Letter: Crider ready to serve all as sheriff

The sheriff once asked me a question about a potential hire. The question was, “Would you trust this guy in a gun fight, would he stand by you or run?”

I thought about the candidates running for sheriff and asked myself the same; which is why I am choosing to endorse Mark Crider. I know he would support the split-second decisions deputies make daily.

Crider has proved his integrity when challenged by the FBI. This particular episode involved a veteran who suffered an injury. After discharge from the military, this veteran was accepted into the FBI Academy, then terminated due to the injury. Crider was called to testify for the FBI and decided to support the terminated veteran instead because it was the right thing to do.

This veteran is now an FBI agent thanks, in part, to Crider. The measure of a man is not what he does for his friends but what he does for complete strangers.

Mark Crider’s service in the Navy and FBI has instilled in him advanced leadership. His connections to both local-level and federal law enforcement throughout the country will enhance the deputies’ ability to continue serving the citizens of Walla Walla County.