The Star’s endorsement for Johnson County sheriff, commission District 6 GOP primary | Opinion

There is no more important task for Johnson Countians than kicking Calvin Hayden out of the sheriff’s office. On Aug. 6, Republicans can take that step by rejecting Hayden at the polls.

We strongly endorse Doug Bedford in the Republican primary for sheriff.

Bedford is a former Navy SEAL. He once served as an undersheriff in Johnson County. He has the experience and competence to lead the sheriff’s department.

“I believe the office of the sheriff must return to its original principles of leadership and fiscal responsibility,” Bedford says on his website. He’s been endorsed by former county sheriff Frank Denning, and dozens of other former sheriff’s office employees.

Additionally, Bedford promises to promote mental health remedies, an essential step to reduce crime (and jail expenses.) He suggests the department could help with school safety. He would return the department to the professional operation it should be, and once was.

Some traditional Republican voters have been sharing their enthusiasm in social media about Prairie Village Police Chief Byron Roberson, the unchallenged Democratic candidate in the race. In 2010 as a police sergeant, Roberson fatally shot Susan Leslie Stuckey, who was suffering from a mental health crisis and had told officers she wanted them to kill her. And later as police chief, when a woman claimed an officer arresting her asked her for sex, Roberson defended the officer, telling FOX4, “That’s unethical but mistakes do happen.” The officer was later terminated from the department after an unrelated domestic violence investigation.

While we are not yet making an endorsement for the general election, we have serious concerns about Roberson’s allegiance to protect and serve the public first.

Now, Calvin Hayden.

Just two years ago, we called on Hayden to resign. “Hayden is an embarrassment to the people he was elected to serve, and a clear threat to respect for the rule of law,” we said. Since then, his performance in office has only grown worse.

He recently announced he has “paused” his ridiculous pursuit of nonexistent election fraud in Johnson County, without charges or evidence of misfeasance. This result surprised no one. The charade has cost Johnson Countians untold tax dollars, while making the county a laughingstock across the state, and the nation.

During the probe, Hayden claimed he had a warrant “in hand” to seize voting records. Later, asked for proof, the sheriff said — incredibly — “I didn’t say it was valid.”

The ludicrous investigation would be reason enough to reject Hayden. But it isn’t the only problem with his record.

Hayden spoke before the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which has been called an “anti-government extremist group” by the Anti-Defamation League. Among other things, the group has said sheriffs are more powerful than the president. They are not.

Johnson County taxpayers paid part of the cost of his trip.

Hayden mismanaged the department’s response to COVID-19, ignoring the county’s policy of mandatory testing at the peak of the pandemic. He taped a political commercial, in uniform, calling Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Bollier — a Republican for most of her political career — “dangerously liberal.”

Hayden has battled repeatedly with the Johnson County Commission, resisting oversight and budgetary limits. Recently, he called requests for an ethics investigation into his candidacy as “election interference.”

We call on Republican voters in Johnson County to put a stop to this nonsense. We endorse Doug Bedford in this primary.

Johnson County Commission District 6

Three candidates are on the ballot for this seat: incumbent Shirley Allenbrand, Tony Bergida and Mike Storm. The top two finishers will face off in the general election.

We support Allenbrand. The incumbent has served her district well, working to keep taxes and spending at reasonable levels. She promises to protect the quality of life in Johnson County, including a focus on schools and health.

Her opponents are much more conservative. Kansans for Life PAC, a pro-life group, has endorsed Bergida and Storm. Both support “fully funding” the sheriff’s department. No county department deserves a blank check.

Allenbrand has given us no reason to support another candidate for her seat.