By John R. Hall

Michael Poulin is bringing a lot of experience and passion to his campaign for the office of Muskegon County Sheriff. The retired veteran of 28 years of law enforcement sees several major issues that face voters this fall and he is determined to bring those issues to the forefront.

Poulin, who retired from the Muskegon County Sheriff Department as Captain, told the Tribune that there are two main initiatives he will work on if elected. “I want to restore integrity to the Sheriff’s department that has been lacking for too long,” he said. “And I want to maintain the current road patrol levels to ensure the best protection for our citizens.”

Poulin makes no bones about his reasons for restoring integrity to the department. “Morale is at an all-time low,” he said. “There seems to be no accountability in the current sheriff’s administration. There are great individuals working in the Department and they deserve better leadership.”

He cited current Sheriff Dean Roesler’s “lack of budget experience” and “various distractions” that have cost the county thousands of dollars. “Boats that were purchased under the current sheriff’s authority are not being used because of inadequate operating budgets and because no one has been trained in all operations of these boats,” Poulin added.

“And I’m not sure how we are going to make payments for the new jail because too much has been wasted on over-priced boats,” he said.

Because of a “lack of leadership foresight,” Poulin also believes that the county road patrols may be in jeopardy. “We need to bring back road patrols to levels that are contractually fair to our staff; and we also must repair labor relations in various other departments.”

Poulin said his extensive experience in writing grants will be a valuable asset to the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department. “There are other county functions that are helped by grants and maybe we can look at grants in the future to help things like the jail costs and road patrols.”

Poulin is also a strong advocate of educating the local youth on the dangers of drinking and driving – another reason he feels he should be elected to the Sheriff’s office. “We are getting kids involved in alcohol education and have conducted a lot of compliance checks with local liquor stores,” he said.

Another issue involving Muskegon County youths, backed by Poulin, are safe school initiatives. He has been working on uniform school lockdown training. “We have seen districts responding differently to emergency situations,” he added. “I would like to see a county-wide policy with well-trained officers.”

To sum up, Poulin said that his experience will put the Muskegon County Sheriff Department on more solid financial ground – and will be able to stay in touch with the citizen’s needs. “I have the most experience of any of the current candidates,” he noted. “Every program I’ve been involved in has come in on time and under budget.

“For the past 3-1/2 years the current sheriff has been disconnected from the community while making poor decisions. I plan to change that.”

For more information visit www.michaelpoulinforsheriff.com.