By Ken Francis
Staff Writer
When Wright County Sheriff Joe Hagerty announced earlier in the year he would not seek re-election, it left the door open for a number of experienced candidates to seek the position.
Now, five candidates with multiple years of law enforcement experience are on the ballot for Tuesday’s primary.
Mike Kaczmarek, a resident of Woodland Twp., has been with the Wright County Sheriff’s Dept. for 25 years.
He believes turnover in the department is an issue that affects all county citizens. In the past three years, the department has lost 50 deputies for various reasons.
“Each time the Wright County Sheriff’s Office loses a deputy, we lose valuable experience that takes time to replace,” he says. “We cannot afford to continue to simply be a training ground for deputies, only to lose them to other agencies.”
Sean Deringer has been with the Wright County Sheriff's Office for 21 years and has held a number of positions, including patrol deputy, patrol captain, patrol sergeant, administrative lieutenant, criminal investigation lieutenant, detective, firearms instructor and narcotics investigator.
He wants the department and all its employees to be more involved in the community at many levels.
“I want to ensure that we are all being “Ambassadors” to our Community by being committed to public safety and involved through volunteer opportunities, which will build stronger ties and relationships,” he says.
Stacy Braun, a resident of Monticello for more than 18 years, is a 25-year veteran of the Hennepin Co. Sheriff’s Dept. where he has experience in seven different units, including adult detention, narcotics, training, patrol, canine, employee development and service units.
His priorities include public safety, community engagement, combating opioids and illegal narcotics, training the department to deal with mental health issues and retention of department personnel.
“As sheriff, I will take my lifetime of service and the lessons learned to bring a new vision and outside perspective to restore trust in the office,” he says.
Chad Torkelson of Hanover has been with the Wright County Sheriff’s Office since 2000.
He is currently a firearms trainer, field training officer and emergency vehicle driving instructor. He has also been the DARE Officer and a School Resource Officer for Wright County schools for the past three years.
“If I am elected I would want to expand on community relations, training deputies in mental health crisis situations and continue to work with the school districts to ensure our children are safe,” he says. “I have enjoyed working with our youth through the DARE Program and believe in connecting with our youth to improve all of our community relations.
Drew Scherber is a 20- plus year veteran of the Wright Co. Sheriff’s Office.
He has worked in a number of different divisions, including team leader in the Recreational Services Division (boat and water), Major Crimes Investigative Unit, Warrants and Transports, Patrol (Field Training Officer) and the Emergency Response Team. He has also served as a school resource officer and DARE Instructor at Dassel-Cokato School Dist.
He sees department turnover and working with youth as major issues.
“As sheriff, I would take turnover in our department personally. I would make immediate changes addressing scheduling, equipment, training and overall employee morale,” he says. “My experiences have taught me that doing what is best for the community, and especially what is best for our community youth, is at the forefront of what we are striving to accomplish.”
The top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary will be moving on to face off in the Nov. 6 election.