Sheriff Duke Schirard spent more than 30 minutes complaining about not having enough budget to work with, despite having a more than $2 million increase in the last four years. He blamed the budget for his inability to manage overtime and benefits. His solution was to spend more money by calling in outside consultants – a tactic he said he will use again.

Deputy Sean Smith, who grew up in Durango, has worked for more than 20 years in areas from patrol to the administration of large city and federal law-enforcement offices. He laid out his goals for the future in a succinct, understandable, commonsense manner, which included allocating schedules efficiently and working with the budget provided to him.

One of the most striking differences was emphasized when Schirard said, “Domestic violence didn’t exist before 1975.” He blames the increase of domestic violence on the fact that couples are not married. I wondered if every woman in the audience bristled at that astoundingly unfactual remark. Smith spoke for several minutes, specifically addressing the additional training officers need to effectively answer domestic-violence calls.

As a taxpayer, I expect the sheriff to know how to run his department to the best of his or her ability and to train officers with 21st-century leadership. If this debate was an example of Schirard’s best, then it’s time we as voters should expect more.

Candace Richerson

Durango