Bailey

Deschutes County sheriff candidate Capt. William Bailey dispelled false rumors Wednesday that he falsified his academic records to obtain a certification listed on both his campaign website and official election materials.

The allegations were disproved by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), the agency that issued the management and executive certifications in question, after it received several complaints.

“The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training received numerous complaints, and was made aware of an online article from the DCSO Follies blog alleging that you submitted inaccurate information,” the agency wrote in a memo to Bailey. “Upon review of the official transcripts in our files, you have earned both Management and Executive certifications, and your educational credits have exceeded those required for certification.”

This is the most recent example of accusations — both substantiated and unsubstantiated — emerging from DCSO Follies, an anonymously run website openly critical of the current administration in the sheriff’s office. In previous posts, the blog has accused the sheriff’s office of political retaliation and limiting officer’s free speech.

Bailey is openly concerned about the impact “fake social media accounts,” including DCSO Follies, has had on the election, saying that people have become emboldened by the ability to hide behind a computer. Bailey accused his opposing candidate, Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp, of encouraging his supporters’ spread of disinformation on the website.

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“Allies of my opponent ran with those lies, and filed complaints with the state. The memo from DPSST is in response to those complaints, which needlessly consumed taxpayer resources in service of a lie. My opponent must tell his allies to stop lying about me, and to take down the false, defamatory statements about my certifications,” Bailey said in a release disclosing the memo from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

DCSO Follies has since acknowledged its original post about Bailey’s certifications was incorrect and issued a new opinion that both defends its original assessment and acknowledges the investigation by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training exonerating Bailey.