BY DAN RYLANCE
August 30, 2002
Bob Hughes wants to be the new sheriff in town come November. Hughes is a Marine veteran, who served in Vietnam, and a former Omro farmer, who claims he turned a profit in four of the six years he farmed. For the record, however, Hughes is no longer a farmer. He's a long time Winnebago County Sheriff Department employee and currently serves as the senior detective. Hughes is running unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 10 and will square off against Michael Brooks, the incumbent, who is running unopposed in the Republican primary. And, if the reader hasn't caught on by now, Brooks is Hughes' boss.
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Hughes, who is a Union member, said he shares three things in common with Brooks in this race. "We are both over 50. We are both overweight and we are both running on his record." |
Both candidates spoke briefly and answered three questions from a poorly attended
group (25) of state and county union employees at the Oshkosh Knights of Columbus
Hall on Tuesday evening, August 27, 2002. The Forum was conducted more like
an endorsement meeting than a public forum as neither candidate was permitted
to be present for the other's presentation. The questions were prepared in advance
by members of the local union chapters and no open mike was provided for either
union or nonunion members of the audience to ask any questions.
Hughes, who is a Union member, said he shares three things in common with Brooks in this race. "We are both over 50. We are both overweight and we are both running on his record.
| And just for fun can any reader of this website name the last Democrat elected as Winnebago County sheriff? The sheriff's name and the winner will be recognized in a later column. |
Hughes, a Democrat, paints Brooks, a Republican, as a big tax and spend sheriff.
He charged Brooks with running the Sheriff's Department surrounded by "cronies"
and as if the Department was only "his family concern." Hughes pledges
to eliminateextravagant spending of the incumbent and wants the voters of Winnebago
County to know that the $33 million of taxpayer dollars spent for the new Winnebago
County jail is the most egregious example of fiscal irresponsibility. Hughes
claims that $9 million was added to the jail appropriation at the 11th hour
for Brooks to spend. If elected, Hughes said he would cut current spending by
$600,000 annually as well as give back 6% of his salary to "lead by example."
Sheriff Brooks is also a long time employee of the Winnebago County Sheriff's
Department and has served as sheriff since 1994. He presented himself as an
innovative administrator and not as a Western arresting sheriff. He urged voters
to recognize his administrative talents in the November general election. He
runs a department of 185 employees with an annual budget of $14.5 million. Brooks
said he's a full-time administrator who devotes most of his time to personnel,
budget and strategic planning. Brooks said good community programs such as TRIAD
and DARE speak well to his leadership as sheriff over the past eight years.
Brooks cited cost savings as part of his record. In particular, in reducing
purchasing costs by 12% and for working out an agreement with Outagamie County
to house juvenile offenders at a cost of $105 per day. He did not mention the
cost of the new Winnebago County jail in his presentation.
Both Hughes and Brooks gave similar answers to the three questions asked by
members of the Union locals. Both support more video conferences for court appearances,
continued cooperation with other local police agencies in curbing disturbances
on the UWO campus and not supporting conversion of the old county jail as a
facility for juvenile offenders in Winnebago County.
Brooks opined more than Hughes. He admitted that "we cannot keep building jails" and that two jail alternatives are to "interact with the kids" and to find "alternatives to incarceration." He was not specific with either suggestion and, of course, no one was allowed a follow up question like: You're running as a Republican and they are the ones building more jails and putting more citizens in jail?
Brooks also shared some personal involvement he made last spring with UWO officials
on the proposed change in the Spring Break dates. He reminded the audience that
the more costly spring riots took place during St. Patrick's Day, a day now
incorporated into the present Spring Break week, and that he personally "weighed
in heavily" with UWO officials not to change the week of Spring Break.
The proposed change was presented to Chancellor Richard Wells last spring by
the UWO Faculty Senate who wanted the week of Spring Break to occur halfway
through the Spring semester on a regular basis.
Most attention for voters between now and the September 10 primary will center on the Republican race for Winnebago County District Attorney and the Democratic race for governor. When the smoke clears and the winners declared some attention will be directed to the race for Winnebago County sheriff. And just for fun can any reader of this website name the last Democrat elected as Winnebago County sheriff? The sheriff's name and the winner will be recognized in a later column.
Rylance is a former editorial writer for Knight Ridder newspapers who now lives in Oshkosh and is a frequent contributor to this website.