Ron Schmidt, St. Joseph
With the Stearns County Sheriff election taking place this fall, I want to remind everyone that your vote matters. Please make sure you exercise your right and get out to vote. I have had the pleasure to know and work with each of the candidates running for sheriff. With that being said, I have decided to cast my vote for Steve Soyka for the following reasons:
Steve has worked a combined 27 years in sheriff’s offices in Central Minnesota and for the past 22 years at the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office. He has worked for the past nine years as a sergeant. Steve is well liked throughout the Sheriff’s Office and respected by his fellow deputies. Throughout the years, Steve has worked his way up in the department to include becoming commander of the Stearns-Benton County SWAT team, and commander of the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force, an eight-agency, five-county cooperative effort to combat illegal drugs and violent criminals.
The position of sheriff takes knowledge of running a large department from the patrol division to the jail and dispatch. Steve has the qualities and experience to run such a department as he has proven during the past several years in taking on demanding roles. Steve conducts himself in a professional manner on or off duty working hard to better the community around him. I have witnessed Steve in some of the most intense high-stress moments and he has always conducted himself in a calm manner that not only creates a calm environment but allows the task at hand to be executed in the safest manner possible.
Please join me on Nov. 6 in casting your vote for the candidate that has you, the public, as his priority. Please vote for Steve Soyka for Stearns County sheriff.