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Iowa Sheriff’s Deputy Strives to be Top Cop
After 23 years as a sheriff’s deputy and union activist, Mike Johnstone is ready to move into management. And he’s running against his boss to do it.
Johnstone is trying to unseat the sheriff of Des Moines County, Iowa, who has held office for 11 years. “I’ve had a desire for 20 years to do this job,” he said. “I think that people are really ready for a change.”
Johnstone is a member of CWA Local 7176, which represents sheriff’s deputies as well as two police departments in Burlington, the county seat. He’s been a union officer, has been involved in the region’s labor council and is active in the Democratic Party.
He said deputies don’t feel Sheriff Joel Behne communicates with them adequately, don’t believe the department’s money is being well spent, and have some “good common sense” concerns about the way the agency is run.
For instance, Johnstone said the sheriff insisted a couple of years ago that deputies’ names be painted in block letters on their patrol cars. The sheriff saw it as good public relations. His workers saw it as threat to their safety. They were readily identifiable on patrol, making them “easy targets for someone with an ax to grind,” Johnstone said.
Union members fought it for a year and a half and got the state legislature behind them. Finally, with backing from the Democratic Party and the governor, the union persuaded the sheriff to remove the names.
Johnstone, who is married with two school-age children, has worked in the county’s jail and been a detective, but the bulk of his career has been spent on patrol. He has groomed himself for the top job by earning a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement administration and is working toward a master’s degree.
He believes his union background makes him well suited for the position. “I have a team-oriented desire to run the department,” he said. “Being a union member, you tend to become very close to those around you. You learn to respect the feelings of others.”
And that means respecting a fair contract.
“I think a good administrator appreciates a good, strong union,” he said. “ A good contract benefits both. Everyone knows where he stands.”
Johnstone is trying to unseat the sheriff of Des Moines County, Iowa, who has held office for 11 years. “I’ve had a desire for 20 years to do this job,” he said. “I think that people are really ready for a change.”
Johnstone is a member of CWA Local 7176, which represents sheriff’s deputies as well as two police departments in Burlington, the county seat. He’s been a union officer, has been involved in the region’s labor council and is active in the Democratic Party.
He said deputies don’t feel Sheriff Joel Behne communicates with them adequately, don’t believe the department’s money is being well spent, and have some “good common sense” concerns about the way the agency is run.
For instance, Johnstone said the sheriff insisted a couple of years ago that deputies’ names be painted in block letters on their patrol cars. The sheriff saw it as good public relations. His workers saw it as threat to their safety. They were readily identifiable on patrol, making them “easy targets for someone with an ax to grind,” Johnstone said.
Union members fought it for a year and a half and got the state legislature behind them. Finally, with backing from the Democratic Party and the governor, the union persuaded the sheriff to remove the names.
Johnstone, who is married with two school-age children, has worked in the county’s jail and been a detective, but the bulk of his career has been spent on patrol. He has groomed himself for the top job by earning a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement administration and is working toward a master’s degree.
He believes his union background makes him well suited for the position. “I have a team-oriented desire to run the department,” he said. “Being a union member, you tend to become very close to those around you. You learn to respect the feelings of others.”
And that means respecting a fair contract.
“I think a good administrator appreciates a good, strong union,” he said. “ A good contract benefits both. Everyone knows where he stands.”