Strong, White emphasize experience in sheriff’s race
Randy Strong, left, and Darren White
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following campaign profiles focus on the two candidates seeking election to the office of Nodaway County sheriff in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election. The race pits the incumbent, Sheriff Darren White, a Democrat, against former Maryville Public Safety investigator Randy Strong, a Republican. The profiles are based on the candidates’ responses to written questions submitted by Daily Forum reporter Tony Brown.
Randy Strong: Challenger notes success in criminal investigations
Randy Strong, running as a Republican, is 60 years old. He retired after a 31-year career as a Maryville Public Safety police officer and investigator and subsequently worked as an investigation supervisor for the Missouri Department of Corrections before accepting his current position as an investigator and deputy with the Holt County Sheriff’s Office.
Strong and his wife, Vicky, have three grown children and have lived in Nodaway County for 42 years.
During his law enforcement career, Strong has received numerous accolades, including Officer of the Year honors bestowed by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in recognition of his role in the 2004 Bobbie Jo Stinnett murder and kidnapping case.
Following the Stinnet case, Strong was among the officers summoned to Washington, D.C., and congratulated personally by President George W. Bush.
He also received the Federal Law Enforcement of the Year award and was honored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office after participating in the investigation of the 1990 murder of Christine Elkins, which ended in the conviction of two suspects.
Strong’s professional associations include the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. He is also a member of Maryville’s Host Lion’s Club and the Laura Street Baptist Church.
A 1974 graduate of Plattsburg High School, Strong attended Northwest Missouri State University.
Q: Why do you want to serve as Nodaway County sheriff?
A: “My extensive, advanced police training, success in criminal investigations, and ability to work with agencies from the local level to the federal level have prepared me to be the sheriff of Nodaway County. I am a man of integrity who wants to lead and inspire those who work in the Sheriff’s Office to create a new generation of officers to protect our communities.”
Q: If elected, what will be your top priorities?
A: “(I will seek to) reestablish a solid working relationship with local, state, and federal agencies that fosters a common goal of information sharing, cooperative work efforts, and camaraderie.”
In this regard, Strong added that he would “reestablish the highly successful “Initial Response Team” of the Northwest Missouri Major Case Squad and revive the “Child Abduction Response Team.”
Another goal is to “establish a dedicated narcotics investigator by pooling resources from local, state, and federal resources.”
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Nodaway County law enforcement?
A: “Protecting and preserving the high quality of life the citizens of Nodaway County enjoy while dealing with the diversity of cultures, needs, and beliefs in our small and larger cities requires that our law enforcement constantly evolve to meet challenges.
“Our sheriff’s department needs current, relevant training, correct analysis of crime trends, and assistance from other agencies to perform our duties each day.
“The Sheriff’s Office must combat the illicit drug trade that erodes families, our communities, and contributes to theft and crimes of violence.”
Q: Why are you qualified to hold the office of Nodaway County sheriff?
A: “In more than three decades of my law enforcement career I have a proven track record of managing law enforcement staff, criminal investigations, and leading teams across multiple agencies. I’ve been deputized by the U.S. marshal, passing extensive background evaluations.
“I was the investigations manager of the Western Region for Missouri’s (Department of Corrections) inspector general, and I had a staff of 10 employees. I am the most qualified candidate for sheriff.”
Q: The best thing about living and working in Nodaway County is …
A: “Warm, friendly people in our communities make Nodaway County a great place to live and raise a family. Our recreation, education, and employment opportunities add to the quality of life we all enjoy.”
Q: List the things that you would like to see happen or change in Nodaway County over the next five years.
A: “Our sheriff’s deputies would be trained locally, saving taxpayer dollars. Nodaway County would have a centralized 911 communication center, saving taxpayer dollars. Nodaway County’s small communities would be protected from illicit drug activity.”
Darren White: Sheriff cites long service as officer, first responder
Darren White, 56, running as a Democrat, lives in rural Maryville and is seeking a third full four-year term as sheriff. A native of Platte County, he has lived in Nodaway County since 1978. He is married to Maribeth White, and the couple has three children.
A graduate of Masuk High School in Connecticut, White also attended Northwest Missouri State University.
White has worked for the Sheriff’s Office since signing on as a deputy in 1985 and began his first-responder career in the late 1970s while still in high school as a part-time emergency medical technician. He later served as a paramedic in St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Nodaway County.
As sheriff, White is the county’s top uniformed law officer and leads a department comprising 11 sworn deputies and about 20 full- and part-time civilian staff members.
His memberships include St Gregory Barbarigo Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, and the Maryville Masonic Lodge.
In 2011, White received the Enoch B. Morlock Award for service to law enforcement and community from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. In addition, he was listed as one of “20 Who Count” by the St. Joseph News-Press in 2015 and received the 2016 Heroes for the Heartland Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
During the campaign he has said his accomplishments as sheriff include instituting 24-hour road patrols; a canine drug-detection program largely paid for by fundraisers and citizen contributions; increased Sheriff’s Office involvement in the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force; and the resurrection of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program in the county’s rural communities.
White also claims to have worked with 4th District Circuit Court officials to promote work-release for employed offenders serving jail time.
Q: Why do you want to serve as Nodaway County sheriff?
A: “I want to serve in the office for which I am running because I have spent my adult life serving the community in both the emergency medical service and law enforcement fields.
“As the sheriff I have been able to guide the Sheriff’s Office in a direction that protects the community in the most professional manner. I have been able to staff the Sheriff’s Office with deputies who are primarily from Nodaway County and want to be here because this is home, and they know the people that live here. All of the people at the Sheriff’s Office are invested in our community.”
Q: If elected, what will be your top priorities?
A: “If elected, my top priorities will be to continue on the path of professionalism and to serve the people on a personal level.”
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Nodaway County law enforcement?
A: “The biggest challenge from the perspective of the office I am seeking is maintaining a presence and quick response in such a large county. With our outlying communities getting smaller, it becomes the responsibility of all of us to keep the entire Nodaway County community vital and thriving.”
Q: Why are you qualified to hold the office of Nodaway County sheriff?
A: “I am qualified to serve in this office because of my experience and extensive training. With my over 30 years of experience in public service, most of it right here in Nodaway County, I am truly the most qualified person to continue as sheriff.”
Q: The best thing about living and working in Nodaway County is …
A: “The best thing about living and working in Nodaway County is the quality of life we experience because of the great people that live here.”
Q: List the things that you would like to see happen or change in Nodaway County over the next five years.
A: “I believe that the most important change needed is the development of a centralized 911 center.”
