Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
SEVEN BAYS-The current police chief in Reardan wants to level up. Andy Manke, a former Lincoln County Sheriff's Office deputy and a 22-year retired veteran of the Army/National Guard, is one of five candidates running for Lincoln County Sheriff this election cycle.
The decision to run was an easy one for the county native.
"I have the biggest leadership resume out of all the candidates combined," Manke said. "I've had professional development in leadership, not to mention the fact that I've led soldiers in combat on multiple tours."
If Manke is elected, changes would be coming to the sheriff's office, with an emphasis on increasing the number of patrolling deputies employed.
To achieve this, Manke would eliminate the positions of office administrative assistant and chief criminal deputy. He would also combine the 911 coordinator and jail superintendent jobs into one position before elevating a current jail/dispatch deputy to sergeant.
Manke-appointed staff members would therefore be reduced to undersheriff, chief civil deputy and 911 coordinator. He would then seek to hire three additional deputies.
"We have more chiefs than we have Indians up there, and to pay and benefit all these chiefs is very expensive," Manke said. "With the elimination (of those positions)...I've just put three more deputies on the road."
Manke is a strong advocate for local municipalities having their own police departments, and would push for that to happen countywide if elected...especially in Davenport and Wilbur.
If local councilmembers don't agree, Manke said he plans to assign a deputy to each municipality under the LCSO badge that has the town name inscribed on their patches and patrol cars, which is the model currently used in Spokane Valley.
Manke admitted he's one of, if not the most, controversial candidates running for Sheriff this year. The Record-Times has received multiple calls and tips from citizens labeling him as "hot-headed," "no-filter" and similar adjectives.
He acknowledged an incident in 2007, where after consuming alcohol at multiple gatherings prior to leaving for his third tour in the Middle East with the Army, he got in his patrol car and pulled over who he believed to be his wife.
It wasn't his wife, and the then-deputy was suspended without pay.
"If (voters) want to hold a second-year new-hire deputy accountable for a lapse in judgement when being faced with the prospect of a third combat tour...where he felt he'd barely survived the first two and having to leave his wife and kids for a year-and-a-half with the prospect of not coming home...then don't vote for me," Manke said. "But they have never given more than I have to the United States and to this community."
"If they want nice, vote for one of the other candidates. But if they want tough, then they need to vote for me," he added.
Manke is running against Jeff Barden, Gabe Gants, Adam Johnson and Brian Telford.
BIO
Position sought: Sheriff
Age: 52
Family: Married with two adult children and two grandchildren
Hometown: Harrington
Current city of residence: Seven Bays
Relevant experience: Reardan Police chief, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office deputy, Army/National Guard, performed three tours in the Middle East between 1990 and 2012
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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