The San Juan Island Grange was a packed house during the League of Women Voters Voter Forum between Sheriff Ron Krebs and Sergeant Eric Peter on Oct. 6. An additional 170 people listened on Zoom.

“The candidates are going to give opening statements, then I will start off by asking a few questions,” League President Susan Martin explained to the audience, adding that the bulk of the time would be asking questions the audience had submitted.

Krebs is a third-generation islander who has served as sheriff for the past eight years. Peter moved to the island from Houston, Texas, has 26 years of law enforcement experience and would like to “step up our agency.” He has been with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office for five years.

Martin’s first question asked what their policing philosophy was.

Peter described his original philosophy as evolving from the time period of ‘zero tolerance.’

“I still believe in accountability but I also believe in restorative measures that involve the whole community,” he said. “The police cannot be the answer to everything.”

The community has to work together, Peter explained, to get those with substance abuse issues treatment and to mentor those who need help to keep on the right path.

Added Krebs: “Scott Johanson once said that just because we can write a ticket doesn’t mean we should. Law enforcement is a cog in a restorative machine that includes courts, prosecuting attorneys and juvenile court service. We all have to work together.”

Krebs added that he did not get into the job to arrest people but to help them.

Questions were asked regarding an incident where Krebs accidentally zoomed a court camera in on a defense attorney’s paperwork during a trial, and an incident on July 4th when Krebs took civilians out on the sheriff’s boat during the fireworks display.

Krebs replied that the camera zooming in was an innocent mistake. It did look bad, he acknowledged, and he took full responsibility. As to the 4th of July incident, Krebs stated he did not believe it was a misappropriation of funds since the boat was going out anyway to be prepared should the fireworks display go awry.

“It was no different than if I had let a civilian ride in the car during the parade, which has often been done,” Krebs said.

Peter responded by saying he was not in the room during the camera incident and thus took it at face value that it was an accident. He also said the optics were bad for both events. While mistakes happen, Peter continued, the sheriff’s office needs to be held to a higher standard.

“As law enforcement, we are entrusted with a lot of power, for lack of a better term. It is imperative we be held accountable … held to a higher standard,” he said.

Both candidates emphasized the importance of community and helping others and expressed the desire for a more diverse sheriff’s office.

“Diversity is the spice of life,” Peter said. “If you don’t have diversity you will not have the trust of the entire community.”

Krebs agreed he would like to see more diversity, including additional women.

“Women can do so many things much better than men,” he said.

Leadership style stood out as one of the differences between the two candidates. Krebs said his leadership style begins with hiring people who are community-minded, there to help others, good at their job and self-motivated. Krebs says he has a hands-off approach, lets deputies do their job, and expects them to do it well.

Peter said the leadership he would love to bring would be top-down.

“You have to hold supervisors accountable, make sure the same message is going out as an agency,” he explained.

He also pointed out during the discussion regarding the camera incident that policy is important. In that situation, a policy should be in place detailing who can handle the camera and how, Peter said.

The two candidates also have differing experiences. Besides law enforcement, Krebs has a business background, he said, pointing out that the sheriff position carries many administrative tasks, including meeting with the council and managing budgets and grants. Peter has expertise in big-city crime. Peter has supervised narcotics, vice, homicide and theft units and has worked with U.S. marshalls.

“There is no shortage of crime in Houston,” he laughed.

Peter would also like to see at least one deputy from each island fully trained in animal control.

“We have no animal control officer, and the council probably will not approve funding for that position. We do need one so if we are going to act as animal control officers, we need training,” he said, adding that Pasado’s Safe Haven, a Washington nonprofit organization, offers training specifically for law enforcement. Peter also added that the deputies who were trained could act as a resource for those that were not.

Krebs argued the numbers and statistics are not there to support animal control training. According to Krebs, over the last few years, there have been 19 reports, and 17 of those were from the same person. One turned out to be neglect, and that was referred to the prosecutor.

“A two-week course when we don’t see the numbers does not make a lot of sense,” he said, adding that he would rather spend the funds on domestic violence and sexual assault training while continuing to work with local veterinarians and Pasado’s Safe Haven on animal control matters.

In his final comments, Peter said, “It is important to know the community, to hire diversity and those with diverse experience too. I am ready for this agency to evolve forward.”

Krebs said, “One of the greats honors of my life has been being sheriff. As long as I am, we will continue to improve while maintaining the small-town feel.”