did work for Directv at the same time I was working for Wilson County as a deputy so yes I count that time. As far as I knew working hard and working more than one job to provide for your family is and always has been acceptable.  I left DirecTV to allow more free time to campaign and to prepare for this year.  That being said, I never claimed to have 16 years of law enforcement.  I am in my 13th year in law enforcement now.

You mention the deputies training with neighboring agencies, however all the counties and training you mentioned are ONLY the training John Walker has done with other K-9 officers.  Monthly training is a requirement for a K-9 position and he does train with K-9 officers from other agencies, in fact they are the agencies you mentioned.  The other deputies have not participated in that training and do not routinely train with deputies from neighboring counties.  Also, commissioned law enforcement from neighboring counties need not possess credentials to assist Elk County, nor do they have them.  Anyone can assist a law enforcement officer, regardless of jurisdiction, when requested for assistance.  Neighboring county agencies do not hold Elk County in high esteem.  I personally know this after having spoken with numerous deputies from several agencies, as well as agency heads themselves.  I know where I draw my information and it's directly from the source. 

It is also clear that you don't know what is going on within the county. In the last 4 years I can count 6 deputies that have resigned and 4 of them personally reached out to me and offered support. They also offered me a great deal of insight into the internal strife within the department.  Three of the deputies who have left have done so in the last year.  That alone is an indication of a problem.  As for my statement of the professionalism, or lack thereof within the department, that is the most common complaint I hear from fellow citizens.

It is hard to take such inaccurate accusations seriously from someone who registered 2 days ago with an anonymous name and has used their only posts on this forum to attack me and my wife.  The venomous nature of your response would lead me to believe you either work for  the agency and are hiding your identity for that reason, or you are very close with someone from the agency.  Either way I think it's pretty apparent you are biased in favor of the Elk County SO.

You should keep the accusations to a minimum.  You clearly do not know me or anything about me and while I don't take your attacks against me personally, after all this is politics and I have thick skin, I definitely do not appreciate the unfounded accusations against my wife.  I would be more than happy to discuss my campaign with you any time.  My business cards have my phone number printed on them.  I have been fielding calls from citizens and will continue to do so.  My number is 620-381-6538.  Feel free to call me.  You can email me at sheriffcordell@gmail.com.  I set up a specific account just for my campaign.   I have a FB page at facebook.com/sheriffcordell.  You can instant message me there any time. I would much rather have a respectful conversation without the mud slinging.

[redcliffsw]

RE: KANSAS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER

KLETC is established by legislation and owned by the State of Kansas. The education part is governed by KU. That is the short answer without going into statutes.  Part of the fine money that is paid from traffic tickets supports KLETC, I believe.

We elect them and the Government indoctrinates them.  KU is a liberal and government owned. 

With all the required continuing education in this country, things aren't getting any better.  Wonder why that is?   One thing about it, America was not established for government mandates or programs.   

Traffic tickets capture them a lot of money.  No wonder - that way, they support their own bureaucrats.

At the least we can still vote for the office of Sheriff even though the candidates must be Government Approved.

Thanks for the info.

[redcliffsw]

Mcordell,

The Southern Poverty Legal Center (SPLC) is a hate group just as the NAACP and the KKK are hate groups too.  For years, the SPLC has been mailing its literature to Sheriffs' across the country. 

What's your view of the SPLC?

Thank you.

[Mcordell]

To be perfectly honest I don't know enough about the SPLC to make an informed judgement about them. I do know the FBI relies at least in part on their classification and tracking of certain hate groups, however I have never seen any of the literature you are referring to, nor does it seem to me they have any information that I need to do my job effectively so I suppose I don't have an opinion about them.

If I received information from them I would make that judgement and determination based on the merit of the literature itself.

[redcliffsw]

How about the other two hate groups, the NAACP and the modern KKK?  Any opinion?

[Mcordell]

My opinion is that we have no place in a modern society for organizations that embrace hatred toward others, nor do I believe in organizations that promote one group of people based on race. I wouldn't classify the naacp as a hate group, however I do believe they are discriminatory based on race and I wouldn't support such an organization.  That being said, I don't think either group will be a concern as sheriff of elk county as neither has any significant presence here.

[jarhead]

Mr. Cordell.
If elected sheriff how many full time deputies do you plan on employing ?
I remember years ago that Lloyd Ford was the sheriff and had one sheriff's vehicle. A two door car. His deputy was a mechanic named Eubanks and Eubanks was only on duty when Lloyd needed him to help with an arrest, and he would strap on his gun and badge and hang a sign on his business that he would be back at so and so time.If that is incorrect maybe some old timer will correct me. The speed limit back then in Elk county was 70 MPH so more a chance of wrecks, than today.I'm sure the population of the county was more people too.
Do you think the sheriff's dept. needs all the expensive 4x4 pick-up trucks that they have and as many deputies ?
Thank you in advance for your answer.

[Mcordell]

I'm happy to answer your question, however I fear this is something we will not agree on. I have to base my answer and my opinion on the world we live in today and not how it used to be.  The citizens of this county deserve to be able to rest easy knowing that when they call for help, a qualified and competent law enforcement officer is coming immediately to their aid. We no longer live in an era where it is acceptable for someone to call for law enforcement and have no one respond for an hour because the officer had to be called at home and woken up to respond to the call.  24 hour law enforcement coverage is very important and this cannot be accomplished with 1 or 2 officers. The current staffing levels allow for 24 hour coverage of the county which I believe is very important. I do not plan to reduce staffing on the road.

In regards to the vehicles, I do not agree with the current fleet of trucks currently in use. There are more cost effective options available that would better suit the needs of law enforcement. I would like to phase those trucks out and replace them with more appropriate patrol vehicles which are more fuel efficient and purpose built.  4 wheel drive or all wheel drive is very important however as law enforcement works in all conditions, including unfavorable road and weather conditions.

[redcliffsw]

If people in Elk County didn't receive immediate response from the Sheriff years ago, why should they expect it today except that some people expect too much from government. 
Perhaps they should move to town if they want more government support.

Sheriff Ford did OK with fewer men and vehicles and he was probably not a government approved Sheriff like the ones nowadays.

Elk County will never regain its former population numbers but it seems like the speed limit ought to be at least 65 mph on 99 & 160 highways like most other counties.

One thing for sure, living in Elk County is not the same as living in town.