I was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Solon Springs, Wisconsin. My wife, Stephanie, and I have been married for six and a half years and currently live in Frog Creek with our youngest daughter, Brittney and our two German Shepherds, Max and Mia. Our two older children, Dennis Jr. and Amanda, have left home and are venturing out into this challenging world creating their own paths.
To the citizens of Washburn County, I would like to announce my candidacy for Washburn County Sheriff. I have been in law enforcement for 17 years. I spent the first 11 years as a patrol officer and the last 8 as the Chief of Police for Minong Police Department. As Chief, I continue to have my boots on the ground. Often times acting as the Drug Investigator, Criminal Investigator, and patrol officer, in addition to conducting administrative duties. I will never forget where I came from. I pride myself in leading by example. I practice this in my leadership style and personal life. I have never asked the soldiers or officers that served under me to do anything that I would not have done myself.
I have decided to run for Washburn County Sheriff because I have always had a strong desire, call it an obligation I’ve felt, to protect people. This began for me by joining the United States Marine Corps and then continuing my career in Law Enforcement; protecting the unborn to the elderly. I take great pride in protecting the residents of the Village of Minong and the citizens of Washburn County.
I ran last term and got my feet wet, I knew at that time that it was going to be an uphill stride running against a long time and much-respected incumbent. I’m looking forward to making new connections and relationships with community members during my campaign, learning what is most important to each community and how I can be most successful in serving as Sheriff. This is your Sheriff’s department and by working together we can build stronger communities.
If elected as Sheriff, I look forward to increasing drug enforcement by implementing increased drug interdiction details to make a difference addressing the drug crisis in our community. I also believe letting the community know the negative consequences of drugs on our families is important. Prevention with our youth is also vital when looking at the drug epidemic that is plaguing our community. Having the Sheriff’s Office partnering with available resources to inform, educate, and support the community is vital.
I also would like to take action on mental health awareness and the shortage of available resources in this area. The county jail is being used to house those that would be much better served in treatment and mental health facilities. This is a statewide problem and we need to bring more attention to it. Instead of just acknowledging we have an issue we need to start involving people from the community and moving forward to try and make a difference.
My sincere thanks to those who have and are continuing to help me along the way. I am an open book/open door and am looking forward to the next few months, hearing what folks have to say. If you have a concern, suggestion, or question send me a message. I appreciate all ideas and opinions. Going forward you will be seeing me more in the county, I look forward to meeting as many residents as is possible. Working together we can and will build stronger communities. Community First.
Dennis Stuart
[Editor's Note: Dennis Stuart will be running as a Republican]
Last Update: Feb 26, 2018 6:30 am CST
