Wheeler and Hanna vying for sheriff's post

SANDPOINT - The general election for the next Bonner County sheriff could go down as one of the of friendliest in recent memory.

Democrat nominee Larry Hanna and Republican nominee Daryl Wheeler see eye-to-eye on a number of issues and their respective campaigns have been free of sniping, sabotage attempts or personal attacks.

The friendly rivalry stands in stark contrast to the heated primary, which featured a five-way shoot-out for the GOP nod that Wheeler won handily.

Hanna was a shoo-in for his party's nomination after Tony Lamanna pulled out of the race and managed to pull more than a hundred more votes than Republican incumbent Sheriff Elaine Savage.

"Everybody wants the other guy to do the bad job," Hanna said, referring to the often thankless and sometimes dangerous task of being the county's top law officer. "Daryl and I want do to the bad job."

Both are campaigning on beefing up the department's patrol capabilities to address the perception that the county's back roads are often devoid of a law-enforcement presence.

Wheeler, currently a Sandpoint Police officer, said the first thing he intends to do if elected is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the job duties of every sworn officer in the department and determine if it's the best use of resources, which he hopes will lead to more deputies on the road.

"The patrol division is very important and I want to get people out on patrol and make that a priority. I think making that assessment is going to be very crucial. No position will escape scrutiny," said Wheeler.

Hanna, a musician and businessman, has a similar goal. He wants to examine job descriptions to maximize efficiency and direct resources accordingly.

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"My idea of efficient law enforcement is to have as many people out on the street doing the job of policing," said Hanna.

The two candidates want put a dent in the drug trade coursing through the county, although they have different approaches.

Hanna advocates adding to the ranks of K-9 officers so more vehicles can be checked during traffic stops and around schools.

"Increasing the K-9 abilities of the sheriff's department would be a great step forward," Hanna said.

Wheeler acknowledges that a drug dog can be deployed under almost any circumstance to sniff the perimeter of a vehicle for the presence of contraband.

"Legally you can do that - the air around a car is free; you can search it. But is it good practice? No. I think you need to develop some suspicion before you deploy a drug dog," Wheeler said.

Wheeler said he would rather see the county devote resources to reviving the Sundance Drug Task Force, a narcotics unit staffed by Sandpoint police and sheriff's detectives. The task force was disbanded in 2005.

"I'd really like to see a partnership between the sheriff's office, the narcotics detectives and all of the local police departments," he said, noting that the flow of drugs observes no jurisdictional boundaries. "Those arrests need to coordinated so that they're not doubling the resources and doubling work."

Hanna and Wheeler have also been outspoken critics of the county's plan to replace the juvenile detention center and build a new work-release center without a vote of the public.

"Whatever happens, in my personal opinion, it should be presented to the public with full disclosure and you've got to put it before the voters," said Hanna.

Wheeler suspects his criticism of the county commission's expansion plan factored into the board's decision to cut the sheriff's salary by $1,700 in the next fiscal year's budget.

Commissioners have maintained the pay cut was implemented to ward off situations where appointed department officials would make a better wage than the elected officials they serve under.

Despite some of the platform similarities, Hanna and Wheeler have conducted completely different campaigns. Hanna's has been decidedly low-key and free of contributions and expenditures. Wheeler, meanwhile, has amassed a wealth of contributions to promote his candidacy.

But perhaps the largest difference between the two sheriff hopefuls is law enforcement experience. Wheeler has gathered nearly 23 years of experience spread between California and here, where he serves as a fully certified patrol commander.

"I've got relationships with the prosecutor's office, the current training and I'm just way ahead of things compared to what he has," Wheeler said.

Hanna has three years of law enforcement experience with the National Park Service's Yellowstone and Yosemite parks. On assignment in the latter park, Hanna said he was on duty during violent and widely publicized rioting by counterculture youth in 1970.

"For me, it's a challenge and I like challenges," Hanna said of his candidacy.