Bourke and his team will keep continuity in Sheriff’s Office that is serving community

Editor:

I wanted to comment on a recent post by Bob Lonsberry endorsing Brett Sobieraski for Orleans County Sheriff.

Bob you just don’t get it.

If the OCSO was so important to him, why didn’t he work there? That’s the issue. He wants to be the boss of an institution he knows nothing about. He doesn’t know the culture, he doesn’t know the ethos and he has no command level experience.

I think this is what people really don’t understand. One of the reasons that crime is so terrible in the city of Rochester is that every few years there is a change in leadership. A new chief comes in, a new command staff and a new plan. It takes a couple years to put the brakes on the previous administrations initiatives and begin their “new” ones. Before they get to full speed, a new chief comes in and the cycle repeats. Nothing gets done, nothing changes and that’s the issue facing Orleans County voters.

Do you like your community now? Do you like what you see when you look out the window? Or, would you rather have it more like the city of Rochester?

Seems pretty clear to me. Choose a team who knows not just the community, but the agency. Someone who can continue to develop its initiatives to fruition. Someone with command level experience in the agency they wish to lead with knowledge of how to run, not just a police force, but a jail, civil bureau and court security. (I’m not actually sure if Orleans County had those last two bureaus, but I assume they do in some form.)

Just because Bob Lonsberry admires that a guy can run long distances and wears a gun to work, does not mean he’s qualified to be the chief law enforcement officer in the county.

I hope voters take a minute to think critically. To recognize just because Bob says so, doesn’t make it true. Most importantly, I hope they see what Orleans County might become when led by an outsider. When led by a person who only understands vision to the degree of a single chapter of a book and not the story itself.

I don’t know Brett, never worked with him but I’m retired from law enforcement with the same rank and I know of him. He is by no means universally loved by his subordinates but seems liked a competent first line supervisor. In my estimation, the Republican voters of Orleans County have a clear choice for sheriff.

And it ain’t from a police sergeant from a dysfunctional city 30 miles away. Elect a team that knows your county and your agency. A team that put their career where their mouth is, so to speak, and served the agency they wish to lead. Not someone in the Baxter politician mold who hopes to be an executive carpet bagger winning a popularity contest with the help of their friends in the corrupt and out of touch media.

Do the right thing Orleans County.

Regards,

Scott Smith

Churchville