ON THE BALLOT: Uncontested Henry County Offices

Richard 'Rich” McNamee

Address: Rural Route, Mt. Pleasant

Phone: 319-931-1862 Email: rmcnamee@henrycountyiowa.us

Family: Married to Carla. four children: Reece, Keelyn, Gannon and Ella

Occupation: Henry County Sheriff

Political Experience: Almost eight years as Henry County Sheriff

Why are you running for office?

Running for my third term as sheriff. I wish to continue providing responsible, proactive law enforcement to the citizens of Henry County.

What are your priorities if elected?

My platform is continuing with proactive law enforcement, improved relations with other law enforcement and prosecutors, continued presence in rural areas and smaller towns in the county and fiscal responsibility.

Following two terms as sheriff, what are the strengths of your office and what are areas you see for possible improvements?

The biggest strengths that my office brings is work ethic and being out in the county preventing criminal activity before it happens. Obviously the voters have provided us with a physical structure to house our business, our work environment and obviously to house inmates. I wish to continue proving to the citizens that we are worthy of their investment and make them proud of such. I find the continuation of proving that we were justified in our investment is a way we can always improve.

How do you plan to address the areas that could see improvements?

I don't really feel we need to adjust but rather we need to continue to prove that the county investments are being utilized to the maximum. As example, during our bond campaign we vowed to turn around the housing costs for inmates. When we were going through the last years of housing inmates out, it cost around $25-30,000 a month. In July and August of this year we gained revenue to a similar amount. We turned an expense into a revenue of similar amounts. This is a reversal of overall tax dollars of six figures.

What will you direct your deputies/employees to focus on and why?

All of my staff are doing great work. We are proud of our new facility, our community and our careers. My staff know what their focus is and how to do it. I am proud to say that we will continue going in the same direction as we have been. 2020 has been unique with the pandemic at hand. My staff has not faltered through this. We will continue to provide top quality law enforcement as we have for many years, and many more will come. Obviously with high police presence, proactive law enforcement, and common sense ethics; we should be able to do so.

How do these issues effect citizens of Henry County?

I tend to hear from our public on a regular basis, how they like seeing us out and about. During the recent past, with unrest around our country. Citizens of Henry County continue to show support for us and let us know. Obviously, we are treating our public well and serving them well. We will continue to try and do better each day, as we should, but we are proud of the way we are received by the majority of our county.