Letter to the Editor
Citizen of Clearwater County,
With early voting already started and the Primary Election coming up on August 11th, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone that has come out to support me since I announced my candidacy in January.
I would like to tell you more about myself: I’ve lived in Clearwater County most of my life, being born and raised on my family farm just outside of Gonvick, where my family and I live now. I’m a graduate of Clearbrook – Gonvick School and Hibbing Community College, where I received my degree in Criminal Justice. I’ve made a successful career for myself in Law Enforcement, starting in 2002 right here at the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office, moving on to full-time positions at Leech Lake Tribal Police, then over 12 years with Thief River Falls Police Department. One of the proudest moments in my career was in 2017 when Sheriff Halverson had the confidence in me to ask me to return to Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office and work under him as Chief Deputy, a position that requires me to oversee all of the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office, be available to Sheriff’s Office staff 24/7 to make critical, split second decisions, for late night call outs to assist the deputies and cover open shifts as needed. This is a position that I have dedicated myself to, and excelled at for almost 10 years. Under Sheriff Halverson’s guidance and leadership, I have essentially been training to be the next Sheriff. I have worked with all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office and learned a great deal from Sheriff Halverson as well as other Sheriffs and Chief Deputies in the state through my time and training with the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association. I have experience working with the County Board of Commissioners, the County Auditor’s Office, and I have a working knowledge and experience with the Sheriff’s Office budget. I have the advantage of being the only candidate to be truly local to Clearwater County, so I feel that I have a great understanding of the needs of Clearwater County. With 24 years of Law Enforcement experience and nearly 10 years as the 2nd in command at the Sheriff’s Office, I have gained a wealth of experience in training. Along with the required annual training that all Minnesota Peace Officers do, I have completed all 4 phases of leadership training through the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association in the Institute for Credible Leadership Development. I am a certified firearms instructor, a certified Field Training Officer, a certified evidence technician, a licensed DRONE pilot, a retired Drug Recognition Expert, I have grant writing experience, and I have been the agency coordinator in numerous state funded traffic safety programs. In my time with Clearwater County, I have been a part of getting the Clearwater County Treatment Court program up and running, getting our Sheriff’s Office Drone Program off the ground, updating our Sheriff’s Office Mobile command post to a stand-alone vehicle that can be driven to a remote location to assist in search and rescue missions or evacuate our jail in an emergency. I am currently on the Clearbrook – Gonvick ISD 2311 School Board, where I have served since 2020 with the last 4 years as School Board Chairman. This experience has been a very fulfilling adventure that has taught me a lot about accountability & transparency with public funds, people, and leadership.
One of the main issues that the Sheriff’s Office faces is the ongoing mental health crisis in Minnesota. A lot of the people that we deal with on a day-to-day basis are experiencing a mental health issue, I believe that quality training for both the peace officers on the street and the jail staff will help the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office identify people in crisis and get them the appropriate help. As Sheriff, I would try to work with legislators to find a way to deal with Mental Health issues on a larger scale. Another is the ongoing issue with drugs, this is not unique to Clearwater County, as Sheriff I will continue to rely on the resources that we currently use such as quality training for our staff, our partnerships with local and federal drug and violent crime task forces, and early prevention and education programs such as D.A.R.E and our collaboration with the National Child Safety Council. I will also explore new resources to keep our drug problem to a minimum in Clearwater County.
The County Sheriff is not a position that should be taken lightly; it requires quality leadership, quick decision making, and a strong backbone to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of our County. It also requires being accountable & transparent to the citizens of Clearwater County.
Being accountable and transparent are important issues to me. In my time at Clearwater County, Sheriff Halverson and I have transformed the Sheriff’s Office into a 24-hour coverage agency using the current number of staff and funds that were budgeted, we have upgraded most of the Law Enforcement equipment to modern, high-quality standards using the funds that we are budgeted and grants that are available to us. We have started and maintained programs to assist people in crisis and to help get people the help they need when they need it most.
Throughout this election, others have talked about programs they are going to start, extra staff they want to hire, and other changes that they think need to be made. These things all cost money, money the county does not readily have without raising taxes and if there is one thing I’ve learned while serving on school board, nobody wants higher taxes. I believe our current Sheriff’s Office is very strong and that we will maintain a high level of service to the people without making any big changes over the next few years.
If you have any questions for me, you can find me on Facebook under Elect Vern Wittenberg for Clearwater County Sheriff, my website at www.wittenbergforsheriff.com, or email me at wittenbergforsheriff@gmail.com.
If elected, I will continue to lead the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office with a common sense and compassionate approach to Law Enforcement and hold myself and the Sheriff’s Office accountable to the citizens of Clearwater County.
I respectfully ask for your vote on August 11th at the primary election, and again on November 3 at the general election.
Thank you,
Vern Wittenberg