Recently, Ed Troyer announced his candidacy for Sheriff of Pierce County.
Ed is a kind, sweet man who has donated a great deal of his life to many community concerns. In doing so, Ed has made our world a better place. I laud Ed for his efforts and accomplishments in these areas. I have always liked Ed Troyer, but I cannot vote for Ed Troyer.
My long friendship with Ed makes writing today’s column painful. From November 2010 to date, I have written over 500 columns. Never has the truth been as painful to write about as it is today.
It will be no surprise if sharing my opinion about Ed Troyer’s candidacy costs me my friendship with Ed and several of our mutual friends. I will not blame them.
I worked with Ed Troyer at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for over 20 years. We have known each other for 30 years. When I first started my law enforcement career, Ed was one of my graveyard partners.
I worked eight years, from 1998 to 2005, for Ed as a segment host on a TV program he ran called The Sheriff’s Report.
All of our Pierce County communities, including small cities with their own police departments, depend on our Sheriff’s Department for certain services. Citizens expect the Sheriff’s Department to perform it’s duties and functions in an organized and high-caliber level to support its mission to Protect and Serve.
Imagine Ed invited me to coffee to inform me he was thinking of running for Sheriff. He then asks for my frank opinion. I would share the following tough talk with Ed. I would try to be honest and direct, but kind.
While I have always liked Ed as a person, I believe his becoming Sheriff is both good and bad.
It is a good idea for Ed personally because he will have the chance to enjoy more fame, power, and money, including a massive boost to his retirement plan.
It is a bad idea for the Sheriff Department’s commissioned deputies, administrators, and the Pierce County Jail correction officers. More importantly, Ed Troyer for Sheriff is a bad idea for the citizens of Pierce County.
The message contained in Ed’s announcement reads, “You know me. You trust me. I want to continue that relationship.”
That is a clever political message. My problem is while it is true I know Ed, it is not true that I trust Ed to be able to fulfill the Sheriff’s responsibilities.
FAILURE TO RESPOND TO PHONE MESSAGES:
When I worked in court security, answering phones in the front office was one of my duties.
Ed Troyer was notorious for failing to return phone calls to me, members of the press, and Pierce County citizens.
I witnessed and personally experienced many occasions when a phone call came in for Ed at the Sheriff’s front desk in the County-City Building. We often offered to forward the caller to Ed’s voicemail. Frequently callers vehemently protested being sent to his voicemail. They would often complain that they had already left multiple messages without a single return call. Ed’s lack of responsible follow-through created unnecessary stress on the staff and was a disservice to the public.
It is over 13 years, so I have given up waiting for Ed to return some of my calls.
FAILURE TO KEEP PROMISES:
I asked Ed to order calling cards. I wanted to use the cards as a tool to support my position as a segment host for Ed’s TV program known as The Sheriff’s Report. Ed agreed cards were a good idea and promised to order them. Although I reminded him often, he let years pass without keeping his promise. To me, his failure to act and fulfill such an easy and tiny promise showed weak leadership skills.
FAILURE TO DELEGATE:
After many failures to keep his promise, I volunteered, “Hey, Ed, you are a busy guy. Give me the vendor information, and I will take care of ordering the cards.” He was adamant when he refused to give me the requested vendor contact information telling me that he would take care of it for sure. He just could not let go. More than a decade has passed with no cards.
Ed’s continued failure showed a substantial inability to delegate.
Decades ago, I predicted Ed would use his TV face and name recognition to leverage himself into becoming our Pierce County Sheriff.
It is preposterous for Ed Troyer to think he can run the Sheriff’s Department when he cannot manage himself.
FAILURE TO ACT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS:
Between the Sheriff’s Report and his service as the Public Information Officer (PIO), Ed has been in front of the camera for an impressive number of years. I sadly watched Ed make decisions in the field and take actions based on what would look best on camera, even when there was no camera around. His choices often support what makes him look good rather than selecting the best option to work a problem.
EXPERIENCE FAILURE:
Ed Troyer has 35 years of service with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. That is an achievement. Yet, think about it. Years of service does not guarantee an individual is qualified to be Sheriff.
If another man worked 35 years for the Sheriff’s Department as a janitor, would the fact that he had 35 years of service qualify him to become Sheriff? In most cases, the answer would be no. Ed has more law enforcement experience than my hypothetical janitor example, but he is not even close to having enough experience either as a street cop or a department administrator to become Sheriff.
A new police officer faces three choices in a law enforcement career pathway.
Choice #1: Keep working as a street cop or field sergeant for the entire career.
Choice #2: Become an administrator such as lieutenant, captain, major, or chief. Most administrators deal with street cop issues.
Choice #3: After a bare minimum number of years serving as a street cop, devote the balance of a career to non-cop side jobs such as Dare Officer, Crime Stoppers Coordinator, or Public Information Officer. These are essential functions, but side jobs do not qualify an officer to become Sheriff.
Ed is known as Detective Ed Troyer. Years ago, the PIO position was upgraded from Deputy to Detective to help support the PIO position’s importance. I embrace that decision, but do not let the detective rank fool you. Detective Troyer has never worked as a detective.
FACE & NAME RECOGNITION FAILURE:
Ed has built a strong face and name recognition profile. I have spoken to many enthusiastic Ed Troyer fans. Through the magic of TV, Ed has been in everyone’s living room. Everyone likes Ed Troyer, just like he is family.
As incredible as his face and name recognition may be, recognition alone does not qualify Ed Troyer to become Sheriff.
If voters use face and name recognition as the sole basis to elect their Sheriff, voters are involving themselves in what I term a Mickey Mouse voting process.
Mickey Mouse! Did I say Mickey Mouse? Mickey reminds me of another way to make my point. If voting by face and name recognition is a valid way to decide an election than Mickey Mouse should become our next Pierce County Sheriff. Compared to Ed Troyer’s face and name recognition, Mickey Mouse wins hands down.
My Mickey Mouse example is downright ridiculous but no more ridiculous than voting any individual into any office based solely on face and name recognition.
I am retired, which gives me full freedom of speech. I can speak openly as a former insider without fear of career reprisal. That is not the case for anyone still actively employed with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
If your research and analysis determine I am wrong and Ed Troyer is the best of the four candidates for Sheriff of Pierce County, please vote Ed Troyer. Just make sure there are compelling reasons beyond face and name recognition to support your vote.
Think first and then vote.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Hi Joe,
I’m retired too and your well written article brings up many points for a conversation. So who are you endorsing for Sheriff?
Mr. Gosling,
Forgive me if it appears I am ignoring your question. With your high-quality tenacity, I can ignore your question no longer. You have asked the question twice, so to be nice, I will answer you twice.
A repeat of my answer that is also found below.
Mark C. Gosling,
Your tenacity is admirable. You asked your question twice, so I will answer you twice.
SHORT ANSWER:
Thank you for commenting and for your pertinent question regarding who I am planning to endorse.
The short answer is I am endorsing Cyndie Fajardo. I have already informed her of my support and I sent a financial contribution to help her overcome the fact that she does not have the same high profile public name and face recognition as Ed Troyer because one of the few positions she has not worked during her 36-year law enforcement career is that of the Public Information Officer (PIO).
My endorsement goes to FajardoForSheriff.
LONG ANSWER:
Once upon a time, there were two individuals running for Pierce County Sheriff, Mr. Ed Troyer, and Mr. Doug Richardson.
At that juncture, given those two choices, I planned to vote for Doug Richardson.
To my knowledge, Doug lacks law enforcement experience, although I could be wrong about that. The lack of law enforcement experience and in particular his lack of Pierce County Sheriff department experience is his weak point. None the less, I admire his willingness to offer his services to our sheriff’s department. He is a worthy candidate regardless of his weak point.
What Doug does have is vast experience as a retired Brigadier General leading large groups of people and managing large financial budgets.
Additionally, Doug Richardson has an unblemished record serving as a City of Lakewood Council Member including serving as the City of Lakewood’s mayor.
Following his service to the citizens of The City of Lakewood, Doug Richardson became a Pierce County Council member. Being the consummate leader and administrator that he is, he soon became Council Chair.
Doug Richardson is well-liked and well respected by everyone I know.
Had Cyndie Fajardo not entered the race, Doug Richardson would have gotten my vote.
Why do I endorse Cyndie Fajardo? There are too many reasons for me to list in this little reply box. I am contemplating the possibility of doing some more writing for my Westside Story column in an effort to share with the voting public a long list of reasons Cyndie Fajardo is the number 1 candidate for Sheriff of Pierce County.
Darin G. Harris is the fourth candidate running for Sheriff. I am in no position to make any comment regarding Mr. Harris’s suitability as Sheriff of Pierce County in that to my knowledge I have never met nor heard of Mr. Harris.
Mr. Harris seems to command the direct opposite of Ed Troyer’s name and face recognition profile. Everyone has heard of Ed Troyer. No one has heard of Darin Harris.
Of course, I must follow my own advice when it comes to face and name recognition or the lack thereof. An intelligent vote requires another standard beyond name recognition. Look at each candidate to determine their level of education, knowledge, law enforcement experience, ethical standards, human relation skills and administrative ability to name a few important characteristics.
Of the four candidates, Joe Boyle endorses Cyndie Fajardo for Pierce County Sheriff.
Joseph Boyle
I agree. Experience comes by working and heading these many vast departments. Pierce County deserves better.
This person is not a very nice person!
He’s not well like, the sheriffs guild did not give there endorsement to Troyer. That’s is a slap in the face. When you’re own department doesn’t respect you as one of there own.
He’s not a friend of the corrections bureau. Due to his rude and false comments about the bureau.
Troyer served the sheriff department for 35 years. Time to retire and enjoy life.
I will definitely research the other candidates before making an informed decision. Thank you.
Thank you, Jeff! Thank you for writing an educational piece. Voters don’t protect their community when they vote With name recognition and this is an important race for the safety of all our Pierce County citizens. The voters need to get it right, for their own safety.
Wow. That took something, Joe. Thanks. Makes it easier for a voting decision. I had a boss once who was dumber than a sack of hammers. Luckily, she was so dumb she didn’t know the first thing about my department si I simply ignored ger.
Dieter
Sorry, correction: ….so I simply ignored her.
Dieter
Your comments are accurate.
Sorry about the above confusion. My correction caused my comments to disappear.
Again : thank you very much, Joe. That was a revelation. Now I know who not to vote for. – When I said “…so I simply ignored her.” I was talking about a former boss of mine who was full of hot air. —-How the impressions that some people give hide the truth about them……
Thank you Dave Hall. You are one of the best officers the LPD & PC Sheriff ever produced! Your endorsement of Ed Troyer is like the icing on the cake. We all worked with you, Ed, & Paul Pastor which was a GREAT experience for me specifically. Ed, I would endorse you in a NY minute! You have earned everything in your career & I’m proud to know you. EVERYONE SHOULD SUPPORT ED TROYER. Best Wishes, Kristy Kernen (previously with LPD, Disabled Parking/Radar enforcement)
Kristy,
Thank you for joining the discussion. It appears you missed Dave’s and my entire point.
We like you love Ed as a person, but he is not a good choice for Sheriff.
If a second reading of my article brings you clarity and you wish to lambaste me, I will understand your feelings, but I am going to encourage my readers to not vote Ed Troyer for Sheriff.
Joseph Boyle
So who are you endorsing Joe?
Mark C. Gosling,
Your tenacity is admirable. You asked your question twice, so I will answer you twice.
SHORT ANSWER:
Thank you for commenting and for your pertinent question regarding who I am planning to endorse.
The short answer is I am endorsing Cyndie Fajardo. I have already informed her of my support and I sent a financial contribution to help her overcome the fact that she does not have the same high profile public name and face recognition as Ed Troyer because one of the few positions she has not worked during her 36-year law enforcement career is that of the Public Information Officer (PIO).
My endorsement goes to FajardoForSheriff.
LONG ANSWER:
Once upon a time, there were two individuals running for Pierce County Sheriff, Mr. Ed Troyer, and Mr. Doug Richardson.
At that juncture, given those two choices, I planned to vote for Doug Richardson.
To my knowledge, Doug lacks law enforcement experience, although I could be wrong about that. The lack of law enforcement experience and in particular his lack of Pierce County Sheriff department experience is his weak point. None the less, I admire his willingness to offer his services to our sheriff’s department. He is a worthy candidate regardless of his weak point.
What Doug does have is vast experience as a retired Brigadier General leading large groups of people and managing large financial budgets.
Additionally, Doug Richardson has an unblemished record serving as a City of Lakewood Council Member including serving as the City of Lakewood’s mayor.
Following his service to the citizens of The City of Lakewood, Doug Richardson became a Pierce County Council member. Being the consummate leader and administrator that he is, he soon became Council Chair.
Doug Richardson is well-liked and well respected by everyone I know.
Had Cyndie Fajardo not entered the race, Doug Richardson would have gotten my vote.
Why do I endorse Cyndie Fajardo? There are too many reasons for me to list in this little reply box. I am contemplating the possibility of doing some more writing for my Westside Story column in an effort to share with the voting public a long list of reasons Cyndie Fajardo is the number 1 candidate for Sheriff of Pierce County.
Darin G. Harris is the fourth candidate running for Sheriff. I am in no position to make any comment regarding Mr. Harris’s suitability as Sheriff of Pierce County in that to my knowledge I have never met nor heard of Mr. Harris.
Mr. Harris seems to command the direct opposite of Ed Troyer’s name and face recognition profile. Everyone has heard of Ed Troyer. No one has heard of Darin Harris.
Of course, I must follow my own advice when it comes to face and name recognition or the lack thereof. An intelligent vote requires another standard beyond name recognition. Look at each candidate to determine their level of education, knowledge, law enforcement experience, ethical standards, human relation skills and administrative ability to name a few important characteristics.
Of the four candidates, Joe Boyle endorses Cyndie Fajardo for Pierce County Sheriff.
Joseph Boyle
Dave Hall,
Have you endorsed Ed Troyer, as Kristy J. Kernen suggests? Her comment is confusing and very likely misleading unless you have made an endorsement of Ed Troyer.
Joseph Boyle
Good golly, no! I’m wholeheartedly supporting Cyndie Fajardo, who I believe combines the best qualities of street cop smarts and administrative experience. (But Kristy, thank you very much for your kind comments. I was honored to work alongside you, as your decdication to our community is exceptional and selfless!)
Joe. Thank you for your candid comments. Friendship is not a reason to support such a difficult job applicant. I appreciate your honest evaluation with examples of how important delegation is in a county this size. Being a good wingman doesnt make you a fearless objective leader. The level of education expected can account for some experience but lacking both isn’t a winning achievement.
I appreciate people taking an interest in this very important election. My problem is this: We have heard on this forum that Ed Trioyer is not a great choice. We have heard that Cindi Fajardo is a great choice. Isn’t the unit she ran shut down right now and under investigation? That is nearly unprecedented in law enforcement. As for the other two candidates…I know nothing about either of them and to the best of my knowledge neither of them have shown any leadership in recent days when we are all screaming out for calm and reasoned leaders. Having disected one candidate, can we have a little contemporary background on the other three?
Joe Blow,
If you review my response above in reply to a question posted twice by reader Mark C. Gosling, you should find at least a portion of what you seek in my written comment.
If I have the opportunity, I will try to learn more about the issue you have brought to our attention related to a PCSD unit being shut down.
Note to Readers: If Joe Blow is the real name of this commenter than so be it. I think it is highly possible the real person behind the name Joe Blow is hiding behind a false name and given that cloak of secrecy is comfortable making an accusation besmirching Cyndie Fajardo’s reputation related to her alleged tie to a unit closure. More facts are needed.
Joe Boyle – My real name.
Joe,
This is Mark Gosling. This will be my last post . I only stumbled upon your letter because NUMEROUS people had shared it with me.
I used the name Joe Blow not to be deceptive but because this shouldn’t be personal. I know both you and Dave Hall and have respect for both of you. My comments were out of a sense of fairness, not to besmirch anybody, even though I feel you did a bit of a hatchet job on Ed, someone admittedly I know very little about My point was it appears to me that a lot of your readers don’t have much knowledge of the Sheriff’s Department and judging by their comments they rightly respect your opinion and who knows, it may affect their votes. In the interest of fairness, I feel if you are publically going to endorse one candidate over another based on your ” inside information”, shouldn’t the readers be aware of any and all information about all the candidates?
Full disclosure. I no longer work for the Department, I have equal respect for both Ed Trioyer and Cindi Fajardo based on my limited contact with them both
I do respect them both for being willing to throw their names in the hat. In my opinion, they are both better candidates than the other two but that is purely based on personal, unquantifiable reasons.
Glad you are doing well.
Mark Gosling, my real name.
Mark,
I appreciate your stepping out from behind Joe Blow. I understand your rationale.
I have never had a desire to do “a hatchet job” on Ed Troyer. I just stated the fact as I knew them. Ed Troyer actually did a hatchet job on himself so many years ago based on his actions.
I did provide more information on the other candidates based on what I know and based on my personal opinion and experience.
Joseph Boyle
Joe,
Shortly before I retired to the entire Special Investigations Unit was indeed shut down pending some sort of outside review or investigation. I am sure it did not receive much if any press attention due to the pandemic. As you know the shut down of such a unit is unprecedented in our careers. I look forward to hearing the results of the review.
Jerry Bates,
Thank you for your input.
Please keep us posted should you learn of the results if it is appropriate for you to do so.
Joseph Boyle
Oh jeepers, creepers – background, past experience…Harry Truman ran from running a clothing store to running a great nation…what to do, what to do.
Consider this if you will. It has been said that the hallmark of a truly great leader is his/her ability to choose the best, most capable people to head all important government departments. Appoint them, trust them, and then let them loose.
The leader goes around the country, visits the sick, kisses babies, eats chicken dinners, waves the flag, gives optimistic speeches, and lets the Marine generals figure out how many companies to land on the shores of Tripoli.
Dieter
Joe, I thought this was an article by the onion or a different fake news website. You make it look like a newspaper or a legit news website. I found out about this because of my 10-year-old grand daughter. Her friends parents saw it and showed her. Comparing me to Mickey Mouse? not very nice of you, remember kids and others see this.
I appreciate the nicest hit piece ever, but you already endorsed one of my opponents before writing this article. “Your boiling over for her”
I wouldn’t have written this reply if you weren’t so bias. I have a $50 dollar gift certificate to the best food in in town! who can guess the cartoon character they picked for you. I’ll post your full article and previous post to give everyone a hint.
Ed,
If you re-read my article, you will discover I did not compare you to Mickey Mouse. The focus of my article is to educate the voting public on the fact that electing a candidate based on name and face recognition is a fallacious basis for casting a vote.
If a voter believes Ed Troyer is the best candidate, vote Ed Troyer; but do not vote Ed Troyer because of face and name recognition. That is my point. Mickey Mouse helps me make the point.
At one time, you and Doug Richardson were the only two candidates for Pierce County Sheriff. I did not know Cyndie Fajardo was going to run for Sheriff.
My decades’ long observation and knowledge of your and Doug Richardson’s performance forced me to set friendship aside and make plans to vote for the most qualified candidate between the two of you, Doug Richardson.
When Lieutenant Cyndie Fajardo announced she was running for Sheriff, I shifted my support from Doug Richardson to Cyndie Fajardo’s candidacy. She has many characteristics and a level of experience that competes with Doug Richardson’s achievement profile; plus, she has 36 years of law enforcement experience.
You accuse me of being biased. A definition of the commonly used term, bias, is being prejudiced in a way that is considered unfair.
That is where your accusation breaks down. I am not unfair. I am merely stating the facts you alone created. My preference, or “bias,” as you call it, comes from observing you, Cyndie Fajardo, and Doug Richardson for several decades.
Based on facts – not “fake news” – I endorse Cyndie Fajardo for Pierce County Sheriff.
So, all I got from this “journalism” is, if elected Sheriff, Ed should hire a good administrative assistant to make sure he gets phone messages and supplies are ordered. Wow.
Having work experience with the EXCELLENT Administrative Assistants who work at the Sheriffs department they have been capable of ordering supplies and taking or returning messages. But they cant do what they were not asked or told no to their offers. I saw this first hand BTW .
Stunned,
Obviously, you do not agree with my opinion, nor do you think much of my “journalism”.
I respect your right to have an opinion that differs from mine.
At least you have to admit I have the courage to stand up and use my real name when expressing my opinion. I guess I could hide like you and go by the name Flabbergasted. I do have a guess as to who you are though.
Your comment, ” if elected Sheriff, Ed should hire a good administrative assistant to make sure he gets phone messages and supplies are ordered.” is defective in that Ed had plenty of excellent administrative assistants. Ed got all his phone messages. No problem there.
The problem centered on the fact that Ed was notorious for not returning phone calls.
The problem of not keeping promises is a behavioral characteristic that cannot be overcome by hiring an administrative assistant to order supplies. It is a character flaw.
An individual is either a man of his word or he is not.
Lastly, I have absolutely no influence or control over if and when comments that are not in agreement with me are printed.
Joseph Boyle – AKA Flabbergasted
After reading the opinion piece and comments I felt compelled to reply due to the fact Ed brought up that his granddaughter was hurt when she was shown the opinion piece by her friends parents. I can understand the child being hurt because she is reading information that concerns her grandfather and from the child’s perspective puts her grandfather in a negative light. However Ed your anger towards Joe I believe is misplaced. You should be upset with your granddaughter’s friends parents who would show that to your granddaughter in the first place. What kind of parent would do that knowing it would probably cause harm to the child by reading it. Joe did not bring your granddaughter into this you did with your comments. Children have no place being used in politics.
I also am a retired Pierce County Sheriffs Deputy with 26 years of service and know and worked side by side with a lot of the good people writing and commenting here. I respect every one of them and personally thank them for their service to the department and the citizens of pierce county. I no longer live in Pierce County so have no comment on who to vote for. I would reiterate Joe’s basic point of the piece which I take as, be a fully educated voter and leadership experience is critical when running for a large police agency in 2020.
I guess you don’t print comments that are not in agreement with your opinion. Very professional.
Not so Stunned. Comments are manually approved and I am a one-man band who also has a life outside of The Suburban Times. Sorry to be so long in approving your comment.