BOISE, Idaho — The race for Ada County Sheriff continues as Democratic candidate Victor McCraw challenges incumbent Matthew Clifford.
Clifford was appointed sheriff last summer after serving as the City of Eagle’s police chief. McCraw is a consultant for several law enforcement agencies. He served as the director for Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) before that.
The candidates disagreed about the biggest issue facing the country. Clifford said it is Idaho’s fentanyl crisis.
“As long as we can keep educating our deputies, equipping them properly, and actively fighting the fentanyl crisis that we have here in Idaho, hopefully we can kind of get a hold on that," Clifford said.
McCraw said it is population growth.
“You’re going to need more deputies. You are going to most likely need that bigger jail,” McCraw said. “However, if you continue to do business the way you always have, you’re going to run into problems.”
One of those problems includes a staffing shortage. Right now, Clifford said there are 60 openings. Currently, they are working to hire someone whose primarily job would be recruiting.
"If you look at modern day recruiting techniques for law enforcement, I think we're a little bit off on how we're using those and have been historically,” Clifford said.
McCraw agreed – recruiting is a big priority for whoever is elected sheriff.
“We’re going to have to survey folks,” McCraw said. “Folks that apply with the agency and then decide not to come on board, we really need to go after them and find out why – why did you make a different decision.”
Diversity is another concern. Currently, there are no women above the rank of sergeant. Clifford said reaching out to women specifically throughout the recruitment process is key.
McCraw expressed his frustrations with the lack of diversity within the department.
“Having a diverse group of people advising the sheriff on what’s going on and how it should be handled is ultimately important, whether that be racial minorities, gender minorities, whoever within the agency,” McCraw said.
If elected, Clifford said he'll continue working with county commissioners to provide incentives for current employees. Last month, employees got raises of 5% plus $1.
“We saw some of our entry-level employees making the same or less than people working at fast food restaurants, when we're having them deal with privileged information,” Clifford said.
On the other hand, McCraw said he would work on increasing transparency between the Sheriff’s Office and community members.
“I’d like to create a citizen’s advisory committee,” McCraw said. “And delegate to them the duties of creating a feedback system so we can get accurate feedback from the community. Especially those that haven’t had a voice.”
The general election is Nov. 8. More election-related stories, voting information and a look at what's on the ballot are posted in our online voter guide.
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