ELECTION 2014: Sheriff’s candidate touts constitutional stand

A self-proclaimed constitutional sheriff’s candidate, Galen Morgan says he believes in protecting individual’s rights and holding people accountable.

A former California Department of Corrections captain and chief investigator, Morgan said he was drawn to Nye County by the people who live here.

Although he has only lived in the county for about a year, he said he loves that people are so passionately involved in their community and the local political scene.

As a corrections investigator, Morgan says he has experience working the same kinds of cases handled by deputies and detectives on the streets. From homicides and narcotics to sex crimes and thefts, Morgan says he is experienced with the type of work done at most sheriff’s offices.

Morgan recently spoke to the Pahrump Valley Times about his campaign and why he believes he should be the next sheriff of Nye County.

Q: What made you decide to run for sheriff of Nye County?

A: I talked to a lot of people, I hear their concerns, they’re looking for someone that’s fresh and new and has no ties to anyone here, which I don’t, and someone that believes in justice and the Constitution, defending the Constitution and making sure their rights are upheld. What drew me here were the people, because I’ve never been in a community where people are so passionate about getting involved in local politics. I’ve never seen it and I just think this is absolutely great.

Q: If you were elected are there any issues you see that you would like to address in the department?

A: I think accountability is number one. People need to be held accountable. If there is a complaint against a deputy or staff member, it has to be looked at and they have to be held accountable, because that’s how you restore respect and accountability. My philosophy is anyone who works for the sheriff’s department needs to be honest, ethical and responsible because that’s where everything starts.

Q: There are many programs and new forms of technology on the market to help police do their jobs, is there anything you would like bring into the sheriff’s office?

A: Lapel cams. They’ve been using them in other sheriff and police departments and actually they were looked at as a bad thing at first, they hated it. But what they’ve proven with them is the behaviors and attitudes of the peace officers have changed about 85 percent; they’re more amenable to the citizens when they approach them, but it has also proven to protect the peace officers against frivolous complaints. So they’ve started to really embrace them and I think they would be a great thing simply because the citizens would know if they messed up. Hey guess what you told on yourself. If you’re lying about one of my deputies, I will hold you accountable. So it’s a two-way door. I just believe in doing the right thing for everyone.

Q: There have been some issues with the NCSO going over budget in the past, do you have any ideas on how you would avoid that?

A: I’m not really familiar with the complete and total workings of the sheriff’s department, but my first thing I would look at is do they have a budget analyst? A budget analyst is the one who keeps everyone in line. When I was a custody captain, it was my job to basically review the watch sheets every morning when I came to work first thing. How much overtime was there, what did they do to prevent the overtime and from there I got to go to the warden’s office and explain why we did or didn’t do what we were supposed to do. So a budget analyst would be great because they would point out where the problems were.

Q: Is there anything else you want people to know about you or your campaign?

A: You will find I am a very honest and ethical individual, always have been. I was raised that way. I have a good Christian background. My parents raised us all to be honest and ethical and that’s the way I’ve always been.

Like I said, when I was in the department I was around the good old boys, but I always stuck by my ethics and morals. It may not have been the best thing sometimes, but you know what? I dealt with it and I always came out on top. I tell people if you hear me speak 100 times you’ll hear me say the same things because that’s what I’m passionate about.

I also want to have a real transparent department. I’ve noticed every Friday in your paper there’s a DA’s corner. I would like to have a sheriff’s corner, because where do the complaints filed with the sheriff’s office go?

Now if a complaint is filed, I worked with the unions for years in California, and nothing can be put out there until the investigation is done, everything is done and everything has been signed off by everyone.

So if you get a complaint filed against you and it goes through the process, the person who filed that complaint has the right to know, did anything ever get done?

For more information on Morgan visit www.GalenMorgan4SheriffNC.com.