Incumbent Ron Ball running against Brodie Riding for Madison County Sheriff

REXBURG — Incumbent Ron Ball is moving against Brodie Riding to beryllium nan sheriff successful Madison County.

Ball was appointed by nan region commissioners arsenic nan Madison County Sheriff successful November. Riding antecedently worked for nan Madison County Sheriff’s Office for 15 years.

This position is simply a four-year term. Both candidates were astatine nan Romance Theater earlier successful May, giving Rexburg residents an opportunity to perceive from them.

RELATED | Candidates talk their priorities successful Rexburg ‘Meet nan Candidates’ forum

Click here to position Ball’s run website.

Click here to position Riding’s run website.

EastIdahoNews.com sent nan aforesaid 8 questions to each region candidate. Their responses, listed below, were required to beryllium 250 words aliases less. EastIdahoNews.com is publishing nan answers successful their entirety and without grammatical aliases style editing.

The superior predetermination is May 21.

Tell america astir yourself — see accusation astir your family, career, education, unpaid activity and immoderate anterior acquisition successful nationalist office.

Ball: I admit nan opportunity to present myself. My sanction is Ron Ball and I americium presently nan Madison County Sheriff. I person lived my full life successful Eastern Idaho and person been joined to my wife, Julie Bischoff, for 32 years. We person 4 children and 2 grandchildren, pinch a 3rd connected nan way. They each unrecorded successful nan Rexburg area. This organization has nan family values that I want for my children and grandchildren.

I person 32 years of rule enforcement experience, including clip successful patrol, canine, supplier task force, detective, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and 13 years arsenic nan lieutenant complete nan Detective Division of nan Rexburg Police Department. In November of 2023, I was unanimously appointed by nan County Commissioners arsenic nan Madison County Sheriff.

I person a bachelor’s grade successful Organizational Leadership from nan University of Charleston, West Virginia, and americium a postgraduate of nan FBI National Academy, wherever only 1 percent of each rule enforcement officers are invited to attend. I clasp Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Management Certifications from Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST).

I person served successful nan organization arsenic a Family Crisis Center committee personnel for 10 years – President for 6 years. I served arsenic President of nan American Legion Baseball Association and coached various younker sports teams including football, baseball, softball and basketball. I americium presently a referee for District Six and Idaho State High School Football Referee Associations, a erstwhile younker Hunters Education Instructor and americium a D.A.R.E Board Member.

Riding: My sanction is Brodie Riding, a proud autochthonal of Rexburg. I graduated from Madison High School successful 2000, aft which I served a ngo for nan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints successful nan Philippines, Cebu mission.  Upon my return, I met my wife, Cynthia, and we person been blessed pinch 4 children. I person dedicated 15 years to serving astatine nan Madison County Sheriff’s Office, starting arsenic a reserve patrol Deputy and climbing nan ranks to corporal and past sergeant successful nan patrol division. Additionally, I person spent a decade connected nan S.W.A.T team, yet starring it arsenic commander. Currently, I unpaid astatine my section religion and assistance successful coaching a younker shot team, uncovering joyousness successful watching nan maturation of our community's youth. While this is my first task into nationalist office, my committedness to work runs deep.

Why are you seeking governmental office? Briefly explicate your governmental platform.

Riding: I americium seeking governmental agency to service my organization diligently. My level revolves astir safeguarding our younker and schools, tackling nan scourge of supplier abuse, addressing intelligence wellness issues, and prioritizing nan recruitment and retention of skilled unit astatine nan Sheriff’s Office. Protecting our younker involves collaborating pinch schoolhouse officials to fortify information measures. Combatting supplier abuse, particularly nan fentanyl crisis, which demands accrued resources and vigilance. Prioritizing intelligence wellness training for rule enforcement ensures due responses to crises. Recruiting and retaining value labor are pivotal for organizational success.

Ball: Madison County is simply a awesome spot to raise a family and it is important to maine support it safe for my family and each who reside successful this community. Since nan time I took office, I said that I want to return a bully agency and make it moreover better. I person made it a extremity to make each worker consciousness that I americium invested successful them and nan occurrence of nan Sheriff’s Office.

My level emphasizes Experience, Integrity and Leadership. With complete 32 years of experience, location isn’t overmuch that I haven’t seen aliases done successful rule enforcement. My acquisition has prepared maine for nan astir challenging circumstances. I person supervised investigators successful immoderate of nan astir heinous crimes imaginable and worked pinch authorities and national officers connected large-scaled investigations.

Integrity and honesty are 2 of nan astir important basal requirements of immoderate rule enforcement officer. I judge these qualities are moreover much important arsenic a leader. I effort to support integrity and honesty successful my occupation and successful my regular actions. In my extended career, I person ne'er been disciplined, demoted aliases suspended for immoderate logic because morals are important to maine and I purpose to beryllium an illustration to those I service and those I service with.

Leadership is earned, not given. Our actions dictate what benignant of leaders we are. Twenty-five years of my profession person been successful activity positions. I not only strive to beryllium a bully leader but to animate others to create activity skills for nan future.

What areas successful your region request contiguous improvement? What actions will you return to reside those needs?

Ball: When I was appointed arsenic Sheriff, I saw immoderate areas that I thought needed betterment wrong nan Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and I person diligently worked to reside those. One request I saw was successful dispatch, arsenic nan Madison County Sheriff’s Office was often losing dispatchers to different agencies. I person organized dispatch, giving them a ranking building and a statement of authority. I felt for illustration this was needed to pull and clasp dispatchers. We person besides precocious opened a caller 911 center.

I besides saw nan request to commencement an emergency consequence team, which Madison County hasn’t had for nan past 4 aliases 5 years. I felt for illustration this was an important request for nan County. I person done that and we will beryllium moving pinch neighboring agencies who I person a awesome moving narration with, to train and create members of this team.

A large interest pinch rule enforcement is nan ongoing pandemic of intelligence health. In my career, I person attended acold excessively galore calls involving intelligence wellness issues, including suicide, constituent abuse, and addiction. I scheme to activity pinch nan caller Center for Hope Recovery Center, which precocious opened successful Rexburg and utilize nan resources they provide. I will beryllium an progressive subordinate successful uncovering intends to thief those successful need, arsenic good arsenic early involution programs to instrumentality wrong nan community.

I intend to activity pinch nan Madison County Commissioners and nan different region offices to make judge each nan needs of nan region are being addressed.

Riding: Immediate betterment successful our region necessitates enhanced organization engagement. Utilizing societal media and conducting face-to-face meetings, we will solicit nationalist input to place and reside privilege areas.

What are nan top semipermanent challenges facing group successful your county? What is your scheme to meet those challenges?

Riding: Long-term challenges see managing nan maturation of our county. Expanding nan Sheriff’s Office and securing reliable unit are important steps to meet this demand.

Ball: The organization of Madison County continues to turn and pinch that maturation comes challenges. In nan past fewer years we person seen murders, serviceman progressive shootings, nan emergence of fentanyl maltreatment and nan exploitation of children connected nan internet, conscionable to sanction a few. The situation is to enactment up of nan game. My scheme is to put into spot a full-time supplier enforcement serviceman to activity intimately pinch detectives from nan Rexburg Police Department and from surrounding agencies to combat nan warfare connected drugs. We person successful spot a detective that useful intimately pinch nan Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Recently this task unit has made arrests of individuals that unrecorded wrong Madison County.

Training is important truthful that we tin interact appropriately pinch those we serve. We besides request bully value serviceman information training for our officers. New techniques and devices are being taught each nan clip and nan situation is to support officers good trained. This is 1 of nan reasons why it is truthful important to person an capable training budget. Staying competitory successful wages and benefits is important, but moving to make nan Sheriff’s Office a spot wherever group tin activity and bask their occupation is conscionable arsenic important. I judge successful and strive to beryllium invested successful my labor and to thief them succeed.

I intend to proceed to beryllium progressive wrong nan Madison County community, truthful I tin beryllium alert of issues facing nan citizens and what their concerns are.

How will you champion correspond nan views of your constituents – moreover those pinch differing governmental views? How will you pass straight pinch constituents?

Ball: I intend to support and take sides nan Constitution and to service and protect each citizens. Sheriffs are accountable to each constituents of nan region sloppy of sex, race, statement lines, etc. All Sheriffs person taken this oath and are responsible to adhere to nan promise. As nan Sheriff, I cognize really important it is to perceive and activity pinch nan citizens of nan region I represent. Two of nan champion ways to correspond nan nationalist is to ne'er do thing to suffer their spot and to ever beryllium transparent. That tin beryllium communicated done my actions.

As your Sheriff I would strive to ne'er do thing to tarnish nan office. Sheriffs and their deputies are often nan ones that galore move to successful clip of situation and that is why religion successful nan Sheriff’s Office is truthful important. My agency doorway is ever unfastened and will ever stay unfastened for anyone who wants to definitive a interest aliases an thought of what we, arsenic an office, tin do better. Even if their views whitethorn beryllium different than mine, it’s important to beryllium consenting to perceive and return into information their constituent of view.

My ideas should beryllium communicated pinch our citizens by nan measurement of nan press, societal media and organization gatherings. I want group to cognize that they tin travel to nan Office of nan Sheriff of Madison County and beryllium down pinch maine and beryllium heard. An honorable dialect proves to beryllium nan champion way to a solution.

Riding: Representing divers viewpoints requires progressive listening and fostering unfastened communication. I will accommodate various connection preferences, ensuring each constituents consciousness heard and valued.

What parts of nan region fund could usage much funding? Where are places successful nan fund that cuts could beryllium made?

Riding: Additional backing should beryllium allocated to training and worker wages to support precocious standards and retention. Budget cuts, if necessary, could beryllium explored successful different area areas for illustration conveyance maintenance.

Ball: County governments thin to beryllium fiscally responsible successful mounting region budgets and monitoring spending of those funds. I consciousness for illustration I tin activity wrong nan fund group to make nan champion choices and supply for nan needs of nan Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Those parts of nan region fund that could ever usage much backing are pay, benefits and training. These areas are paramount successful retaining good, trained, personnel. It’s besides challenging to supply nan champion up-dated instrumentality for our deputies to usage successful nan various aspects of their jobs. The past point immoderate Sheriff would ever want is to suffer labor because of fund constraints. This is why it’s important to beryllium imaginative wherever you person your backing by utilizing imaginable grants to supplement these areas. Various grants are disposable and should beryllium cautiously considered and aggressively pursued. Unlike a municipality, counties are constricted to a 3% summation successful budget. That summation needs to beryllium utilized wisely.

Typically, erstwhile fund cuts are made, they are successful nan areas of training and equipment. The services we supply to citizens are basal and keeping our training and instrumentality apical notch is important. Reduction successful training translates into unit that are little tin of handling difficult situations. I intend to make judge we person certified instructors wrong our section and successful practice pinch neighboring agencies, to support training costs down. Of course, I will ever beryllium mindful of places wherever costs could amended beryllium utilized wrong nan Sheriff’s budget.

What is nan domiciled of section media successful your community? How tin region officials activity to person a amended narration pinch nan media?

Ball: It would beryllium detrimental for immoderate Sheriff’s Office to not person a bully narration pinch nan media. Emergency responders tin use from nan media to support nan nationalist informed astir situation situations aliases events. One domiciled of nan media is to stitchery accusation and correctly relay that accusation to thief amended nan public. In today’s world pinch truthful galore different types of media avenues for illustration Facebook, Instagram and others, stories are being reported earlier departments person a chance to hole statements. We unrecorded successful a world wherever group transportation hand-held devices that they tin look up thing almost instantly.

Most media unit successful our area are awesome to activity with. I person talked pinch reporters successful respective different situations. I person a bully narration pinch galore news outlets and that practice is captious truthful nan media realizes why, astatine times, you cannot merchandise definite accusation because of an ongoing investigation aliases a tribunal order.

We usage nan media to beforehand nan Sheriff’s Office and support a affirmative image successful nan community. I judge nan organization wants to cognize what we are doing arsenic an statement and I would alternatively person a narration wherever I could person a speech and relay accusation arsenic I want it heard. If that narration is not there, past nan media has to study connected what accusation they person and this leads to distrust. We request to train our officers really to interact pinch nan media and stay transparent pinch them and successful return, we will person nan public’s trust.

Riding: Local media plays a captious domiciled successful informing nan community. Regular meetings betwixt officials and media outlets tin foster transparency and trust, benefiting some parties and nan public.

Voter turnout and information continues to beryllium debased successful Idaho. What efforts tin beryllium made to stimulate greater elector engagement successful elections and government?

Riding: Stimulating elector engagement entails proactive outreach done aggregate channels and ensuring easy entree to polling locations. Simplifying nan voting process tin promote greater participation.

Ball: As I person prepared to tally for and support nan agency of Sheriff, elector turnout is ever connected my mind. Elections for County offices are often decided during a superior election. This can, astatine times discourage group from voting erstwhile successful reality, it should bring them retired to vote. In my campaign, I americium going to talk to group and promote them to them to registry to vote, if they aren’t registered, and to find their precinct and polling spot wherever they should vote. I will besides beforehand absentee voting for those who are not capable to spell to their polling spot connected predetermination day.

I intend to put a nexus connected my predetermination website (voteronballforsheriff.com) and Facebook page (Ron Ball for Madison County Sheriff) that will return voters straight to wherever they tin registry and find retired accusation connected their polling place. During my run arsenic I talk to group successful nan community, I will promote them to make judge they are registered, and get retired to vote, truthful their voices tin beryllium heard. I will besides activity to pass those I travel successful interaction pinch regarding nan different issues connected nan ballot truthful that I tin reply immoderate questions if I americium asked.

I person looked into past elector turn-outs astatine elections successful Madison County, and I dream to travel up pinch a scheme to get nan connection retired to each demographics by societal media, individual interaction, and gathering pinch organization groups.