Sheriff’s candidate offers congratulations to the women and men of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office
To the editor:
I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the women and men of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for taking the unprecedented step to exercise their freedom of choice under a hostile administration’s watch.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has joined together, in less than one year and by majority vote, to extend its hand to unionization in hopes that desperately needed protection from a secretive, malfunctioning administration is realized. These law enforcement officers essentially are hanging a sign of complete no-confidence on the administration’s front door.
Today we can be sure that the intensely difficult vote as to whether or not to accept the protection of organized labor was carried out by our brethren in green in good faith regardless of which side of the vote one was on. The real winner here today is the “freedom of choice,” a solemn right by all Americans which has been sorely missing from the Sheriff’s Office since 2004. Equally worthy of praise, our heroes were able to put aside the fact that they were preparing to make one of the most important votes of their career, one that would affect many aspects of their lives, while continuing to protect Lee County with the highest level of professionalism and dedication.
It is now up to union leaders to accept the extended hand and join together in order to help make it right and to collaborate for a bright and very productive future for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. A love of protecting and serving drives us all. Ultimately it is about the citizens. This process has set the stage for building a foundation that will in the end allow the Sheriff’s Office to better serve. It is about learning from the past, protecting the present and securing the future. Congratulations to you all.
Lee Bushong
Republican for Lee County Sheriff