La Plata County elected officials often walk a fine line, needing to be political to campaign to keep their jobs but expected to adhere to professional ethical standards while actually doing those jobs.
In early June, a concerned person who requested anonymity alerted The Durango Herald to 10 emails that had been sent over the past two years by Sheriff Duke Schirard. They were sent to his staff using his official sheriff’s email account. The concerned party was not Sean Smith, who will be Schirard’s opponent in the November election.
The Herald reviewed the emails to see if Schirard had crossed the line between politics and ethical policies. Six of the emails concerned enforcing Colorado’s new gun laws as well as articles about gun policies from The New York Times and other publications, which can be considered part of his job. Four of the emails were political in nature:
A video entitled “Obama Speech (Without Teleprompter)” of a donkey braying.
A political cartoon called “The Gathering Storm,” reminiscent of the Dust Bowl, where a cloud full of Democratic leaders’ faces, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, is looming over homes with the slogan “We’re from the government ... and we’re here for your guns.”
A quote by controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, about a “Liberal Paradise” where everything is free and only law enforcement carries guns. “Believe it or not, such a place does exist,” Arpaio said. “It’s called a prison.”
A video called “Who Am I?” that compares Obama to Adolf Hitler.
“I thought they were funny and cute,” Schirard said in a phone interview Friday night. “I was under the impression that most of my staff I hired knew where the delete button was. If they didn’t think it was humorous or appropriate, they could just delete it.”
Against policy?
Since 2004, La Plata County has had a “Network Use Policy.”
“Correspondence must be in compliance with La Plata County’s relevant policies, including its harassment and discrimination policies, confidentiality policies, ethics rules, code of conduct, and other policies,” item No. 3 on electronic mail reads, “as well as with state ethics law, federal copyright law and other applicable laws and regulations.”
But no one can enforce the policies on elected officials unless they break a law.
“It seems like we have no authority,” County Commissioner Julie Westendorff said. “The accountability doesn’t come from us, it comes from the voters.”
No one in Schirard’s office has filed a complaint about the emails in the last two years, assistant La Plata County manager Joanne Spina said after checking with the county’s Human Resources Department.
“We do have expectations of ethical conduct,” she said, “and we care about how we treat one another. But elected officials are responsible directly to the citizens.”
One sentence in the electronic mail code may apply in this case:
“The County allows personal correspondence for incidental use as long as it is within reason and does not contain inappropriate content (i.e. obscene, offensive or pornographic).”
Smith, Schirard’s opponent, said several people in the Sheriff’s Office found the emails offensive.
“I don’t believe you’ll find anyone who’ll speak up,” he said, speaking as a candidate, “but people do not take kindly to receiving that type of email. A sheriff can have a personal political belief, and that’s fine. But he’s not entitled to use the resources of the citizens to send that kind of thing to parties who may or may not agree with him.”
Schirard, who is running for his fifth term as La Plata County sheriff, says the whole thing is political.
“If anyone was offended, I’m sorry,” he said. “Why didn’t anyone talk to me when the email was sent? Or all they had to do was call HR and complain. She would have said she got an anonymous complaint, and I wouldn’t have sent any more.”
Schirard probably shouldn’t have needed a complaint to stop sending political emails.
“There’s a reason political emails aren’t allowed in law enforcement at the federal or state level,” Smith said. “No matter where we fall politically, we all work for everyone. These kinds of things need to remain personal, shared only with our inner circles, not coming out of the sheriff’s office.”
Hostile work environment?
It may not always be against policies or the law to send political emails in the workplace, but it’s not a best practice, said Betsy Fitzpatrick, president of Durango Area Human Resource Managers and the human resources manager at StoneAge Tools. And when it comes from the boss, it’s a little more difficult to complain.
“It’s certainly best practice in any work environment, no matter how large or how small, public or private, to create a fair and inclusive environment for all employees, keeping political neutrality,” she said. “The best practice is to create an environment where people don’t feel persecuted for their personal beliefs and political viewpoints.”
It’s not clear whether these emails are unusual or the tip of the iceberg. Schirard said he hasn’t sent anything in this vein for several months.
Schirard said his political beliefs don’t have anything to do with his hiring practices or management of his department of 150. Hiring is done by scoring on a comparative test, and the top scorer on the test is offered the next available opening.
“This is far-fetched and political, and that’s all there is to it,” he said. “But rest assured, I won’t send any more emails like that.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
This story was changed to reflect a change in Westendorff’s quote. The La Plata County commissioner did not say it was unfortunate the commissioners don’t have any control over other elected county officials.
County policy on email use (PDF)
