Opportunity Lost
When I use to work for an elected official and we were making a decision about what to do about an issue, we always had to ask one question, “How will this look on the front page of the paper?” Someone should have asked that question to Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson.
As you likely know by now, the Sheriff is one of the highest paid public officials in the Universe (just kidding) but he made $360,000 last year and will get an extra $50,000 this year due to an Indiana law that lets sheriffs add the money they collect from tax warrants onto their incomes. The decision to pay the Sheriff was finalized this week by the Marion County Administrative Board.
There was nothing illegal or unethical about what happened, but if this were Jeopardy, I would take “Opportunity Lost” for $1000 and behind it would be a Daily Double.
With crime at a record level in Marion County, perpetual jail overcrowding and the city and county facing serious budget shortfalls, the Sheriff missed a perfect opportunity to endear himself to the voters and cement his place for the next four years. Instead of taking the $50,000 pay increase and arguing that “he earned it,” the sheriff should have taken the salary, so it would count towards his final pension, and then donate the money to charitable organizations in the nine townships of Marion County, particularly ones that dealt with crime and youth violence. The Sheriff would have been a hero.
I have a lot of respect for the Sheriff, but someone in this case gave him bad advice. He would have been loved, as opposed to now where if you view the public commentary, he’s becoming loathed.
