A New Day In Ramsey County?
By Mitch Berg
The Strib endorses Matt Bostrom for Ramco Sheriff:
Sheriff Bob Fletcher is seeking a fifth term as the top county cop and police chief for seven Ramsey county municipalities. Challenging him is Matt Bostrom, an assistant chief with the St. Paul police.
Though Fletcher, 55, has performed some of the duties of the office effectively, the department needs a fresh start under a more collaborative leader. We recommend Bostrom for the job.
Bostrom, a 49-year-old St. Paul native, has 28 years of experience — much of it in management — as a St. Paul cop…Most important, he has the temperament and a record of working well with other government law enforcement jurisdictions. That’s a much-needed skill, since police, prosecutors and the courts will have to work together more closely in the future to make the best use of limited resources.
Temperament and leadership style are our primary concerns about Fletcher. The first time the former St. Paul officer and City Council member ran for sheriff, this editorial page expressed concern that he might stretch the office’s mandates and make it too political. Those concerns were justified.
It’s been noted that Fletcher’s office has by far the highest rate of rejections for carry permit applications – rejection that are by no means related to actual unfitness for permits under the law, a rate well over 10%, vastly higher than any other county in the state. The county also claims to lose money on carry permit applications – the $100 fee that applicants pay – even though every other county in the state ends up spending a little over a buck per permit, and the labor is performed by dispatchers during slack times.
More on that issue later this week.
But as a resident of Ramco, I have no comment.
None whatsoever.
Vote Bostrom.
October 20th, 2010 at 7:06 am
Well, I’m not a RamCo resident either, but after Suzie Commie Gaertner let those little anarchists that organized terroism for the 2008 RNC got off with less than a slap on the wrist, she needs to go! From the comments that these miscreants made to the media, they obviously have not learned their lessons. God, I hate liberals!
October 20th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Better watch out Mitch, lest you get pulled over for a broken tail light on your bicycle.
October 20th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
It’s worth checking out Bostrom’s list of endorsements- basically a log of all local liberals. I have trouble with Sen. Moua being a Bostrom co-chair, given her views on trying to fight crime.
October 20th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
As much as I enjoyed watching Fletcher wring out the anarkids during the RNC, “inside information” I’m privvy to regarding his regular abuse of authority leave me incapable of escaping the fact that he’s a danger to everyones civil liberties.
I, for one, will be happy to see him gone.
October 20th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Here is a link to an important public statement from Matt Bostrom:
Posted here:
http://www.mattbostrom.org/pdf/open-letter-from-matt-bostrom-second-amendment.pdf
Joel Rosenberg supports him, that says and means alot to me.
October 21st, 2010 at 12:06 am
I’m touched, Scott; thank you.
And, yeah, I do. He’s already a leader among Minnesota Sheriffs, even before being elected — and about that, more to come.
Trust me.
Swiftee: yeah.
JW: Matt’s endorsements include a fair number of anti-gun liberals, as well as conservatives, libertarians, and people in between. But it’s worth remembering that Matt’s utterly note-perfect position on the RKBA and the MCPPA isn’t a secret to his supporters who disagree — they support him anyway. I disagree with him on some matters; I support him enthusiastically.
Not that my opinion matters much — I live in HennCo; I couldn’t (and won’t) vote for Matt without committing a felony — but I don’t think there’s a lot of people who have doubts about my commitment to the fundamental, human right to keep and bear arms for (among other things) self-defense, and I’m a new, but very ardent, supporter of Matt Bostrom.
And I would be — even if his opponent wasn’t Fletcher.
October 21st, 2010 at 5:43 am
Bostrom isn’t perfect, but he’s a hell of a lot better than Fletcher. I do live in RamCo and won’t hesitate to vote for Bostrom.