Editorial: Experience is essential for sheriff, district attorney

Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

The race for Clark County sheriff pits the No. 2 man at Metro Police, who has risen through the ranks over the past 26 years, against a man whose campaign ads falsely identified him as a working cop.

Undersheriff Doug Gillespie decided to run for the top job after Sheriff Bill Young decided not to run for re-election. We believe his decision was fortunate for Clark County. Metro Police, which has 5,000 employees, needs an experienced person at the helm.

Gillespie started out as a patrol officer and later rose to command the patrol division. During his years of service he has served throughout Metro, including K-9, narcotics and SWAT. "There is not an aspect of Metro that I have not worked in or managed," Gillespie says.

This is the kind of sheriff we are looking for, a professional who has served with distinction.

Gillespie's opponent is Jerry Airola, a wannabe cop who is trying to buy the election. He makes enough money from the helicopter company he owns to pay for slick TV ads featuring catchy sound bites. But his experience as a police officer is negligible considering that he wants to go straight to the top of a large-city police department.

For three years in the early 1990s, Airola worked as a Merced County sheriff's deputy in the small city of Los Banos, Calif. He moved to Las Vegas in 1995 and got into the home water-purification business. In 1999 he sold that business and started Silver State Helicopters. He donated helicopter services to the Merced County Sheriff's Department, which in November 2004 granted his wish to become a part-time deputy. In September 2005 Airola was let go because an audit uncovered a California law stating that department employees must be California residents.

That didn't stop Airola from publicly claiming, during his campaign for Clark County sheriff, that he was still a sworn police officer. Confronted by the Sun last month about this discrepancy, Airola said that he considered himself to be only on a "leave of absence" until the California Legislature repealed the residency requirement. His business Web site still says he is a "current Deputy Sheriff with the Merced County Sheriff's Office."

Meanwhile, in the closing days of the election, there have been questions of how well Metro Police has handled the investigation into allegations that gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons assaulted a woman. The questions have not been directed at Gillespie, though. If there is any fallout from this incident, it shouldn't affect Gillespie, a true professional.

In our view, Clark County needs a straight-talking sheriff whose background is an open book of dedicated public service in law enforcement. Gillespie says he is not a "status quo" leader and that he will work hard toward continued improvement at Metro. He is a man we can trust.

The Sun endorses Doug Gillespie.

As Clark County needs an effective team in fighting crime, the other half of the equation is the district attorney's office.

District Attorney David Roger, a Republican, has fulfilled the promise he made four years ago to be an aggressive prosecutor. Jury trials have increased dramatically, a development that serves justice as defendants know now that lenient plea bargains are no longer a sure option.

Roger, an experienced prosecutor before becoming DA, has instituted a training program for new prosecutors on his staff, which includes 160 lawyers and 27 investigators. The DA's office is in good hands.

The Sun endorses David Roger.

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