Wyandotte County voters elect Daniel Soptic to second term as sheriff
The results are in and voters in Wyandotte County have elected, among other offices, their next sheriff, who will continue his work leading a law enforcement agency fraught with hardships this year.
Voters elected Daniel Soptic to his second term as sheriff with 11,141 votes, defeating his challenger Celisha Towers, who received 5,986 votes, according to unofficial results from the Wyandotte County Election Office.
In the August primary, voters decidedly narrowed the candidates down to sheriff-elect Soptic and former sheriff’s deputy, Towers. The two candidates have faced one another in the past two sheriff elections.
Soptic will stay at the helm of a department trying to become accredited while it faces day-to-day challenges of short staffing, technology needs and officer morale affected by the recent line-of-duty death of deputy Elijah Ming.
A jail worker was also recently charged with murder after a man’s death was ruled a homicide in the Wyandotte County Detention Center. The man’s family has announced their intent to sue and previously sought a settlement offer.
Soptic, who spoke to The Star about his candidacy before the election, said he believes his experience in different law enforcement roles prepares him well to face the challenges ahead.
“...all the things that we’ve undertaken the last three and a half years... we’re ready to see some of that stuff come to fruition,” Soptic said before the election.
Towers ran campaign amid lawsuit against county
Towers ran for office on a platform of changing investigative processes for officer misconduct, and developing systems for community oversight, among other issues, according to campaign materials.
She was a deputy at the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office from July 2013 to July 2016.
Towers ran her campaign while representing herself in a lawsuit against the county and other defendants. In the suit, she alleges election fraud and a conspiracy to keep her out of office in the 2021 general election.
A federal judge dismissed her claims of election fraud in a court order Aug. 29, finding no evidence to back her claims, court records show.
Towers also sued the department for discrimination in 2017. Court records show a judge enforced settlement agreements in 2018 between Towers and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and the Fraternal Order of Police Wyandotte County Lodge No. 40.
The Star was unable to reach Towers for an interview after multiple attempts. After a story was published about the sheriff’s race, a reporter received a lengthy, erratic email from Towers’ campaign email address that appears to be from Towers.
Soptic wins second term as Wyandotte County sheriff
Soptic said some of his goals for the department going forward are finishing accreditation, upgrading deputy body cameras and continuing frequent community engagement activities.
When a law enforcement agency is accredited, it means they meet a set of professional standards. Accreditation usually involves a thorough, independent review of the department’s policies and procedures to ensure they align with best practices.
Getting accredited has been a tall task for the department, but it is making progress, Soptic said.
“Making that next step to be accredited is a huge step, and that’s something we’re working towards every single day,” Soptic said. “For an agency that’s not accredited, you know, it’s a pretty big lift, but we’re working through it.”
He also will work to address a problem facing most law enforcement agencies across the nation — staff shortages.
As of the last week of October, the department was around 30 deputies short.
Soptic said adjusting hiring practices, while maintaining standards, has proven difficult throughout his tenure.
And perhaps one of the biggest hardships he faces is a jail worker facing murder charges after a man died in the county detention center. Soptic said he understands it’s a case with high public interest, and said in an interview that the department takes holding officers accountable seriously.
“Unfortunately... that’s going to be one of those instances that people are really going want to know what happened, why it happened, how it happened,” Soptic said. “And most of it will be, you know, not stuff we can talk about, which is really hard.
