SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington's primary election is just weeks away. This year, the Spokane County sheriff's seat is up for grabs. Three candidates are running to replace Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and we want to help you get to know them. KREM 2's Amanda Roley met with each candidate over tea to learn about where they stand on important issues.
Amanda Roley
Thank you for joining me today, Wade Nelson, running for Spokane County Sheriff. Now, you have the tea, I have the questions. We're going to start with a tough one, I've really got to know this: what tea did you decide to order?
Wade Nelson
I chose the blue tea. As you can tell, very blue. It's got a little reddish blue to it, so it's pretty nice.
Amanda Roley
That's my favorite. I went with iced tea today because, not only is it hot outside, it's a little hot in here, too. But I promise I haven't made him sweat yet. Well, let's get right into it, shall we? Tell me, why did you decide to run for Spokane County Sheriff?
Wade Nelson
I decided to run for many reasons. But really the main reason that I decided to run is our current administration, I believe, has been failing our community. And they've been failing [in] the fact that they have not really properly staffed our department. I don't know if the community really knows how critical our staffing problems are.
Amanda Roley
I think they do. We've done several stories in the last year of Sheriff Knezovich advertising nationally and trying to recruit more folks. Do you agree with those recruiting efforts?
Wade Nelson
I do not. And this is why: I've don't a lot of research on this, I've talked to a lot of people and I've talked to a lot of laterals that come here. We're offering these big signing bonuses for people to come, but you talk to the people that actually come here and work, they don't move across the country for $25,000. They just don't. You're not going to uproot your whole family from California, New York, Colorado, that's where we're putting all these signs up, to come here. They're coming here because they've already made the decision to leave where they're going to leave.
Amanda Roley
You kind of alluded to this. Spill the tea for me, if you will: what are the changes that you would like to see if you become sheriff?
Wade Nelson
So number one, the biggest change is I'm going to try to get our morale back up because morale for our department directly translates to other services we give. And the other thing I feel where they haven't been very successful is getting the message to the community that we do need this budget change to get our officers' pay up to the equal of just the department across the door from us.
Amanda Roley
In general, what is your stance on gun rights?
Wade Nelson
So, for me, when it comes to gun rights, or any rights really, I am very much about individual responsibility. I believe that you as an individual have all your rights that are given to you by God and the Constitution. And I also believe that if you mess up or do something, you should be held accountable for what it is you've done. Washington state, in my opinion, doesn't need to get any more restricted than we already are.
Amanda Roley
In Spokane County, we've been seeing an increase in violent crimes and drive-by shootings. What steps would you take as sheriff to address this?
Wade Nelson
All these core problems fall back to manpower.
Amanda Roley
You're one of three candidates running for Spokane County Sheriff. What makes you stand out against your opponents?
Wade Nelson
I think I'm the only one that's served in the military. I served six years. I am not a politician and I want people to understand that. I know I've got to play in politics but people that know me know I'm not. When I give my word, I keep my word.
To watch the full 40-minute interview, watch the YouTube video posted below.
To learn more about the candidates in all Eastern Washington races, visit the KREM 2 Voter Guide.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.