PRINEVILLE When voters were starting to get ballots for Tuesdays primary election, the gloves came off of two of the candidates in the heated Crook County sheriffs race.

The campaign for Marlen Hein, one of the five sheriff candidates, ran an ad in the Prineville newspaper written by retired Prineville Police Chief Jim Soules. In the ad, Soules attacked incumbent Sheriff Rodd Clark for past actions.

Clark countered Hein, a retired Oregon State Police trooper, with a pre-emptive strike of his own, publishing an ad that berated negative attack campaigning in the same issue.

The other three candidates, Jeff Coffman, a Prineville police officer; Gary Robertson, a former Crook County sheriffs deputy; and write-in candidate Sam Forney, a former Crook County marine deputy, sat out this match. But early in the race, Clark and Forney clashed over Forneys eligibility to run. And Robertson questioned Forneys eligibility to run.

For a post that has only seen one disputed race since Clark was elected in 1986, this years sometimes contentious battle for sheriff has made people like David Koehler, a Crook County resident of only a year, suspicious.

I got the impression it was a personal feud, as opposed to being based in reality, Koehler said of Soules ad. I think the race is getting ugly. Its kind of unfortunate that there seems to be so much animosity among the candidates and their supporters.

Though he thinks Clark has been doing a serviceable job, Koehler said he wonders why the virtually unchallenged sheriff of 20 years suddenly has four opponents in one race.

Then again, he said, a couple of the candidates struck him as disgruntled employees.

Im disappointed to see a bunch of good ol boys sniping at each other instead of focusing on the issues, said Koehler, a retiree. Crook County has to have issues I mean, they dont have a jail. I would have rather heard about how they are going to go about getting the county a jail.

The county has a small jail that it has outgrown and is renting beds at the Jefferson County jail.

Soules ad may be the outcome of a rocky history between Clark and Soules, according to Crook County Judge Scott Cooper, who worked with Soules as a Prineville city councilor and now works with Clark.

They have their differences. There is no secret about that, Cooper said. But I was a bit surprised to see it be so public.

The ad

In the ad he wrote as an endorsement for Hein, Soules raised a series of issues that have come up in Clarks 20-year tenure as sheriff.

The issues are as follows:

In the early 1990s, the Oregon Department of Justice investigated Clark for taking a sheriffs office vehicle hunting in Harney County, which neighbors Crook County to the southeast.

Clark received a citation for failing to properly validate a hunting tag after shooting an elk.

Soules said Clark rarely responds to calls when he is off duty.

Soules also said that Clark broke an agreement for deputies to share office space with the Prineville Police Department as a cost-saving move when the sheriffs office was trying to pass a three-year tax levy in the mid 1990s.

Soules and Hein, 64, said all of these issues amount to a track record of bad decision-making, arrogance and a disregard for taxpayer money on Clarks part.

It shows a lack of understanding of the awesome responsibility, Soules said. You have to conduct yourself in an honorable way all the time and be a good steward of county dollars.

The people needed to know, Hein said. This is not an attack on him. This is his work record.

Hein said he wanted to give voters a more informed picture of Clark.

I dont want to get into mudslinging, Hein said. Were taking his record, not him personally, and making that available to the public.

I didnt say anything that hasnt been reported in newspapers, Soules said.

But Clark, 62, is frustrated by what he considers personal attacks and thinks the ad skewed the facts.

(Soules) has a right to say what he wants, or what he needs to say, but it doesnt necessarily make it correct, Clark said. I have provided very ethical and moral leadership for this office.

Clark defended his use of the sheriffs office vehicle on a hunting trip, saying the undersheriff at the time suggested he take it in case Clark had to respond to a search and rescue call while he was in the area.

He said it wasnt, and still

isnt, uncommon for Crook County to help out neighboring counties in search and rescue efforts, especially during hunting season. So by taking the vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, Clark said he would have been able to respond more quickly if he had to respond to a search and rescue call. Clark said he drove the vehicle about 160 miles round trip to the hunting area for a roughly five-day trip and did not pay for gas. Clark said he did not drive the vehicle during the hunting trip.

Clark pointed out that Soules ad didnt mention that he was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Stephanie Soden, a spokeswoman for the state justice department, confirmed that Clark was investigated for taking the county vehicle on a hunting trip. He was investigated from November 1992 to April 1993 for alleged crimes of official misconduct and theft, but was never charged. Soden said the department no longer has a copy of the report.

Clark said the hunting citation in the early 1990s was based on a misunderstanding, not an attempt to try to shoot a second elk. After shooting an elk, Clark said he punched a hole in the tag to note the month and day of the kill, but did not completely remove the dates as required. Clark said he was cited and paid a $57 fine.

Why would someone make any issue of that 15 years after it happened? Clark asked.

As for Soules claim that Clark rarely responds to calls, he and the current Undersheriff Jim Hensley countered, asking, How would Jim know?

Clark said as sheriff, hes on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and is always in touch with staff when necessary.

Tobie Reynolds, the communications director for the police department who oversees dispatch calls, said the sheriff and police chief are rarely dispatched to an incident unless they work a patrol shift. Clark also challenged Soules claim that he went back on a deal to share space with the police department. Soules said the move would have streamlined operations and made it easier for the departments to share information.

Clark said he and Soules did agree to share space in the back of the old Prineville City Hall and voiced that plan to the public as they campaigned for the levy. But Clark said he didnt make the promise just to get the levy passed, as Soules claimed.

After the levy passed, a local church offered the county a building as long as officials paid for the costs to move it. The county took advantage of the deal to get the sheriffs office a bigger and better space, Clark said.

In hindsight, Clark said it was the best decision, especially considering how both departments have expanded.

Why go ahead with a decision you know isnt right when you have a decision that comes up that is the right one? Clark said. Clark said he didnt want to engage in a war of words with him, beyond his ad discounting negative attacks.

It wont do me any good, or the community any good, to throw stones, Clark said.

In response to Soules ad, Tom Alexander, a Powell Butte farmer, published his own ad defending Clarks record and praising his work record. Alexander said he wasnt surprised that the race took a negative turn, though hed rather accentuate the positive.

I was just disappointed that Mr. Soules couldnt bury the hatchet, Alexander said. I felt like it was pretty counterproductive.

But Soules said the public has a right to know about Clarks past.

Im not saying Rodd Clark is a bad person, Soules said. Im saying there is a pattern of behavior that shows bad decision-making.

The rest of the candidates

Coffman, 41, the police officer, said whether Soules and Heins ad was negative comes down to each candidates perspective.

Were all coming at this from different points of view, Coffman said.

Coffman said he would rather focus on the issues and what he would do as sheriff if he is elected.

Im not going to get worked up about it, Coffman said. Im trying to do things in that a way that is going to reflect a positive light.

Like Coffman, Robertson, 36, the former sheriffs deputy, said he would rather point out his own merits in his campaign.

Even so, Robertson said he thought the issues that Soules and Hein raised in their ad needed to be brought up, especially because he thinks Clark touts his integrity.

None of us are above the law, Robertson said.

Write-in candidate Sam Forney could not be reached for comment.

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com.