OPINION & EDITORIAL
Hanson for Dane County Sheriff
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by Letters to the Editor
Monday, November 6, 2006
I am writing this in response to an editorial submission in Wisconsin State Journal by Scott Favour, President Of The Madison Professional Police Officer's Association (MPPOA). I would like the readers to know that Favour does NOT speak for an overwhelming number of officers within the MPPOA. The membership, which is made up of almost 400 people, was never consulted about endorsing any candidate for Sheriff! I personally respect anyone and their position respective of any candidate running in this upcoming 2006 election, but I would like to preface the facts about the Mike Hanson, his leadership ability, and proven experience through a wide variety of positions that he has held over his career. Serving as a Dane County Supervisor for the 14th District and having experience within the Dane County Sheriff's Office gives him an unequivocal perspective of what needs to be accomplished within that agency. Hanson has forged a positive working relationship within the Madison Police Department through his hard work and dedication over the past years, and has had first hand experience/involvement with management decisions as he currently serves at the Public Information Officer. He has shown he can increase revenues; evidenced by his effort to privatize the collection of overdue fines on tickets where more than $4 million dollars was a direct result. He has shown he can build bridges with partnering organizations; evidenced by his recommendation to create a traffic safety team in Dane County and as a result state traffic fatalities statistically have been reduced since 2002. This race should not be about a commendable 26-year career and a number of investigations that have been conducted as a beacon to extend when vying for the Sheriff seat! This race should be about results. This race should not be about great sounding plans of what the future can be like. It should be about the right vote for Mike Hanson as Dane County Sheriff; the only candidate that has produced actual products of his labor. Hanson is the "Best Fit" for Sheriff of Dane County!
Howard Payne, Member of Madison Professional Police Officer's Association (10+ Years) Madison, Wisconsin 608-213-7389
Anonymous (November 6, 2006 @ 9:53am):
All 3 candidates for Sheriff were interviewed by the MPPOA Political Action Committee using the same questions. Hanson performed the most poorly and refused to even name who was endorsing him. If any member wanted to know the reasoning for the union endorsement they could have asked but very few have. Instead, several feel Hanson should be endorsed simply due to his being a union member and cry foul over not being individually polled. Any member with 10+ years with the union should know how endorsements for local elected office are made and that is through interview with the PAC, a recommendation to the union board, and a board vote at an open board meeting.
This is the question Hanson supporters in the MPPOA need to ask themselves: is Hanson qualified to run the MPD and would I want him running the MPD? If they feel he could run a smaller law enforcement agency with less responsibilities and duties, then they should vote for him. However, the honest answer to the question is "no" on both counts. One would be hard pressed to find many among sworn members of the police department who feel Hanson is qualified to be Chief of MPD let alone Sheriff of Dane County at this stage of his political career if they honestly considered Hanson's experience and qualifications.
