Anyone have any comments on the artcle that appeared in the GT and DH?? If you missed the article here it is:

Hard feelings at center of sheriff’s race

By Ian Rollins
Albany Democrat-Herald

One candidate accuses the other of hostile actions toward him at work

The campaign for Benton County Sheriff got off to a rocky start last fall when one of the candidates accused the other — who is also one of his superior officers — of hostile actions toward him because of his candidacy.

In a letter dated Sept. 13 to County Counsel Vance Croney, Sgt. Jack Burright’s attorney urged the county, and Sheriff Jim Swinyard and Undersheriff Diana Simpson in particular, to cease their actions “to avoid further litigation.”

The letter was mailed to the Democrat-Herald by an anonymous sheriff’s office employee last week. Croney said the county treated the letter as a notice of tort claim and turned it over to the county’s insurance company.

Swinyard said he looked at the letter after Croney told him about it, but he declined to comment further on it.

Simpson said she never saw a copy of the letter. Since it’s been turned over to the insurance company, she said she can’t discuss it further.

Burright and Simpson are vying to succeed Swinyard, who is retiring at the end of the year. Swinyard is supporting Simpson, while the Benton County Deputy Sheriffs Association has voted to support Burright.

“It’s been a challenge,” Burright said in December of the race thus far. He added that there has been “animosity” in the office, but he said he doesn’t want to come across as being negative.

“My ultimate goal is to provide the citizens with the best law enforcement while running for sheriff at the same time,” he said.

Contacted Thursday, he said the letter was meant as a “warning, telling them to back off,” and he said there haven’t been any major problems since the letter was sent to the county.

In the letter, Burright’s attorney, Martha L. Walters of Eugene, accused Swinyard and Simpson of several actions against Burright.

She said those actions included: An investigation of Burright’s work computer, searching his patrol car, acting hostile to him in public, questioning him about ordinary purchases, passing over him for an open lieutenant position and not turning in a worker’s compensation claim for him on time — leading to a denial of his claim.

“Sgt. Burright has a constitutional right to run for office and to speak out on matters of public concern,” Walters wrote in her letter. “Sgt. Burright has already suffered damage as a result of wrongful discrimination and retaliation. If his career or his political aspirations are further destroyed, the damages will be much more significant. Please take steps to ensure that this does not happen.”

Regarding the computer, Swinyard said the investigation began after an allegation of pornography on the hard drive. “For all intents and purposes, the allegation was unfounded,” he said.

Swinyard said there was one image found, but it appeared to have come from an e-mail from someone else. He added that Burright shares the computer with another deputy. The sheriff had no other comment about the letter.

Croney said the letter is the only communication he’s received from Walters, and he declined to comment further.

Asked about the issue, Jay Dixon, chairman of the Benton County Board of Commissioners, would only say that it sounded “like electioneering” to him.

Voters will pick a sheriff in the November election, unless a third candidate files for the race. If that happens, a primary election will go on the May ballot and the two candidates with the most votes go on the November ballot. If one of three candidates receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, that person would be the only one whose name would appear on the November ballot.

I'm not sure why the Sheriff thought he needed to put that the investigation was based on a false allegation of pornography. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to just say a false allegation? They normally don't release information from internal investigations to the media, especially when they're false. I'm sure this "slip up" was completely political, or to use Jay Dixon's big word, "electioneering."

This just looks like a waste of the citizen's tax dollars again.