The race for Coos County Sheriff is between two very amiable and seemingly approachable candidates, each confident they can address the chronic staffing problems facing the agency. Candidate Mike Kinnaird chalks most of this up to low morale and discontent with the current management. His opponent, Gabe Fabrizio acknowledges the morale issue but places more blame on the less than competitive wages offered at the county versus other area law enforcement agencies.

 

Fabrizio was kind enough to chat with me this week and I want to start with some observations beyond his congeniality and obvious intelligence. First, unlike Kinnaird, he claims no affiliation with Rod Taylor and Citizens Restoring Liberty (CRL) beyond accepting an invitation to speak about his campaign at one of their meetings. This should come as a relief to the more liberal amongst us but there are still points for consideration.

 

The sheriff is a nonpartisan position, but we have seen how Sheriff Craig Zanni has allowed his conservative politics to influence how he does his job. A prime example is when an angry mob from CRL tried to turn a county commissioner meeting into a super spreader event by refusing to comply with recommended COVID health guidelines regarding wearing masks. Zanni refused to enforce the mask mandate and did nothing to restore the peace forcing Commissioners John Sweet and Melissa Cribbins to abruptly leave the meeting. Fabrizio was also there that day and along with Commissioner Bob Main made no effort to calm the crowd.

 

Members of the mob were overheard afterward saying they had obviously done nothing wrong because the sheriff was right there and didn’t intervene. Zanni lost a great deal of respect amongst the progressive community that day.

 

Zanni is Fabrizio’s boss, and he was no doubt behaving accordingly but I do think it is important to get a read on where he stands. While not much of a barometer, to that end I asked him if he believed Trump had won the election. He thought a bit before answering, then said he had seen no evidence so far of election fraud, including locally, and until such time as any evidence came forth must admit that despite Trump’s popularity, he had lost the election.

 

This kind of election belligerence is frustrating, and I encourage you to watch Jon Stewart in the sidebar video on this topic.

 

A question raised by a local radio host to Fabrizio is if he is a “constitutional sheriff”, by which I am confident he means does Fabrizio ascribe to the renegade sheriff policy put forth by Richard Mack and the CSPOA (Constitutional Sheriff and Police Officer Association). Fabrizio answered yes but I suspected he meant he believes in upholding the constitution. He confirmed that he did mean the latter and does not believe that sheriffs are the supreme authority over state and federal laws. (A position shared by his opponent, by the way.) He also mentioned that he has read Mack’s books and found them informative.

 

Fabrizio opposes Measure 114 which would require a permit to acquire firearms in part because of the extra work and expense to the department. Asked if he would support any form of reasonable gun legislation, he deflected to the standard conservative reflex about dealing with mental health issues.

 

Having shared all this I will say that Fabrizio, in my opinion, can handle the job. Younger and more fit than Kinnaird, he is also likely more politically astute and better able to maneuver the internal dynamics that confront the agency on a regular basis. This may even have contributed to his meteoric rise to captain.

 

Neither candidate has offered anything specific about how they plan to retain deputies beyond introducing a new management style and Fabrizio assures me he is not a clone of Zanni who is not popular amongst the many of the rank and file.

 

Personally, I like them both and think the sheriff’s office will survive regardless of who prevails, but Kinnaird may have made some mistakes which will throw the race toward Fabrizio. One, Kinnaird isn’t in the voter’s pamphlet which will cost him a few percentage points. Second, after the recent LOWV forum he was caught posing and grinning alongside Rod Taylor. Taylor is widely regarded as a traitor for his role in the January 6th insurrection and many were shocked and disappointed to see the prospective lawman being so chummy.