The county commissioners oversee the sheriff’s budget. Normally during budget preparation, other county-elected officials, such as county clerk, assessor and treasurer, always come before the board to discuss their budgeting needs. In my two terms, Duke never attended a budget meeting. Instead, he always sent members of his command staff who developed the budget for their respective divisions within the sheriff’s office.

The only times I remember Duke coming before the county commissioners was when he was trying to cover up some mess within the sheriff’s office. His statements at the forums have been misleading to say the least.

Schirard also has spoken out strongly against domestic violence during the forums. I find his position ironic since I have personally read two separate domestic-violence incident reports involving Duke and his former wife. These reports are public documents dated Aug. 7, l989, and March 13, 1990, and can be easily found. And while it is true he was never cited or summoned to court, he has been less than forthcoming about his history.

One wonders how much cover up, “code of silence” and threats have been involved in keeping all this out of the public eye. Old domestic-violence incidents involving the sheriff are troubling. Any current efforts to hide that history would surely constitute an abuse of power.

Duke is portraying himself as the ethical, competent head of a well-functioning organization. He is not. The best thing about the sheriff’s office are the excellent, dedicated officers who work there.

Please, join me in voting for Sean Smith, an officer who will bring honesty, integrity, high work ethic and a deep love for our community as our next La Plata County sheriff.

Wally White, La Plata County commissioner from 2005-2013

Durango