Former deputies come together to support Lee
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/57119/
BENTONVILLE — Thursday night, 20 people — many of them former Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies — kicked off an effort to get former Sheriff Andy Lee elected once again to that office.
Former Deputies Committee founder B. J. Burney said the group would parallel the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth’s efforts to discredit Sen. John Kerry’s military record during the 2004 presidential election campaign.
The group is comprised of former deputies, most of whom worked for Lee, incumbent Sheriff Keith Ferguson, or both, chairman Joe Powell said.
Along with knocking on doors, soliciting donations and promoting live debates, the group will also post “ video testimonials” by any former deputy who wants to offer one on the group’s yet-unmade Web site.
Three people offered such testimonials during the group’s kick-off meeting. One decried the elimination of the Sheriff’s Office’s part-time divisions. Another railed the use of racist language throughout the Sheriff’s Office. A third complained he was fired after praying in the jail, but not until he gave an inmate double his prescribed medication because he did not check the inmate’s paperwork.
Lee, who said he would not engage in a negative campaign by speaking only facts, offered several stories he had heard of Ferguson’s alleged misdeeds.
Powell expects the group to meet monthly, beginning in early January.
Ferguson declined to comment on the group’s endorsement of Lee.