Newton Kansan
NEWTON —
Why Jolliff for sheriff? We as voters un-elected Sheriff A. J. Wuthnow in the August primary.
Now it is time to select either Bruce Jolliff or T. Walton as sheriff. Both have worked as patrolmen, both have worked as detectives and both have been in charge of the Newton Police Department Investigation Unit. Both men have been involved with community groups. All good things to have as a sheriff. However, here is what separates the two. In addition to his investigation experience, Jolliff has been the lead supervisor of the Newton Police Department Patrol Division. He has experienced the need to keep patrol officers on the street, shifts covered due to officers on sick leave, vacation, court appearances and assigning officers to training. Managing the budgets to control overtime hours and operational expenses, including the patrol car fleet, clearly demands on-the-job experience. In July, Sheriff Wuthnow was questioned on spending $29,000 of non-competitive bid work in which he paid his family company to do the work in violation of a longstanding county purchasing policy designed to secure competitive bids. When asked about the issue, T. Walton stated in The Wichita Eagle, July 25, page 7A, he didn’t see a conflict. T. Walton went on to say in the same article, “It’d be a problem if he (Wuthnow) made lots and lots of money, but he didn’t.” While $29,000 is not a lot of money to T. Walton, to me $29,000 is more money than some Harvey County families earn in a year and more money than some of the sheriff’s road deputies and jailers earn in a year. The need for a sheriff with fiscal responsibility and personnel management experience, voters and taxpayers of Harvey County, is why Bruce Jolliff needs your support and vote for sheriff on Nov. 4. — Larry Pippitt,Newton
