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Jefferson sheriff loses backing
By GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
With 13 days until the 2022 pri-
mary election, two prominent Jeffer-
son County officials — the district
attorney and a former sheriff — have
come out strongly against incumbent
Sheriff Marc Heckathorn, saying he’s
taken steps to make children less safe.
In July, Heckathorn, a 23-year vet-
eran of the Jefferson County Sher-
iff’s Office, was appointed sheriff by
a vote of the County Commission. At
the time, he had the backing of former
Sheriff Jim Adkins, who’d tapped his
undersheriff to be his successor.
Heckathorn, 46, is now running to
keep that seat, facing two challengers
in the May 17 primary election. One
of them, Deputy Jason Pollock, head
of the sheriff office’s deputy union, is
highly critical of Heckathorn’s lead-
ership, saying he lacks empathy and
doesn’t have support of his rank-and-
file officers. The other, Reserve Dep-
uty Rick Dupont, was encouraged
to run by Heckathorn so there would
be three candidates in the race, Heck-
athorn has said.
Under Oregon election law, with
three candidates in the race, the next
sheriff can possibly be determined in
this month’s primary instead of the
November general election, should any
candidate receive more than 50% of the
vote. Heckathorn’s gamble could have
backfired, though, if a recent endorse-
ment is an indicator.
On Wednesday, District Attorney
Steve Leriche and Adkins issued a
joint statement endorsing Pollock and
rebuking Heckathorn.
“Acting Sheriff Heckathorn’s prior
service to this county is commendable,
but his actions as Acting Sheriff and
during this campaign have been the
opposite,” the statement reads.
In the statement, Adkins and Ler-
iche describe several recent epi-
sodes involving Heckathorn, includ-
ing Dupont’s dummy campaign,
calling the reserve deputy “a buddy
who doesn’t even want the job.” They
say Heckathorn has taken to blaming
“prior sheriffs” for any problems at the
office, while claiming credit for any
success.
“That is not accurate,” the state-
ment reads. “Given these serious con-
cerns about Acting Sheriff Heck-
athorn’s communication, integrity,
and judgment, we cannot support his
candidacy.”
The
statement
from Adkins and Ler-
iche also includes the
more serious charge
that Heckathorn has
withdrawn the office
from involvement
Leriche
with a national law
enforcement group
that combats child
pornography
and
child sexual abuse.
They say that since
taking office, Heck-
athorn has reduced
his office’s involve-
Heckathorn
ment with the Inter-
net Crimes Against
Children task force
without consulting
community leaders.
Emails from Ler-
iche to the state’s
task force coordina-
tor, Phillip D. Kear-
Pollock
ney, from earlier
this year were pro-
vided to The Bulletin through a public
records request.
In a March 23 email, Leriche asked
Kearney who in Jefferson County had
been receiving task force notifications
of investigations of child pornography
and other internet crimes against chil-
dren in Jefferson County.
Officials have said around this time,
the arrest of Duane Ross Hollenbeak
Jr. triggered a multiagency review of
child abuse cases in Jefferson County.
“As the District Attorney, these
types of cases are of the utmost impor-
tance to me,” Leriche wrote to Kearney.
Kearney responded that there
were two investigators from Jefferson
County listed in the task force data-
base, both members of the Madras
Police Department.
“Until late last year Jefferson
County SO had one detective in our
database but for unknown reasons the
JCSO is no longer accepting the cyber-
tips we send to them,” Kearney wrote.
Leriche responded asking for clari-
fication, referring to the Madras Police
Department by its initials: “Normally,
MPD works cases within the city lim-
its. Who is working the rest of Jeffer-
son County ICAC cases?”
Kearney responded that the state
has had to “lean on” Oregon State
Police to investigate tips in unincorpo-
rated Jefferson County.
“I do not know why JCSO is no lon-
ger working cybertips. I placed a call
to the sheriff to discuss this matter but
never heard back from him,” Kearney
wrote. “I have had other police agen-
cies in the state tell me they couldn’t
work the cybertips we send to them but
they always reach out to me to discuss
this issue.”
Hearing this from Kearney did not
sit well with Leriche, the district attor-
ney told The Bulletin.
“I thought to myself, What the hell
are we doing? Our first and central
obligation should be to protect kids,”
Leriche said. “Any law enforcement
professional who takes their job seri-
ously has to put kids first.”
It’s the first time the district attor-
ney, who took office in 1998, has pub-
licly supported a candidate for sheriff,
though he noted many elections do not
feature competitive challenges.
Reached for comment, Heckathorn
defended his record, saying the Jeffer-
son County Sheriff’s Office recently
partnered with the task force in the
arrest of a Crooked River Ranch man.
He provided emails showing a ser-
geant on his staff had been in contact
with Oregon State Police about sher-
iff’s investigators receiving task force
training. He said he and that sergeant
met with a local OSP commander in
February to discuss cases.
Wednesday afternoon, the sher-
iff issued a statement calling the let-
ter “stunning and disappointing,” from
men he considered personal friends
and mentors.
“Their information was incomplete
and inaccurate,” he said. “I frankly
expected both of them to have explored
all of the evidence before they weighed
in with this last minute effort to dis-
credit me.”
Heckathorn has bristled at Pollock
“going negative” in Facebook posts.
“Please don’t get bogged down
trying to defend me when false narra-
tives are presented by my opponent,”
he wrote last month. “This is his sig-
nature move ‘going negative.’ There
are reasons for everything and peo-
ple that want to know facts will come
to me directly. I appreciate those who
want to come to my aid but it only
brings more notoriety to half truths
and false hoods. As I said before, take
the high road and we’ll get through
this just fine.”
And though Adkins has put his sup-
port behind him, Pollock has said the
sheriff’s office has suffered from “gross
mismanagement” for years. Adkins did
not return a call seeking comment.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
A9
Candidate questions
Voters’ Pamphlet rules
By ANDREW CUTLER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A Republican
candidate for Oregon’s 2nd Con-
gressional District was left out of
the Voters’ Pamphlet, and she says
it’s because the Secretary of State’s
Office didn’t clarify candidates’
options for being included in the
guide.
Katherine Gallant, who lists her
residence as Ukiah, said she wasn’t
aware until after the release of the
guide that candidates had to either
pay to be included in the Voters’
Pamphlet or collect and submit 300
signatures.
“I found out after the fact,” she
said.
Ben Morris, communications
director for Secretary of State
Shemia Fagan, said the details are
laid out for candidates in manu-
als and guides on the Secretary of
State’s Office website.
“In terms of disclosure this is all
very clearly stated in the campaign
manual that we provide to candi-
dates listed on our website,” he said.
“It has all the information the candi-
date would need to go right through
the various steps.”
Morris said a State Voters’ Pam-
phlet Manual, also available on the
Secretary of State’s Office website,
includes information for candidates
on how to submit a statement and
photo for the Voters’ Pamphlet.
“We send a letter to every can-
didate that mentions the Voters’
Pamphlet and how to go about fil-
ing, including the deadlines and the
requirements to gather signature or
pay a fee,” he said.
At the end of the day, Morris said,
it is the candidate’s responsibility for
knowing the necessary steps in run-
ning for public office.
“If you’re running for pub-
lic office, it’s your responsibility to
understand all the rules, campaign
finance laws, campaign rules,” he
said. “Candidates are expected to
read those manuals and understand
those rules.”
Gallant, who according to the
Secretary of State’s Office web-
site filed to run for office on Feb.
23 and lists her occupation as politi-
cal commentator and writer, also took
issue with the price for being listed
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phlet — $2,500
for a congressional
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“That’s com-
plete
extortion
because it discrim-
Gallant
inates against those
that might want
to run, but could never afford that
kind of money,” she said. “I person-
ally could. But there are a lot of peo-
ple, candidates out there, probably
good, hardworking honest people,
that would never be able to afford the
$2,500.”
Not all candidates pay $2,500 to
be included in the pamphlet. Prices
are tiered based on the office being
sought. For example, a candidate for
president or vice president will pay
$3,500, while a candidate for county
commissioner will pay $600. The fees
and signatures required for the Voters’
Pamphlet are laid out in state statute
ORS 251.095.
“They are going to claim anything
and everything to skirt their way out
of this instead of just owning it,” Gal-
lant said. “That makes me believe
they do have something to hide. I
would understand if it were just a
simple mistake but I have deeply sac-
rificed to make this happen.”
Gallant, along with Mark Cavener,
is challenging incumbent U.S Rep.
Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, for the Repub-
lican nomination for the 2nd Congres-
sional District in the May primary.
Adam Prine and Joe Yetter are vying
for the Democratic bid.
The vast 2nd Congressional Dis-
trict is the largest in Oregon, covering
roughly two-thirds of the state in rural
Eastern and Central Oregon. It is the
seventh largest district in the nation.
The population of the area is 648,280,
according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
“I know that going after (the sec-
retary of state) will guarantee my
demise on the 17th. But, you know,
their deception is the major reason
I’m running,” Gallant said. “Along
with my fellow Oregonians, we’re
tired of the corruption and I’m not
afraid to call them out. How do Ore-
gonians expect me to fight the big
boys in Washington if I can’t fight
the puppies here in Oregon? Win or
lose, at this point, doesn’t matter, it’s
the integrity of our government I’m
after.”
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