Organisciak has most experience, commitment to enforcing laws of sheriff candidates

Editor:

Plenty has been said about two of the three highly qualified candidates for Orleans County Sheriff.

Little has been said about Don Organisciak, the candidate with the most experience. If experience matters, Don’s law enforcement tenure of 30 years exceeds that of both Tom Drennan and Randy Bower. Furthermore, Don’s Medina Police Department service was gained outside the Sheriff’s Department. It includes 13 years as an investigator.

But his experience extends even beyond those 30 years. Don was a school resource officer at Lyndonville High School for two years. In that capacity, he interacted regularly with teens as counselor, mentor and disciplinarian. LC.S. personnel (plural) have praised him for the respect he demonstrated toward all students. My sister-in-law, Lisa, was just one of them.

A few years ago, Arizona was embroiled in a controversy over the so-called “Papers, Please” law. It was Constitutionally-flawed, to say the least, if it permitted law enforcement to ask for documentation with no more “probable cause” than someone’s appearance. Nonetheless, while such a law is on the books, law enforcement is obligated to enforce it, as determinations of Constitutionality belong to the courts.

As professionals, sheriffs certainly should understand such things. Picking and choosing what laws to enforce in not an option. For a sheriff, publicly defying the law is not an option.

Don Organisciak knows that, of all people, a sheriff must operate within the law. How can the general public be expected to respect the law if their sheriff doesn’t?

For these reasons, I urge the voters of Orleans County to support Don Organisciak for Orleans County Sheriff.

Sincerely yours,

Gary F. Kent
Albion