Hard to remain neutral...

I have been trying my damnedest to remain neutral in the Hennepin County Sheriff's race on this site, but the Star Tribune's constant singing the praises of Rich Stanek as if he's the only qualified candidate is trying my patience. They are quick to point out that he " ...has been with the Minneapolis Police Department for 23 years, was a legislator and Minnesota's Public Safety Commissioner..." but are silent about the fact he lost his job as the Public Safety Commissioner and is a captain in a police department that "redlines" (doesn't even investigate) many of the violent crimes commited in Minneapolis.

I'd like to level the playing field and list some of the other candidates who have websites:

Juan Lopez: The Star Tribune lists him as, "Hennepin County juvenile probation division law enforcer Juan B. Lopez..." and goes on to say, "Lopez has received endorsements, including the DFL Party, United Auto Workers and the Ecuadoran Civic Committee..." What they don't mention is that he is a licensed peace officer that has 10 years of experiance with the Hennepin County Sheriff's office both in the Hennepin County Jail and as a recruiter! He's the only candidate who has experiance in the very Sheriff's office he is running to lead. Possibly making him the most qualified candidate for sheriff. They are also silent about the fact that the last time he ran against the then incumbant Pat McGowan, Juan Lopez received 102,000 votes!! He's also a veteran.

Tom Fitzhenry: He's a sergeant in the Richfield Police daprtment and an excerpt from his website gives more insight into yet another candidate marginalized by the Strib. "He was hired by the Richfield Police Department as a Police Officer in 1978. While there he finished a BS degree in Law Enforcement at Mankato State College. He attended graduate school classes at St Thomas College. During his employment at Richfield he worked in many areas to include investigator, crime prevention specialist, emergency management, police reserve coordinator, police explorer advisor and currently as a sergeant in the patrol division."

Bruce L. Anderson: Also running is Orno police officer Anderson. His site lists his experience:
Law Enforcement Degree, Alexandria Technical College 1977
30 years Law Enforcement Experience
28 years with Orono Police Dept.
Current Secretary/Treasurer Fraternal Order of Police Minnesota State Lodge
10 years part time Deputy U.S. Marshal
Past President Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #6 (3 years)
Board of Director's International Association Accident Reconstruction Specialists
20 years experience negotiating labor contracts, labor dispute resolutions'
Past President Hennepin County MADD (3 years)
This candidate doesn't deserve to be marginalized either.

There are two other candidates: Daniel Rusch and Linda Lachner who do not have websites listed that I can find.

On Tuesday the Primary election will narrow this field of 6 down to 2. Do your homework and be sure to vote if you live in Hennepin County and care about this race.

Who will I be voting for? I live in Anoka county and will be voting for Bruce Andersohn for Anoka County Sheriff. I'll leave it to the good people of Hennepin County to choose their Sheriff and our next boss.