County
Ada Sheriff Unpins His Badge
May 31, 2021 
Ada County sheriff’s deputies were caught by surprise Monday when they learned Sheriff Steve Bartlett called it quits with no prior
notice.
Ada County Commish chairman Rod Beck was unaware of the move until he heard from someone who directed him to the KTVB website.
Beck said the county Republican Central Committee will provide three names and the commishes will select one to serve until the next general election. Bartlett was just elected in November 2020 to a four year term.
Deputies were informed via e-mail and at briefing time with a short message: “I have to attend to a couple personal items and scheduling in my life and am looking forward to that very much,” he wrote in his email. “Stay safe and enjoy the journey.”
Bartlett named chief Deputy Scott Johnson as acting sheriff until a new sheriff is appointed.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
May 31, 2021, 4:50 pm
The Sheriff runs for office, asks us to “trust” him, and then leaves office 6 months later after the election. I understand “personal” issues come up, but I would hope that those running for public office understand the public trust we place in them. I am just hoping this is not a preemptive voluntary removal before something else hits…
May 31, 2021, 4:57 pm
What? Didn’t we just elect him into office? Didn’t he just take office a few months ago?
May 31, 2021, 5:05 pm
Interesting choice of a post on Memorial Day, for a BOISE guardian.
And a salute to those lost in the battle?
May 31, 2021, 6:02 pm
This is how a corrupt system stays corrupt. When a public servant decides to retire, rather than complete a term and allow fair competition at election time, they quit while still in office. This allows the higher ups to appoint his replacement who will then have the power of incumbency in the next election. Shouldn’t there be “snap” elections in situations like this? It ain’t right.
May 31, 2021, 6:56 pm
Hmmm … Since at least one of the Commissioners seems to be a Bundy fan – I do wonder if we may be looking at a'”Constitutional” Sheriff being appointed???
May 31, 2021, 7:00 pm
Perhaps within a certain short time period, the second highest vote getter should be awarded the position.
May 31, 2021, 10:48 pm
Something is not right here. I think there is more to the story. Time will tell.
May 31, 2021, 11:38 pm
That commissioner ran for sheriff as a Libertarian 20 yrs ago. He was a whack job then.
Jun 1, 2021, 6:10 am
The timing seems strange; that is, unless he is considering running against Commissioner Kenyon next year. Does Bartlett live in Dist. 3? If so, he needs to get ahead of another Sharon Ullman run.
Jun 1, 2021, 8:47 am
He could have won the lottery.
Jun 1, 2021, 9:37 am
Think we should check our rush to judgment. I felt he was a good choice. Maybe he found today’s political climate was more than he bargained for..Anyway, I wish him the best.
Jun 1, 2021, 11:36 am
Editor, please fill in a few blanks. Is this a political job? Is it independent of the commission? Did this Sheriff have a political point of view? Was he at odds with the commission or within the department/community? How about neighboring departments going “woke”? I’d quit too if I had some social worker telling me how I was going to run my department. Do you want the ticket agents flying your airplane too? So a bit more info please editor.
All jobs policing are extremely difficult these days. Nobody wants to do it. Can’t find recruits. Violent thugs somehow getting mass sympathy and monuments. Yes indeed some stupid cops going too far and so on. Political pressure on the cops to soften up while no pressure on the thugs to soften up. DAs are protecting the thug way of life in many liberal areas. One of em is our VP. It’s crazy self defeating politics overriding good judgment. For example, there was a recent feelgood story about Boise giving back all the military hardware… sounds great until your cops are outgunned as was routinely happening until they got the hardware.
EDITOR NOTE–The sheriff is a constitutional job in Idaho, elected by the people. Like most of Idaho politics, the job is strongly Republican. Today, the best sheriff has only a minor role in “law enforcement.”
A perfect sheriff is a business executive, with expertise in fleet management, personnel, corrections (jail management), food service, civil procedure, court bailiffs, politics, communications and technology, etc. Writing tickets andy chasing burglars is a minor, but important role.
The only muscle over the sheriff held by the county commishes is the power of the purse. They establish the salary (about $140,000) and budget for ALL county departments. The previous commish had approved a funding mechanism for a jail expansion which circumvented the Idaho Constitution, eliminating citizen approval of long term debt (a bond election). The new majority want a citizen vote on a bond.
We are told the interim appointee will serve until the next general election.
Jun 1, 2021, 2:06 pm
Many problems are simply financial and bringing up the jail issue makes me wonder why impact fees are not being considered for da jail and law enforcement.
EDITOR NOTE–Past experience tells me there has to be an IMPACT to charge fees (traffic, sewer, water, etc.). Pretty hard to quantify how many inmates are generated by an upscale subdivision or home. We need impact fees for schools right now.
Jun 1, 2021, 3:44 pm
He was just RE-ELECTED in November 2020 to a four-year term would be a better and more accurate statement. I guess leaving out the ‘just’ would be more appropriate for professional writing. Rod Beck is the immediate resource from the Commission? Speed dial? What did the others say? PIOs? Compared to MSM?
Maybe Ada County will hire fmr Gary Raney- as he is now hawking his time as a consultant. It could be the Masterson remake, 2.0. experience. Or maybe Bartlett got a more lucrative job as a consultant. PERSI+++ Be a politician and then be a lobbyist /consultation!!! What is that Idaho Republican saying “drain the swamp”?
Jun 2, 2021, 7:52 am
Is ‘PD’ smoking something or did he never get training in how to put thoughts into writing?
Jun 2, 2021, 1:53 pm
Great. Now the position is in the hands of our woefully incompetent BOCC. Maybe Davidson, Bundy, and Company will select Raul Labrador as our next Sheriff?
Jun 4, 2021, 11:48 am
The resignation on Memorial Day reeked of juvenilism, the kind where a High School Senior quits his job at Taco Bell in order to spend their summer playing before College in the fall.
Over on Reddit, I saw a comment where Caldwell PD is under some form of investigation. No doubt a rumor, but the truth seems to very elusive.
Sheriff Bartlett is entitled to his right to remain silent however remember what George Carlin said about honesty: “Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.” Which is it Mr. Bartlett?
Jun 20, 2021, 3:16 pm
This has the smell of dog droppings getting swept under the rug.