By Roger Gitlin – EYE ON DEL NORTE – October 15, 2021
He is the new Sheriff of Del Norte County for the past two and a half-weeks. What better opportunity than the present to introduce him to Del Norte County. Sheriff Waltz assumed the position upon the pre-mature departure of former Sheriff Erik Apperson, Oct 1. Sheriff
Randy Waltz was hired in the newly created Undersheriff position last year and the Board of Supervisors appointed him Sheriff through the current term expiring Dec. 31, 2022.
Sheriff Waltz is a San Joaquin Valley product, born and raised in the foothills east of Fresno.
He graduated from California State University Sacramento in Engineering with an emphasis in Vocational Education. Sheriff Waltz spent a decade and a half in the City of Fresno Public Works Dept. and another decade with the Tulare County Sheriff Dept before joining Fresno County as a District Attorney Investigator. On one of his many visits to Del Norte County, he met Erik Apperson and the rest of the story is history.
I asked the new Sheriff to please share his vision. Does he see himself as a caretaker or is he a candidate for his own four year term?
No and undeclared, respectively. No, he’s not a caretaker. He’s a hands on guy, a doer not a talker. He and his wife are mulling over his future as we speak. Of the 26 Sworn law enforcement deputies, 22 are in-the-field law enforcement officers. Two Sgt. and four Deputy slots remain unfilled. In the non-sworn positions, a Corrections technician and two dispatcher positions remain open.
*Staffing remains a high priority.
*High level of training which is very expensive is and remains a high priority. To trim costs and keep staff working, Sheriff Waltz is bringing the training to Del Norte rather than sending sworn staff to far-away sites which involve long one-way locations, like Sacramento. One such training is elevating ALL deputies with Specialized Investigation Training. Sheriff Waltz knows this discipline very well.
The Sheriff has instructed his deputies to involve themselves in all matters law enforcement and solve many pesky issues that are complicated by delineation of jurisdiction, City and County like Skateboard Hill (City) to Preston Island (County). Many of you read the Sacramento Bee piece, yesterday on ” No Law North of the Klamath, ” a not so nice eight page article on deputies who behave poorly, even committing felonies and escape the not so longhand of justice. Sheriff Waltz promises and commits himself that his Staff will not evade appropriate admonishment, discipline, and if warranted, prosecution by the DA.
I like what I heard and saw with my first meeting as a private citizen with Sheriff Randy Waltz.
I found the Sheriff to be accessible, candid and frank. We agreed to meet again.
From a personal point of view, I hope he does run for Sheriff in a few short months, but for now he can walk unnoticed into Wal-Mart, Crescent Ace Hardware or Sutter Coast Hospital, anonymously; that will change very soon.Good Luck Sheriff Waltz.We will be talking with you soon
Randy Waltz I believe has a son also named Randall Waltz. Is there a way to confirm that because as far as I’m concerned this gentleman is getting away with horrendous acts against men, women nd children; and is it possible to confirm that this man’s son is here in Del Norte County?
California sheriff charged with voter fraud, perjury in vacation rental address dispute
Less than six months after he took the job, the sheriff of Del Norte County was charged Wednesday with felony voter fraud — the latest scandal for the small North Coast department….
Sounds like a real upstanding and law abiding person. My guess, he’s Republican.
All valid points. This was an introductory meeting. The Sheriff and I will meet after the New Year . I promise I will address the issues you have brought to my attention.
Roger, a very nice article about our newly appointed Sheriff. However, this is an elected position and I was hoping to read a bit about his loyalty to the Constitution. The California Penal Code is being overhauled by Gavin Newsom and a radical leftist State legislature. The County Sheriff is THE MOST IMPORTANT elected official in ANY county. If Sacramento issues a new law that steps on the rights of his citizens, the Sheriff has the power to tell Sacramento to pound sand. If Governor Newsom, or even President Biden, broke a law in our County, he has the Constitutional power to arrest and jail them. Where does Sheriff Waltz stand in regards to enforcement of blatantly unconstitutional legislation?
As for the Sacramento Bee’s article “No Law North of the Klamath,” the McClatchy family is up to their eyebrows in Sacramento big government corruption. It will be a cold day in hell before the Bee addresses the anarchy happening in the Bay Area. The only reason they are picking on Del Norte is because we don’t share their politics and supported the Recall of their golden-boy Governor. What “Laws” do they want enforced or ignored? Allowing feces and hypodermic needles to accumulate on our streets? Do they want shoplifters released immediately after arrest? Sorry, but what the Bee reports does not have much credibility in my eyes.