By STEPHANIE BUNKER
Moapa Valley Progress
Moapa Valley residents gathered at the Overton Community Center on Wednesday to meet one of the candidates in the upcoming election for Sheriff. Supporters of Sheriff candidate Larry Burns held a meet and greet to allow local voters to meet the candidate and find out more about him.
Moapa Valley resident Arleen Carl who was in attendance at the meeting said that the position of Sheriff is a vitally important role, especially when it comes to 2nd amendment rights.
“I want to gather information on all the candidates to make an intelligent decision,” Carl said.
Overton resident Natalie Jacobsmeyer also wanted to find out more about Burns so she attended the meet and greet that evening. She said she had heard positive things about Burns thus far.
Becky Kelly of Overton is a supporter of Burns. “I feel like he will be a better choice for Metro and our community,” she said.
Burns met and mingled with many of the community members during the first hour. He then spent a few moments addressing the crowd and telling them his views and what he means to accomplish.
Burns related his vision for the Metropolitan Police Department to those in attendance. He admires the relationship Moapa Valley has with its Metro officers in the area.
“The essence of what I would like Metro to become is officers integrating with the community,” He said. “The kind of policing here is what the overall morale in Las Vegas needs.”
Burns explained that the Police Department has an expected a level of duty which they must fulfill. But above that level of duty is a level of service which should be fulfilled, Burns said. He said that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department needs to be within that maximum level of service.
“I have watched it fluxuate between the two in my many years of service,” Burns said. “In many areas in Las Vegas the level is awfully close to that duty side of the scale. As officers in Las Vegas you make connections with the people you serve to achieve the maximum level of service.”
Burns encouraged the voters to look at his past record and experience in order to see the pathway of his future.
“The number one indicator for future performance is past performance,” he said. “I’d invite you each to do your homework on me and see my past performance.”
He challenged those who were undecided in their vote to ask three Metro officers or support staff who they support and why they do so.
“If you don’t get at least 2 out of 3 in support of me, I’d be disappointed in that,” he said. “Those officers know how I relate to the community and they need someone to speak on behalf of the organization that makes them proud. I’m the person that can do that.”