A candidates' forum at the Quilcene Fire Station on Herbert Street turned personal, as incumbent Jefferson County Sheriff David Stanko and his opponent, Deputy Joe Nole, went head to head Aug. 16.

Stanko is running for a second term in office, and he described the sheriff's department before he took over four years ago as being run “by a bunch of bullies,” which he cited as one of his reasons for reassigning and demoting a number of personnel, whom he described as working inappropriate shifts or second jobs.

While Stanko referred to himself as a “change agent,” and questioned why Nole hadn't called out what Stanko saw as problematic aspects of the department, Nole criticized what he saw as insufficient training under Stanko's watch, in areas ranging from non-escalation to domestic violence responses.

Nole, a former undersheriff and acting sheriff, characterized morale in the sheriff's department as being at an all-time low under Stanko, and touted the endorsements he'd received in his campaign to replace Stanko, from the past five county sheriffs, the Teamsters' union and the East Jefferson Professional Firefighters' union.

There were certain areas on which Stanko and Nole were in agreement. When one forum attendee referred to a case involving a person who'd committed criminal offenses but returned to their neighborhood due to determinations they were dealing with mental health issues, both men deemed mental health to be a complicating factor.

Stanko pointed out the Jefferson County Jail is already accommodating roughly 50 to 60 incarcerated persons, and lamented that “there aren't enough beds” for those with mental health problems, while Nole likewise conceded the limits of law enforcement, unless such individuals pose a danger to themselves or others.

Stanko and Nole were in similar accord about the Safe Place Program, debuted by the Seattle Police Department and subsequently supported by Stanko, to distribute placards to local businesses, identifying them as safe places for LGBTQ or other victims of a crime, should they need to come in off the street and dial 911.

Stanko deemed it a means of aiding “an underserved community,” and Nole stated that he “fully support(ed) it” as “a good idea.”

Where Stanko and Nole came to blows again was over a set of performance evaluations, that Port Ludlow resident John Tevis had obtained through public records requests, in which Stanko wrote that Nole had demonstrated a lack of not only time management, but also the ability to complete tasks, which Nole signed off on by writing that he agreed and would make an effort to improve.

Nole responded by attributing the evals to him and Stanko parting ways ideologically, in terms of how they each thought the department should be run.

“We don't have the same vision or goals,” Nole said.

Nole claimed he was distracted from his own duties by helping other deputies with theirs, and even attributed his bid for the sheriff's office to those deputies approaching him.

“They were the ones who encouraged me to run,” Nole said.

“Being the sheriff is like managing a business,” Stanko said. “I've had to demote people, and relieve them of duty, and it's been the hardest things I've had to do, but I disciplined them for the good of the organization.”

Stanko pointed to evals that Nole received as early as 1995, well before his own tenure as sheriff, which were not positive.

“Joe Nole is a nice guy, but he's not a leader,” Stanko said. “Those five past sheriffs who endorsed him, they had opportunities to enact the reforms that I did, and they didn't take them. I did.”

Nole referred back to Stanko's evals, quoting praise Stanko offered for him as a detective, and asked him to reconcile these compliments with his criticisms.

“I'm a great detective,” Nole said. “You agreed with that. Otherwise, if I was so horrible, why would you have me back?”

Stanko concluded by listing “the balance” of duties that the county sheriff is responsible for, including managing the various divisions of the department.

“It's not a detective's job,” Stanko said. “You have to make much tougher decisions.”