Local voters will select new leadership for the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 4.
Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park, the lone Democrat among Tooele County elected officials, is retiring after 12 years as the county’s top cop. Before he was elected sheriff in 2002, Park served 12 years as the county’s chief deputy.
While both candidates for sheriff are veteran law enforcement officers, neither of them have worked for Tooele County.
Candidates for Tooele County Sheriff include Democrat Andy Oblad and Republican Paul Wimmer.
The Tooele Transcript-Bulletin presented four questions to both candidates. They were: Who are you? Why are you running for office? What differentiates you from your opponent? And what will you do if you are elected?
Each candidate was allowed a maximum of 125 words per answer. The responses are included below in alphabetical order.
Both candidates will be featured in tonight’s debate at Tooele Applied Technology College. The debate starts at 7 p.m. and is preceded by a “Meet the Candidates” session, which starts at 6 p.m. TATC is located at 88 S. Tooele Boulevard.
1. Who are you?
Oblad: Thank you for taking some time to get to know me. I am Andy Oblad. My family and I have lived in Tooele County for the last 13 years, currently residing in Stansbury Park. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia College in 2014. I also graduated from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership Academy. I have 18 years experience as a police officer at Salt Lake City Police Department. I am currently assigned as the internal affairs sergeant. I have been a sergeant for eight years in many different assignments including patrol, accident investigation, hit and run and the downtown bike squad. Prior to being promoted to sergeant, I worked as a motor squad officer and a school resource officer.
Wimmer: I am a husband, father, law enforcement officer, and candidate for Tooele County Sheriff. My wife, Shannon, and I have three beautiful daughters, and we live in Tooele City. I was hired as a patrolman for Tooele City in 1999 and have spent 15 years serving the citizens of Tooele in nearly every capacity from patrolman to my current rank of assistant chief. I have experienced law enforcement work from the bottom to the top, and have commanded every division within the Tooele Police department. I have an associate degree in criminal justice and will soon obtain my bachelor’s degree, and I’m a graduate of Northwestern University’s nationally recognized School of Police Staff and Command, a prestigious command school for senior law enforcement personnel.
2. Why are you running for office?
Oblad: I am running for sheriff because Tooele County residents deserve better. The current state of affairs in the sheriff’s office should be declared an emergency. The sheriff is in charge of three main areas: law enforcement (deputies), corrections (jail) and dispatch. All three are understaffed due to the layoffs in 2012. Employees are at the end of their rope and many are looking for work elsewhere. We need to hire employees to get our current folks relief or we will continue to lose good employees. Residents complain about long response times and never seeing a deputy. To stop increasing drug crimes and provide safe schools and communities, law enforcement needs to be proactive. With only two or three deputies on duty countywide, it can’t happen
Wimmer: I am running for sheriff to restore accountability and public trust in a once-proud agency that has lost its way. Like every resident in this county, I have watched the sheriff’s department struggle for several years with budget crises and overages, embarrassing investigations into questionable practices and ethics, all-time low employee morale, and significant loss of quality officers. I felt that someone with the right experience had to step up and lead from the front to bring accountability and transparency to the department at every level, and provide fair and consistent leadership to an agency that has struggled to live up to the level of professionalism and performance that should rightly be expected by citizens who have provided such significant resources and support.
3. What differentiates you from your opponent?
Oblad: I earned a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree versus an associate degree. Agency size: SLCPD — 440 officers, 100 non-sworn, and $60 million budget compared to Tooele City’s 50 officers and a $4 million budget. Because of my role in stopping the shooter at Trolley Square in 2007, I received the medal of valor and I have been fortunate to train officers across the country in active shooter response. I also assisted with police training videos for “In the Line of Duty,” used nationwide, and the Portland Police Bureau.
I am fluent in Spanish and served as a liaison for the Spanish Speaking Community. I love to teach and taught law enforcement classes at Horizonte School and Highland High School in Salt Lake City.
Wimmer: Administrative experience is what differentiates me from my opponent. There is no doubt that my opponent is a competent and decorated policeman, but I am the only candidate for sheriff that has first-hand law enforcement experience in Tooele County. More importantly, I am the only candidate with significant experience in police administration. That experience is vital because the voters of Tooele County are hiring a sheriff who will command a department with over 100 employees and an $8 million dollar budget. On day one, I will bring to the job real-world experience in managing a multi-million dollar law enforcement budget, handling personnel issues at every level, developing community partnerships, managing risk, and allocating limited resources for maximum benefit to public safety in Tooele County.
4. What will you do if elected?
Oblad: I want to bring my 18 years of experience, training and leadership from outside Tooele County to our community. We need a new perspective. I will change the entire culture in the sheriff’s office from the top down. I am a leadership instructor for SLCPD. I know what it takes to effectively lead police departments. The morale at Tooele County is extremely poor. This isn’t going to be a quick fix. I will spend the entire first term working hard to make sure that citizens’ concerns are addressed; there is accountability for all employees; push to hire a few employees each year; start a reserve program; bring back DARE; neighborhood watch; and professionalism. I have the integrity, experience, courage and education to reshape the sheriff’s office.
Wimmer: The most pressing issue for Tooele County is getting its financial house in order. Because the sheriff’s budget accounts for over 40 percent of the county’s general fund, it is critical that we elect a sheriff that will consider the budget implications of every decision, and commit to holding himself and the department accountable to taxpayers. I have a plan to do just that by restructuring the budget process to be more transparent and fiscally responsible. I will provide more effective and efficient public safety on a limited budget by using proven technologies and policing techniques to schedule and deploy officers when and where they’re needed. See details of my plans to conserve, consolidate, and coordinate law enforcement resources in Tooele County at www.paulwimmerforsheriff.com.
