First Responders Show “Unprecedented” Support for Sheriff Nole’s Re-election;
Frank Responds
Jefferson County’s Sheriff deputies, its captain and all its sergeants, all of the correctional staff and the firefighters have endorsed the re-election of Sheriff Joe Nole.
“I’ve never seen this much support over an election before,” says JCSO Sergeant Brandon Przygocki, who has worked in law enforcement in Jefferson County for the past 16 years. “[T]he entire department is in support of Sheriff Nole’s re-election. Every union within the JCSO unanimously voted to endorse him.” Art Frank, Nole’s opponent, a JCSO detective, did not vote on the endorsement.
We quote at length these endorsements because (1) this level of widespread, unanimous support from first responders is, as Sergeant Przygocki says, truly unprecedented in a sheriff election; (2) the letters of endorsement provide inside information not well known to the general public; and (3) Mr. Frank has provided a quite lengthy response (it is our policy to print in full and verbatim all statements sent to us in writing). The complete letters of endorsement may be read at Nole’s campaign website.
Firefighters for Nole
Local 2032, East Jefferson Professional Firefighters, has joined law enforcement in calling for Nole’s re-election. In an open letter the firefighters stated:
For the entirety of Joe Nole’s time as Sheriff, we have experienced a professional and collaborative relationship with his officers, which is indicative of his strong relationship. He has established a culture built around serving the community he is charged to protect, and operating as an equal partner with Fire and EMS. This level of cooperation between public entities is not always common and should not be taken for granted
The Firefighters endorsed Nole in his campaign to unseat then-incumbent Sheriff Dave Stanko in 2018. “Your local firefighters feel safer with Joe Nole as Sheriff, and for the second time we are honored to strongly endorse” his re-election. This endorsement is noteworthy as Frank, while working in the Sheriff’s Department as a Detective, is a firefighter and Board Chair of the Quilcene Fire Department (Marcia Kelbon, who is running for the District 3 County Commission seat is also on the Board of the Quilcene Fire Department). Brinnon’s Fire Chief, Tim Manly, has also endorsed Nole’s re-election.
Correctional and Animal Control Staff for Nole
In their endorsement of Nole’s re-election, The Corrections, Civil and Animal Control Guild, wrote about Nole’s work on a side of law enforcement only those incarcerated or working in the jail may ever see:
[Sheriff Nole] has professionally guided the Sheriff’s Office through protests, defunding the police debates, police reform laws and unprecedented times with the Covid-19 pandemic. By its very nature, the jail was one of the most at-risk within in the County in dealing with Covid. With Sheriff Nole’s hands on leadership, we were able to not only weather the pandemic but thrive, by improving operations and equipment to better ensure safety for the staff and inmates we are charged with caring for. Sheriff Nole worked to revitalize the nearly defunct Animal Control Program by hiring a full time Animal Control Deputy. This has allowed for more time…responding to citizen animal complaints and investigating potential crimes against animals…. It has led to a successful prosecution of, and rescue of several animals from a prolific animal abuser…. Sheriff Nole understands the challenges law enforcement and the community face with substance abuse addiction and behavioral health and has been highly supportive of the Residential Treatment Program now provided to inmates. He also regularly attends Behavioral Health Court, engaging directly with and encouraging participants, and providing guidance to help make the program continuously successful.”
Deputies for Nole
The letter of endorsement from the Deputies Union stated:
Sheriff Nole has grown and repaired relationships within the community allowing for more collaborative criminal investigations….[He] has restored morale through support, communications and training. Washington State recently experienced one of the most widespread and cumbersome law enforcement reform seen in decades. Sheriff Nole was able to navigate the Department through these changes through a collaborative approach, reducing stress among our staff. Sheriff Nole has been a quality manager and leader, always leading by example and entrusting his Command Staff to supervise, teach and train deputies to be quality law enforcement officers of this community.
Command Staff for Nole
The letter of unanimous endorsement from the JCSO Command Staff (captain and four sergeants) lauded Nole for “adding body cameras to invest in community trust” and bringing aboard a mental health navigator. The five men signing the letter relate that they have, combined, more than 100 years of law enforcement experience. They have worked under a number of sheriffs, emphasizing:
Sheriff Nole’s ability to communicate with humility and respect, regardless of rank or status, is the cornerstone of his success.
They added, as have deputies, that these qualities set Nole apart from his opponent.
Art Frank’s Response
Mr. Frank provided the following statement in response to the Free Press asking for comment on the first responder endorsements of Sheriff Nole’s re-election:
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I appreciate the Free Press offering me the opportunity to comment on first responder union endorsements of my opponent in the sheriff’s race. I wish the first responder unions had offered me a fair opportunity to earn their endorsement; if they had done so, the outcome might have been different. They failed to communicate and instead made endorsements without all the facts. And then shared that endorsement with the public. That was unfair on so many levels. Normally, before endorsing candidates in local races, unions invite both candidates to make their case, enabling members to make a fully informed endorsement. When unions fail to give both candidates an equal opportunity to earn their endorsement, that failure can produce endorsements based on lack of information, false assumptions, rumors, misinformation, disinformation, uninformed prejudice, unreasonable fear, and/or unreflective groupthink. That is what happened here. None of the 3 unions representing Jefferson County Sheriff Office staff gave me an opportunity to earn their endorsement or even share my vision for the future. And I work side by side with them every day. All 3 units—command, corrections, and deputies—endorsed Joe Nole without ever inviting me to make the case for my candidacy. As a member of the deputies’ union, I found their failure to extend that basic courtesy very puzzling and disappointing. If one of my union brothers were running for public office, I would feel bound by solidarity and fairness to give him a respectful hearing and a reasonable chance to earn our endorsement. East Jefferson Fire & Rescue’s union was also prepared to endorse without hearing from me. However, when I requested an opportunity to address them, the union gave me far less time (15 minutes) than they gave my opponent (more than an hour). No one ever explained that disparity, though I remain grateful for the time EJFR’s union gave me. I’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with Jefferson County first responders since 2013. I’ve witnessed the individual courage and character, sacrifice and dedication of JCSO and EJFR personnel, and they have seen mine. They are my brothers and sisters, and they have my respect. However, even excellent individuals make mistakes when deprived of adequate information. The first responder unions endorsed my opponent based on incomplete and faulty information. They easily could have avoided that error simply by granting both candidates an equal opportunity to earn their endorsements, asking tough questions, listening critically, and weighing all available evidence to make the best decision—skills we practice every day as law enforcement officers. These flawed endorsements are unworthy of our county’s first responders. Good leadership makes groups greater than the sum of their parts. Conversely, poor leadership degrades and diminishes, making a group less than the sum of its parts. This is true specifically of the process that produced these endorsements, and it is also generally true of JCSO under the current sheriff. My brothers in JCSO deserve a leader who will bring out the best in them, enabling us to protect and serve the public more faithfully and effectively. This is why I felt duty-bound to run for sheriff. In the paragraphs that follow, I shall…
I. The Positive Case for Art for Sheriff JCSO needs better leadership at the top, both to improve public safety and to improve working conditions for our employees. I’m running to support JCSO staff. For the last 7 years, I have heard concerns from many colleagues about how the department is run, and how they are treated (including during contract negotiations). I am determined to respond to and resolve those concerns. As sheriff, I will advocate for the entire staff. I know that good leadership and good morale can and should go together. My mission Respond and Resolve is supported by three pillars, the second of which is an inspired, motivated, and appreciated staff: a well-trained and properly equipped team whose members are valued and motivated to support the mission. As sheriff, I will evaluate and modify staff scheduling and assignments to meet both community needs and the needs of our deputies and their families. These alternatives will ensure officers won’t have to work weekends for years on end, and allow deputies who prefer working nights to stay on nights. This would enable deputies to diversify their work experience, for example by staying on days to focus on investigations, juvenile cases, or detective assignments. Alternative patrol schedules would enable deputies to balance work and family obligations, while ensuring proper deployment and coverage for our communities. Effective law enforcement requires effective supervision. Currently we only have two ranks for patrol staff: deputy and sergeant. We have 17 deputies (including detectives) and five command staff. Deputies often must wait many years for an opportunity to advance to sergeant, which can be demoralizing. With only five command staff, our current schedules leave holes where there is no supervisor on duty 4 hours out of every day. And it can be more than 4 hours when supervisors are not on duty due to scheduled leave, illness, training, or other absences. These daily periods of supervisor unavailability directly endanger public safety. For example, the state’s new pursuit law requires immediate supervisor authorization to initiate pursuit of a suspect, which is literally impossible when there is no supervisor on duty. Similarly, a use of force requires swift supervisory follow-up—which is often delayed when supervisors are unavailable. This supervisor follow up provides proper documentation of the incident and protects the rights and interests of the deputy and the involved citizen. As sheriff, I will solve this problem by providing more consistent 24/7 supervisor coverage. We will do this by promoting two or more deputies to a new senior deputy or corporal rank. This new rank will improve retention by providing new professional advancement opportunities for deputies. It will also ensure we always have at least two senior deputies gaining supervisory experience and readiness to step up to higher leadership positions. As sheriff, I will improve JCSO’s ability to respond to threats like active shooter events. This will require tactical training and equipment for all law enforcement officers—not just a select few. As a small, rural department, we cannot continue to rely on a small, dedicated team of deputies receiving basic tactical training. We must train all officers to a competent level so every one of us can deal with whatever may confront us, because in many cases, we cannot afford to wait for backup. Vital tactical equipment priorities include modern ballistic helmets, hearing protection/communication headsets, and additional, improved body armor (rifle plates and carriers). As sheriff, I will improve job satisfaction by refocusing JSCO on our core mission. All of us became law enforcement officers in the first place to protect and serve the public. We are all sickened to know JCSO fails to respond to and resolve some 911 calls—and we don’t even know how many because the current sheriff fails to track this data. None of us feel good about lapses in evidence collection and handling—lapses that make prosecution of suspects more difficult than it should be. When I am sheriff, we will respond to and resolve all 911 calls, and reform our evidence collection and handling in compliance with accreditation standards of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). As sheriff, I will lead the development of clear, specific job performance expectations so every deputy has a clear, measurable road map to professional growth. The current sheriff has failed us. He has failed to set clear expectations, failed to provide proper training, and failed to provide performance measures to drive individual and agency-wide improvement. As sheriff, I will re-evaluate working conditions for our corrections officers, and work with them to improve those conditions, provide stronger support, ensure full staffing, enhance long-term job satisfaction, increase retention, and reduce turnover. As sheriff, I will improve public relations, communicating early and often with communities in our county to hear and resolve their concerns, while building citizen support for JCSO’s efforts. As sheriff, I will strongly advocate for better county, state and federal policies to support us in our work. I will educate the public and elected leaders on the realities of being a law enforcement officer in today’s world. In collaboration with other justice system leaders, I will ensure county leaders, state legislators, and members of Congress receive the benefit of local subject matter experts so our elected representatives enact policies that empower law enforcement to provide public safety in the best interests of our communities. As sheriff, I will build partnerships with local school districts to improve school safety. We will work with educators, parents, and community members to develop plans for emergency response, disaster preparedness, and preventing and countering intruder events. Despite the current sheriff’s lack of leadership, Undersheriff Pernsteiner has worked hard to keep JCSO functioning. When I chose to run, I told Andy I would invite him to remain as undersheriff, and that remains my plan. Over more than 25 years in JCSO, Andy has built strong relationships with our staff. Like me, he genuinely cares about every employee, and is determined to support them in providing excellent public safety. I am confident we can work together to provide the leadership JCSO and our communities need and deserve. II. Ethical and Factual Issues in the Unions’ Endorsement Letters The endorsement letters issued by all 3 JCSO bargaining units violated JCSO policy by including the names of the signatories without an appropriate disclaimer. As stated in Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Policy Manual section 1030.4.1: Unauthorized Endorsements and Advertisements, “when it can reasonably be construed that an employee, acting in his/her individual capacity or through an outside group or organization (e.g. bargaining group), is affiliated with this department, the employee shall give a specific disclaiming statement that any such speech or expression is not representative of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.” This is a minor point, but the deputies’ union endorsement letter claimed their endorsement of Nole was unanimous, and that is technically false. I’m a member of the deputies’ union, and I haven’t endorsed Joe. The command staff endorsement falsely equates my leadership with that of a former sheriff, Dave Stanko, citing what they experienced as a lack of communication, listening, trust, humility, respect, and inclusiveness. As Stanko’s undersheriff, I did my duty by executing the sheriff’s directives to the best of my ability in service to JCSO and the community. Without being insubordinate in that role, I could not then articulate my differences with and reservations about Stanko’s leadership. I can do so now: I thought Stanko tried to do too much too soon. I advocated at the time for him to slow down to avoid alienating deputies, and in some instances he listened. When he did not, I did my best to provide a buffer between Stanko’s expectations and the practical needs of our deputies and community. For the last four years, I’ve worked as a deputy and detective, and my evaluations show I am a team player and “invaluable contributor” who communicates well, provides leadership, and has earned the respect of my peers. (You can review Andy Pernsteiner and Brett Anglin’s evaluations of my performance for yourself, as I’ve posted them at art4sheriff.net) When it comes to trust, my colleagues trust me to negotiate their contract, benefits, and working conditions as a shop steward for the deputies’ union. The bottom line is that I’m running in this race as Art Frank -– not Dave Stanko. As sheriff I will lead JCSO as Art Frank -– not Dave Stanko. If you want to know how I will lead, review my evaluations, look at how I do my job every day, and review what I wrote above in section I of this document. III. Flaws in the Unions’ Endorsement Processes Deputies’ Union Endorsement I regret that my own union did not invite me to address them about why I am running and my plans for the office. Nor did any of my union colleagues contact me outside of work to ask. On June 9, Detective Allen emailed deputies’ union members the link to an anonymous Survey Monkey poll to endorse either Joe or me for sheriff. There was no union meeting called to authorize the poll or to invite candidates to address the union. The Survey Monkey poll was open for one week. The link could be forwarded to anyone, and anyone could open the link and vote. Because it was anonymous, there was no way to track who had voted. It was possible to vote more than once. I did not participate, because I did not believe the process was fair, as I had no opportunity to address the membership. Detective Allen’s email announcing the poll said that the results would be released once it was concluded. I never received an email or other communication with the result, though I was able to deduce it when my opponent posted the endorsement letter on his website. Command Staff endorsement The command staff union—comprised of four sergeants and one captain—was the first to endorse my opponent. Unfortunately, they did not invite me to speak to them first about why I am running or my vision for the future of the office, nor did any of the individual members contact me outside of work to ask. Endorsement of Jail Staff Union Like the other unions, the corrections staff union issued an endorsement without inviting me to address the members, and without any member ever asking me why I was running. East Jefferson Fire and Rescue Endorsement In June, my campaign requested an opportunity to address EJFR’s union. They gave me 15 minute to present at a meeting in mid-July. At some point before that, the union spent more than an hour with my opponent. Despite the time disparity, I remain grateful for the opportunity to make my case. Conclusion Thank you for reading, and thanks to the Free Press for giving me the opportunity to set the record straight. I am determined to earn your vote, and welcome your questions in any format. I can be reached through my website, art4sheriff.net |
