{"id":118880,"date":"2014-07-24T21:18:18","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T03:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mike-steele-addresses-tea-party\/"},"modified":"2014-07-24T21:18:18","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T03:18:18","slug":"mike-steele-addresses-tea-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mike-steele-addresses-tea-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Steele addresses tea party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Steele\"
Steele<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cTyranny\u201d and \u201cliberty\u201d were repeated numerous times before Michael Steele took the podium Monday to address the Tea Party\u2019s Four Corners 9\/12 Project.<\/p>\n

Steele, a write-in candidate for Montezuma County sheriff, fielded more than a dozen questions from the self-proclaimed patriots, including why he opted for such a curious campaign strategy. Steele told the more than three dozen in attendance that he simply missed the filing deadline to enter the race as an independent candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was forced to run as a write-in,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the only way that I could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One man drilled Steele on a question about enforcing unconstitutional laws.<\/p>\n

Another asked if the sheriff\u2019s authority supersedes that of federal agents, and one wanted to know what Steele would do to reclaim road access to federally controlled public lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re asking if I would get into a gunbattle with other citizens trying to do their jobs, then probably no,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to questions about perceived federal overreach, Steele was also asked why he wanted to be the next sheriff.<\/p>\n

He cited three main goals for the agency: increasing professionalism and kindness, restoring fiscal responsibility, and correcting personnel issues.<\/p>\n

Steele provided specific measures he\u2019d take to bridge what he called a \u201cclear divide\u201d between the now \u201cparamilitary\u201d style of the sheriff\u2019s office and the greater community, saying that deputies would neither tuck their pants inside boots nor wear reflective sunglasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntimidation is not necessary in a rural area,\u201d said Steele.<\/p>\n

Instead, deputies would be required to take an active role with a civic organization of their choice, he said. Steele said he\u2019d also institute a reserve deputy program and establish a citizen review board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff\u2019s office belongs to you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele was also questioned about his background, specifically his involvement with a bail bond scheme in California\u2019s San Bernardino County.<\/p>\n

According to California Superior Court records, Steele was charged more than a decade ago with felony counts of unlawful solicitation of bail and conspiracy.<\/p>\n

He later pleaded guilty to a lone misdemeanor charge, court records reveal.<\/p>\n

Steele said Monday that he got \u201cwrapped up\u201d in the case after joining a bail bond company that was involved with \u201cunderhanded stuff.\u201d He said that he simply followed company policy by answering inmate telephone calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigation was ongoing for two years before I arrived,\u201d said Steele.<\/p>\n

He added that while investigators determined the company was profiting financially, he maintained that his actions of answering telephone calls were not unlawful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe misdemeanor was ultimately dismissed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The final question posed, \u201cWhy should we vote for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than two decades of law-enforcement experience, Steele said it was his 19 years as a business owner that separated his administrative expertise over GOP candidate Steve Nowlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff is not a street cop job,\u201d said Steele. \u201cIt\u2019s an administrative position in charge of a wide range of tasks from personnel to budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele then delivered his first campaign promise if elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin 12 to 18 months, you will see a change that you can be proud of,\u201d he vowed.<\/p>\n

As a write-in candidate, Steele\u2019s name will not appear on the general election ballot in November.<\/p>\n

Instead, voters would need to fill in the bubble and pen his name on the line, Steele said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simple,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four Corners 9\/12 Project officials said Nowlin declined an invitation to attend Monday\u2019s campaign meeting. Nowlin defeated incumbent Sheriff Dennis Spruell earlier this year during the Republican primary.<\/p>\n

tbaker@cortezjournal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

within 18 months if elected county sheriff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[13,308,60,774],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-118880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-local-elections","tag-montezuma-county","tag-political-candidates"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118880"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=118880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}