This has been one of the hottest topics in the sheriff’s race for 2024. Barry County has a very strong Second Amendment culture. The right to bear arms is a liberty we as Americans enjoy, a right that is not secured in most nations that make up the globe.

How do we secure this right? What is the best way to enjoy and preserve it?

I submit to you that liberty, whether it is the Second Amendment, First Amendment, or any of the rest has three tenets. It is the Right to do good, the Ability to do evil, with the Responsibility to refrain from evil. Liberty cannot survive under any other paradigm.

I will do everything in my power to preserve your rights but in order to maintain the liberty we enjoy we must also focus on the responsibility behind the rights. I will lead by example and protect the freedom we all enjoy not at the peril of others, but at my personal risk. This is what leading by example looks like.

The Second Amendment

Jail Conditions

It is essential that our jail is rebuilt. The conditions in the jail are not acceptable for the inmates or the workers. There are many safety issues that must be addressed.

Whether it is the crumbling infrastructure, the broken locks, the security risks, hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars from inefficient heating/cooling systems, or the lack of room for evidence storage requirements, office space, safe and private entrances to take and receive witness statements, the building isn’t going to fail us, it has already failed us.

The jail has failed state inspections and does not have the capacity to safely accommodate inmates with regard to both the inmates or the corrections officers. There are broken locks for which parts cannot be sourced to fix, doors held open by ropes tied to the wall.

The staff at the jail has put up with much grief when it comes to utilizing the antiquated facility and has been admirably squeezed every inch of usefulness out of the facility but it is time to rebuild. Any further effort to modernize the facility is past the point of diminishing returns.

Election Fraud

There have been many false allegations of election fraud flying around which have unnecessarily undermined the trust of many in the elections process here in Barry County.

The so-called experts brought into the county have been fleecing wallets and spreading lies, slandering the hard working election workers and clerks in Barry County.

These allegations include false allegations of Dominion tabulators flipping votes in four counties, two counties of the four didn’t even use Dominion machines. They claimed there were 691 missing votes in Woodland Township, a claim which was DEBUNKED by a HAND RECOUNT of ballots which proved the election was free, fair and accurate.

Some of the experts in our county have made outlandish comments such as RJ Regan’s comments to his own daughters, “If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.” (Insert link) or Patrick Colbeck, comparing the “mental breakdowns” of the poll challengers to the sacrifices of the white crosses on Normandy Beach as if it is comparable to the men that fought and died for our country. These claims are barbaric, and anyone who would make statements such as these do NOT have your interest in mind.

These easily debunked claims have been alllowed to continue with virtual impunity. My goal is to bring out the truth, no matter how popular/unpopular it may be.

Our elections were free, fair and secure and I hope you go to the polls with the confidence knowin that the vast majority of election workers are sacrificing their time to make sure that your vote counts.