Having explored our rationale behind not endorsing the incumbent Benton County sheriff in Saturday's edition, the time comes now for offering our 2 cents' worth on the remaining candidates in the GOP primary race.
As our editorial board debated our recommendation, we came to one definite answer: The voters of Benton County have a challenging choice to make.
Three challengers tossed their hats into the ring for consideration to be the next sheriff: Tim Filbeck, a 49-year-old corporal at the Siloam Springs Police Department who moved to Arkansas in 2011 from Georgia; Paul Pillaro, a 44-year-old lieutenant at the Lowell Police Department who moved to Arkansas in 1997; and 44-year-old Shawn Holloway, a major at the Sheriff's Office who grew up in Lincoln.
Without question, a new sheriff is called for. Someone else should be handed the opportunity to create a new vision, improved management and intentional leadership at the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Our pick is Holloway, a major who oversees operations at the Sheriff's Office now.
We were tempted to suggest a clean break from the current administration, which would have made Filbeck or Pillaro the two from which to pick. But our deliberations eventually circled back around to Holloway, an experienced law enforcement officer who has been a part of Northwest Arkansas law enforcement for two decades.
As a Rogers police officer, Holloway worked in patrol, the crime suppression unit working to limit the impact of gang activity, and undercover in the Criminal Investigations Division. He was a SWAT team commander. In short, he's gotten experience in many aspects of law enforcement. He accepted a job with the current sheriff to gain further administrative experience because he knew he one day wanted to be sheriff.
Holloway's transition to sheriff would be both easy and challenging. On day one, he would know the ins and outs of the agency and how it operates. His challenge, however, would come in making the necessary reforms to get the Sheriff's Office on track to be the professional, well-managed organization it needs to become. That can be hard when an employee becomes the boss, but it's been done before in many professional settings.
We appreciate his commitment to training and equipping deputies and jailers, but also the pledge to hold them accountable as leaders within the agency and the community. He wants to restore pride in the department. That would be a welcome change.
Holloway enjoys being a law enforcement officer where he's raising his family. He wants his family, and others, to be able to live in the nice place Benton County has long been. We believe he's got the commitment needed to be the next sheriff of Benton County.
Commentary on 02/14/2016