“I really believe that I can make a difference in people’s quality of life,” he said. “We need to get back to serving the citizens who are paying for the service.”
Graser, a Republican, will face another retired sheriff’s commander, Chuck Atkins. Atkins, 58, is a 35-year veteran of the sheriff’s office who is a year into retirement.
Although he is a Republican, Graser said he is seeking bipartisan support. He said that he is seeking endorsements but has not announced any.
Graser said he has a plan to make the agency more efficient within the constraints of the existing budget. It starts, he said, with reassessing the agency’s current structure to identify redundancies.
“The first thing I want to do is a top-down analysis of the budget,” he said. “I represent a fresh look and fresh perspective on the department … A different approach to management structure is in order.”
Diversion, home monitoring
As sheriff, he said, he would work to reduce call volume through predictive policing technology and reduce the jail population by expanding diversion programs and electronic home monitoring.
Graser said he would also look into cutting some specialized positions in the agency and shifting those officers to patrol.
While Lucas has pointed to the fact that Clark County ranks second-worst in the state for officers per 1,000 residents within coverage area, Graser said he finds another number unacceptable: the response time.
He said the average response time from when a citizen makes an emergency call (labeled as priority 1 or 2) to when a deputy arrives is about eight minutes; he wants it to be closer to five minutes.
After he “cleans up house,” Graser said that if patrol response times are still too slow, “I would like to have a thoughtful conversation with commissioners.”
o Sheriff candidate John Graser plans a meet-and-greet event from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Torque Coffee Roasters, 501 Columbia St.
While on the job, Graser worked as a patrol sergeant, was K-9 certified, a member of the SWAT team, was the first commander of the West Precinct and headed the Clark-Skamania Narcotics Task Force.
More information on Graser can be found at his campaign’s website, http://www.graserforsheriff.com.
The sheriff is elected to a four-year term and is paid $104,244 a year. The sheriff’s office has 396 employees: 133 in enforcement, 148 in corrections, 100 members of support staff and 15 people working in management and administration.
