Candidate Name: John Bredeson
Address: 441 W Estey St., Shullsburg, WI 53586
Age: 53
Education: Graduated from Darlington High School, 1975. I have attended several FENNIMORE Vocational Technical classes including Emergency Medical Technical, Fire Fighter I and II. Also many continuing education classes related to both of the classes. I have also had several management classes related to my current profession in the trucking industry relating to employee relations, drug awareness and management classes. Plus a lifetime of common sense.
Current Job: I have owned and operated my own business, John Farms and Home since 1989. I started with general repair and construction with heavy equipment excavation. Now I mostly concentrate on trucking where we haul Lignin from paper mills to a sugar refinery in Thompson, IL.
Family: I am the son of Archie and Elaine Bredeson of Darlington, WI. I am a life long resident of Lafayette County and the surrounding area.
Post you are seeking: Independent candidate for Sheriff of Lafayette County.
Why are you running?
I got involved in running a little over two years ago when I believe there was an attempt to take over the police department in Shullsburg by the Lafayette County sheriffs office. There were threats to discontinue accepting any prisoners or taking emergency 911 calls from the Shullsburg police department from the current sheriff, if they were to hire a former Lafayette County deputy. I believe that this policy could have jeopardized the safety of all the citizens of the city of Shullsburg. The former deputy was seeking part-time employment from Shullsburg Police Department after he had been injured while off-duty, then dismissed by the sheriff. I also believe there were personal disagreements between this deputy, Chief Strause and Sheriff Pedley. This action was confirmed by the current Police Chief at the time, John Strause. There were also two Lafayette County deputies on the city Council at the time and also one other council member that I also believe were actively pursing the agenda to eliminate our police force. This is the same time when Lafayette County deputies were manning the squad cars of three villages in our county. Those villages were South Wayne, Benton, and Blanchardville. The mayor at the time Tom Curran kept this off of the agenda until after the spring elections when the balance of power at Shullsburg city council was upset during those elections. The next council did not want this line of authority to continue in the city. I was actively involved in an information campaign that led to the upset of power in our city council election. It was then that I was approached by several past and present County board members who asked me to consider a run for Sheriff. They also felt that the budget issues were becoming a grave danger to the county.
As a past member of the county board, I am very aware of the structure of our local government. I believe that this very structure is why the necessary change to reduce the size of government never happens. The county board of structured by the long time occupants of those county board seats with committees that are layered with the proper amount of yes votes to achieve the outcome that is desired. The sheriff has control of one of those budgets. He also is the only department head that is elected and responsible to the electorate. No other department is elected. They are all appointed by the county board. Their number one job is to protect and preserve the bureaucracy in which they exist.
Due to the fact that the county is self insured with unemployment, we can never lay any of these employees off without having to still pay them through unemployment compensation. That's why this will have to be done by attrition in retirement not a direct lay off. I have obtained an overtime report from 2009 that showed over forty-two employees at the sheriff's office. We have many good employees at the sheriffs office and I'm sure that none of them are wanting to lose their jobs in this economy. It is imperative that staff and overtime must be reduced over the long term. We simply can not sustain this staff size or the fact that every road deputy has a take home squad car. I realize that there are times when this must happen for some members of the staff. They may have to take a vehicle home to use because they are on call. But earlier this summer Lafayette County sheriff had at least twenty-three squad cars on the county clerk's title list. That is simply too many vehicles to maintain and operate for the size of this county.
Many deputies that live on the west side of the county do patrol on a regular basis on the east side causing excess miles and travel. I feel that twelve vehicles with one undercover would be sustainable. Also starting to transfer the squad car fleet by purchasing fourwheel drive pickups like an F150 four door could save a considerable amount of money every year. These pickups can be purchased for about $23,000 with the municipal discounts afforded to all county government. This about the same amount for a Ford Explorer or a Crown Victoria that is presently used. When the trucks are traded about three years old they are worth $20,000. Instead of kept like a Crown Victoria squad car. The after use market and value at an auction is almost worthless, around $1,500. If you can even get a bidder. The net cost for each squad per year would be about $1000 per year per unit. For a total cost per year for a fleet of twelve at $1200. I travel all over the United States. The Police, the Sheriff's department and the State Patrol are doing this all over the country in rural area to save money and provide more reliable equipment during inclement weather. This measure along with not rehiring the first two employees that retire would save the county $250,000 per year. The duties left open by these two employees could be absorbed by the rest of the staff. With no interruption in service to the county. I also think that the sheriff of Lafayette County should be a working sheriff to be actively involved in investigations as well as filling in on patrol with vacant shifts and peak times to avoid overtime and part-time usage of the staff. This should also be done by the undersheriffs, whose position was eliminated a number of years ago. This position would also be accountable to the voters. I also will make sure that during the 2012 fall election cycle that there will be a ballot initiative to limit the sheriff's position to a two-term limit. This will be for myself if the voters choose me to be the next sheriff. Also anyone that follows me. This will also ensure that any deputy could run for this position without fear of retaliation while being employed by the current sheriff.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?
There have been some questions of my non-law enforcement background. This doesn't concern me at all. The sheriff's position is largely a management and policy direction position. Most older deputies have only eight to twelve weeks of police academy. I feel that the training available offered for new sheriffs would be a very good start. I will also continue my education if the voters choose me as their next sheriff to take the courses offered by either Fennimore Vocational Technical School or Blackhawk Technical College at my own expense. The sixty credits that are required can be taken over a period of five years so long as you are employed by a law enforcement agency. However this does not apply to an elected position like a sheriff. This continued education will only compliment the experience I have gained from running my own service related business since 1989. I know what it takes to make a payroll and where the money has to come from to do this. I also feel that if its time for a change from a non-political outsider to take a good hard look at how our government is handling the business of the people. The first priority should be to serve and protect the citizens of this country. As I talked to many folks they are very worried that the time of leaving your home unlocked has long past and some illegal activity in the county has not had the proper attention.
What are the biggest issues facing the district?
The most important and pressing issue facing not only Lafayette County but every one across the country is the budget issue. Our Government simply cannot continue to spend and do business the same way they have been doing in the past. Lafayette County last year had a little over $900,000 in delinquent tax August 15th, 2009. Right after this, the Sheriff's office went from issuing about 140 per month to over 500 on August 2009. This year August 2010 the delinquent tax went over $1,000,000. But due to the election cycle the tickets have dropped to only 49 and 36 in the last two months. What do you feel will happen to the ticket numbers after November? If we have the same people in charge again? This should be a giant red flag to our county officials that we as taxpayers cannot keep taking from everyone's daily operating expenses to keep an overgrown government running. During the primary in September, the voters in the Black Hawk School District overwhelmingly rejected a spending issue from the district for the second time. I think that the taxpayer has had quite enough of the experience afforded from a twenty year incumbent.
Address: 441 W Estey St., Shullsburg, WI 53586
Age: 53
Education: Graduated from Darlington High School, 1975. I have attended several FENNIMORE Vocational Technical classes including Emergency Medical Technical, Fire Fighter I and II. Also many continuing education classes related to both of the classes. I have also had several management classes related to my current profession in the trucking industry relating to employee relations, drug awareness and management classes. Plus a lifetime of common sense.
Current Job: I have owned and operated my own business, John Farms and Home since 1989. I started with general repair and construction with heavy equipment excavation. Now I mostly concentrate on trucking where we haul Lignin from paper mills to a sugar refinery in Thompson, IL.
Family: I am the son of Archie and Elaine Bredeson of Darlington, WI. I am a life long resident of Lafayette County and the surrounding area.
Post you are seeking: Independent candidate for Sheriff of Lafayette County.
Why are you running?
I got involved in running a little over two years ago when I believe there was an attempt to take over the police department in Shullsburg by the Lafayette County sheriffs office. There were threats to discontinue accepting any prisoners or taking emergency 911 calls from the Shullsburg police department from the current sheriff, if they were to hire a former Lafayette County deputy. I believe that this policy could have jeopardized the safety of all the citizens of the city of Shullsburg. The former deputy was seeking part-time employment from Shullsburg Police Department after he had been injured while off-duty, then dismissed by the sheriff. I also believe there were personal disagreements between this deputy, Chief Strause and Sheriff Pedley. This action was confirmed by the current Police Chief at the time, John Strause. There were also two Lafayette County deputies on the city Council at the time and also one other council member that I also believe were actively pursing the agenda to eliminate our police force. This is the same time when Lafayette County deputies were manning the squad cars of three villages in our county. Those villages were South Wayne, Benton, and Blanchardville. The mayor at the time Tom Curran kept this off of the agenda until after the spring elections when the balance of power at Shullsburg city council was upset during those elections. The next council did not want this line of authority to continue in the city. I was actively involved in an information campaign that led to the upset of power in our city council election. It was then that I was approached by several past and present County board members who asked me to consider a run for Sheriff. They also felt that the budget issues were becoming a grave danger to the county.
As a past member of the county board, I am very aware of the structure of our local government. I believe that this very structure is why the necessary change to reduce the size of government never happens. The county board of structured by the long time occupants of those county board seats with committees that are layered with the proper amount of yes votes to achieve the outcome that is desired. The sheriff has control of one of those budgets. He also is the only department head that is elected and responsible to the electorate. No other department is elected. They are all appointed by the county board. Their number one job is to protect and preserve the bureaucracy in which they exist.
Due to the fact that the county is self insured with unemployment, we can never lay any of these employees off without having to still pay them through unemployment compensation. That's why this will have to be done by attrition in retirement not a direct lay off. I have obtained an overtime report from 2009 that showed over forty-two employees at the sheriff's office. We have many good employees at the sheriffs office and I'm sure that none of them are wanting to lose their jobs in this economy. It is imperative that staff and overtime must be reduced over the long term. We simply can not sustain this staff size or the fact that every road deputy has a take home squad car. I realize that there are times when this must happen for some members of the staff. They may have to take a vehicle home to use because they are on call. But earlier this summer Lafayette County sheriff had at least twenty-three squad cars on the county clerk's title list. That is simply too many vehicles to maintain and operate for the size of this county.
Many deputies that live on the west side of the county do patrol on a regular basis on the east side causing excess miles and travel. I feel that twelve vehicles with one undercover would be sustainable. Also starting to transfer the squad car fleet by purchasing fourwheel drive pickups like an F150 four door could save a considerable amount of money every year. These pickups can be purchased for about $23,000 with the municipal discounts afforded to all county government. This about the same amount for a Ford Explorer or a Crown Victoria that is presently used. When the trucks are traded about three years old they are worth $20,000. Instead of kept like a Crown Victoria squad car. The after use market and value at an auction is almost worthless, around $1,500. If you can even get a bidder. The net cost for each squad per year would be about $1000 per year per unit. For a total cost per year for a fleet of twelve at $1200. I travel all over the United States. The Police, the Sheriff's department and the State Patrol are doing this all over the country in rural area to save money and provide more reliable equipment during inclement weather. This measure along with not rehiring the first two employees that retire would save the county $250,000 per year. The duties left open by these two employees could be absorbed by the rest of the staff. With no interruption in service to the county. I also think that the sheriff of Lafayette County should be a working sheriff to be actively involved in investigations as well as filling in on patrol with vacant shifts and peak times to avoid overtime and part-time usage of the staff. This should also be done by the undersheriffs, whose position was eliminated a number of years ago. This position would also be accountable to the voters. I also will make sure that during the 2012 fall election cycle that there will be a ballot initiative to limit the sheriff's position to a two-term limit. This will be for myself if the voters choose me to be the next sheriff. Also anyone that follows me. This will also ensure that any deputy could run for this position without fear of retaliation while being employed by the current sheriff.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?
There have been some questions of my non-law enforcement background. This doesn't concern me at all. The sheriff's position is largely a management and policy direction position. Most older deputies have only eight to twelve weeks of police academy. I feel that the training available offered for new sheriffs would be a very good start. I will also continue my education if the voters choose me as their next sheriff to take the courses offered by either Fennimore Vocational Technical School or Blackhawk Technical College at my own expense. The sixty credits that are required can be taken over a period of five years so long as you are employed by a law enforcement agency. However this does not apply to an elected position like a sheriff. This continued education will only compliment the experience I have gained from running my own service related business since 1989. I know what it takes to make a payroll and where the money has to come from to do this. I also feel that if its time for a change from a non-political outsider to take a good hard look at how our government is handling the business of the people. The first priority should be to serve and protect the citizens of this country. As I talked to many folks they are very worried that the time of leaving your home unlocked has long past and some illegal activity in the county has not had the proper attention.
What are the biggest issues facing the district?
The most important and pressing issue facing not only Lafayette County but every one across the country is the budget issue. Our Government simply cannot continue to spend and do business the same way they have been doing in the past. Lafayette County last year had a little over $900,000 in delinquent tax August 15th, 2009. Right after this, the Sheriff's office went from issuing about 140 per month to over 500 on August 2009. This year August 2010 the delinquent tax went over $1,000,000. But due to the election cycle the tickets have dropped to only 49 and 36 in the last two months. What do you feel will happen to the ticket numbers after November? If we have the same people in charge again? This should be a giant red flag to our county officials that we as taxpayers cannot keep taking from everyone's daily operating expenses to keep an overgrown government running. During the primary in September, the voters in the Black Hawk School District overwhelmingly rejected a spending issue from the district for the second time. I think that the taxpayer has had quite enough of the experience afforded from a twenty year incumbent.