I am glad that Chad posed the question of why he or anyone else should support Gene. The first thing that makes him the most qualified person is integrity. Having worked for him for five years and with him for another five, Gene will support you when you are right and come after you when you are not. Integrity is the most important issue for me in a qualified candidate.

The second reason is leadership experience. Since attending the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy over 35 years ago Gene has had a leadership position in some capacity in law enforcement. Gene has lead and held together arguably the best reserve law enforcement program in the state for at least 27 years (I’m not yet an active part of his campaign, so I don’t have all the stats memorized, I am pretty sure it was longer than 27 years but I don’t want to exaggerate).  No agency I am aware of has been as dependent upon reserves as Greene County; and their success can be traced to Gene Thomlinson. He has long required reserves to have the same training as full timers and then additional monthly training on top of that. His experience in leading two organizations is unmatched.

Another factor as a former law enforcement officer that I consider heavily is who I would rather have backing me up on a call and who’s office I would rather be sitting in if a citizen had lodged a complaint against me. Having been on calls with all four candidates that have announced so far I can easily say I prefer to have Gene as my backup. As for sitting in someone’s office; I have sat in Gene’s and I know that I was always treated fairly and he has done the same for others.

Despite all those qualifications, the biggest factor in why I support Gene is because of his actions on and after 16 August 2000. When I was run over and hospitalized Gene immediately was there for Amy and me. He lived at the hospital with me until he himself was hospitalized and I had to come back and visit him. When I think back to that time in my life I really think about the people that took care of me and my family. Gene and Jack Merritt are at the top of the list; then there is Mike Penland and Kenny Weatherford that come to mind. There were so many others, but Gene and Jack went so far above and beyond what was required of them in order to help me and my family; because of that I will always support both of those men in any endeavor they undertake.

That is why you should support and vote for Gene Thomlinson for Sheriff of Greene County.