News editor

SANDPOINT - Bonner County sheriff's operations have become too centralized and its connection to the public has faded, according to Geoff Rusho.

Rusho, a former deputy challenging incumbent Republican Sheriff Elaine Savage and a plentiful cast of other would-be usurpers in the May 27 primary, is running to restore the office's connection with the people it serves.

“My biggest thing is that the sheriff has to be the liaison between the community and the law-enforcement network,” said Rusho, 41, who resigned last year to focus on his campaign.

Rusho said he has 18 years of experience in law enforcement and knows how powerful a strong connection with the community can be. While working for the Priest River Police Department in the 1990s, he teamed up with the public to drive down a spike in burglaries and thefts.

“We really shut it down and it was all to do with the community,” Rusho said. “It worked out really well and we really put a damper on it.”

In Rusho's view, the sheriff's office began taking on the tones of a metropolitan force under former Sheriff Phil Jarvis, who came from a metropolitan area. One of the results was more deputies in outlying areas commuting to Sandpoint before hitting their beats, according to Rusho.

“What we need to be doing is letting them work from these outlying areas,” he said.

Rusho began working for the sheriff's office in 1990 as a reserve deputy and moved on to the Priest River Police Department in 1996, where he worked for three years before returning to the sheriff's office. He's also been a firefighter and an emergency medical technician in western Bonner County.

Although he has a wealth of experience in the public sector, he also has a background in business. He owned and operated Pend Oreille Speed & Paint in Blanchard and co-owned and managed Priest River Towing and Blanchard Automotive. Rusho has also been involved with real estate.

Rusho said his combined background will serve the office well because he knows the needs of law enforcement and those of merchants and the public.

Rusho was also dismayed to see training dollars being directed toward the office's executive staff, at least one of whom took another job after receiving FBI training.

“Our training dollars need to stay here,” he said.

Rusho also believes the sheriff's office is suffering from morale problems because deputies, up until recently, were not being recognized for their efforts. There are also fears of administrative backlash within the ranks, he said.

“They're more fearful of the administration than they are of the bad guys out there and you can't have that,” said Rusho.

n More information about Rusho and his candidacy can be found on his Web site (www.rushoforsheriff.com).