The two La Plata County Sheriff’s Office employees vying for the top job in the November election displayed some similarities in a debate Wednesday, but they showed enough differences to give voters a clear choice.
Sheriff Duke Schirard, going on 20 years in the post, and Sean Smith, one of his deputies, placed emphasis on experience when they tackled issues in a question-and-answer session sponsored by the Violence Prevention Coalition.
Schirard stood on his lengthy list of accomplishments over two decades. The department always comes through, he said, although often under trying conditions and budget constraints.
Smith said his experience is broad-based, at local, state and federal levels. But the department is at a point where it can no longer rely on traditional approaches, he said, offering himself as the leader for a new era.
The debate was moderated by former state Sen. Jim Dyer. After introductory statements, the candidates answered written questions from more than 50 people, among them public officials, law-enforcement officers and members of the public.
The question probably separating the candidates the most was asked by seven people: What would they do if personal ideology conflicted with official duty?
The pointed question referred to Schirard’s joining almost all other sheriffs in the state to oppose gun-control legislation covering sale of firearms and a limit on the size of magazines.
“A lawsuit is being heard in Denver, and we expect a ruling on the constitutionality,” Schirard said.
The new firearm regulations are cumbersome and unenforceable, Schirard said.
Smith cited a newspaper article from 2010 when Schirard last ran for sheriff in which he pledged to uphold the law.
“I’ll enforce the laws,” Smith said.
Both candidates pledged to individually work with the 20-some organizations that form the Violence Prevention Coalition after the group dissolves over the next few months. Funding is difficult to find and law-enforcement agencies in the 6th Judicial District have become proactive in dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault to the point that a coordinating group can step back, coalition leaders say.
Smith and Schirard parted ways again on how they would make the department’s financial ends meet in a time of tight money.
Schirard said county officials push him to keep costs down. But a department with 150 employees that must respond to emergencies – think overtime – struggles to make do with a $14 million budget, he said. There are many duties other than patrolling unincorporated areas and overseeing jail prisoners, he said.
“We’ve asked for more deputies, but the answer is ‘not in the foreseeable future,’” Schirard said.
Smith agreed the department has many responsibilities not widely known to the public, but he would allocate funds differently.
“We’ve developed a culture of complacency,” Smith said. “We expect the same results while we put our resources in the wrong place.”
Smith said five deputies patrol 1,700 square miles of the county while 11 deputies staff the 300-bed jail, which at times has only one-third of the bunks full.
“We can do a better job,” Smith said.
Both candidates took credit for developing alternatives to incarceration, one factor for the jail’s increasing vacancy rate.
In closing remarks, Schirard, 72, said 40 years in law enforcement, including stints with Durango Police Department and Bayfield Marshal’s Office, and running private businesses gives him the experience in managing money and personnel required to keep his job.
As sheriff, Schirard said, he brought a juvenile detention center to Durango, created the Southwest Drug Task Force, a SWAT team and enlarged the jail.
Schirard said he works to keep costs down, but when called, “we go.”
Smith cited his experience in bringing high technology into law enforcement and finding alternatives to sending people to jail.
Despite a string of successes, the sheriff is not the Lone Ranger, Smith said. A sheriff is a leader who should bring together the best minds to solve problems.
As sheriff, Smith said, he would convene a command staff within 90 days to review all phases of the department’s operations.
“I can take the department to the next level,” Smith said.
Schirard has proved to be a strong candidate.
Schirard unseated incumbent Bill Gardner in 1994. Four years later, he ran unopposed. In the 2002 Republican primary, he beat Mike Swilling and then picked up 92 percent of the vote in November against a write-in candidate, Steve O’Neil, a reserve deputy. Schirard ran unopposed in 2006 and 2010.
daler@durangoherald.com
