Staton should hit the road, sans Charger of course

Let me introduce you to Multnomah County’s least-popular law enforcement officer at the moment: Sheriff Dan Staton. Life wasn’t that bad for Dan until early May – he had been Sheriff of Multnomah County for seven years and drove a $33,623 Dodge Charger, courtesy of the taxpayers.

  But things have turned south lately, with Staton facing multiple inquiries into potential misconduct, which are lengthy. Local 88 union President Jason Heilbrun summed the situation up pretty well when he told The Oregonian newspaper, “It is common knowledge across the county that Sheriff Staton has practiced vindictiveness, disrespect and retaliation against anyone who disagrees with him.”

Staton was initially investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice for bribing and threatening another officer concerning a promotion list, but was not found guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. Since then, multiple organizations including The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 88, the previous sheriff, and The Oregonian have taken action to call for his resignation.

This is hardly the first time our county Sheriff’s office has been pistol-whipped into submission by its constituents (pun-intended). The previous Sheriff, Bob Skipper, retired in disgrace after failing to get his law enforcement certification. Before him, Bernie Giusto resigned amidst accusations of being a “laughing stock.” Similar stories exist all the way back to the 1980s.

Multnomah County is the largest county in Oregon, yet it seems there’s a disconnect between us and one of the largest jobs on the law enforcement force. Staton still refuses to step down, and his reasoning is similar that of his predecessors: the Sheriff is an independently elected public official, the Sheriff’s office would cry, and the people put us here – why should we step down, because bureaucracy wants to remove us?

To which the Advocate would reply, use some damn common sense.

Exploiting the taxpayers for a flashy car to putz around town in is a media firestorm that would cost anyone else their job. Not Staton, though. While toting a list of alleged infractions including bribery, blackmail, coercing a union vote (on top of being known as a Stalinesque figure among his co-workers) he’s still hanging in there, and playing the public official card whenever he gets the opportunity.

And while constituents should respect anyone who fulfills a civic duty such as this, the state doesn’t recognize any perks near Staton’s interpretation, which seems to be closer aligned with the divine right of kings:  From Oregon statute – “(14) ‘Public official’ means any person who, when an alleged violation of this chapter occurs, is serving the State of Oregon or any of its political subdivisions or any other public body as defined in ORS 174.109 of the state as an officer, employee, agent or otherwise, and irrespective of whether the person is compensated for such services.”

Staton “served’ the state of Oregon, and there have been alleged violations. Any other implications as to what being an independently elected public official are simply speculation. He should resign.

Advocate Staff