March 19, 2024

Jasper County native endorses Halferty

To the editor:

I am writing this letter in support of John Halferty for Jasper County Sheriff.

While I don’t live in Jasper County any longer, I grew up outside Reasnor and graduated from Monroe High School. All my immediate family live in rural Jasper County and I have many friends in the Prairie City/Monroe area.

That is why I am adamant that they receive the highest quality of law enforcement protection available. John Halferty would provide that security and professionalism as Sheriff of Jasper County.

John Halferty is very involved in his community and church as a football coach, church leader and volunteer firefighter, just to name a few of his activities outside the Sheriff’s Office. Other letters of support probably touch on these areas far better than I can.

My endorsement letter is to simply describe John as the law enforcement professional I personally know him to be.

I have been in law enforcement since 1984 and am currently a sergeant for the Des Moines Police Department. Earlier in my career, I worked daily with John as partners in the Jasper/Poweshiek Drug Task Force.

In those two years, I quickly came to regard John as a highly motivated and conscientious professional whose overriding concern was catching the bad guys and protecting the citizens of his jurisdiction against crime. He has spent 25 years now doing just that in Jasper County, the last 11 years as Chief Deputy.

As Chief Deputy, John has an intimate knowledge of the county, knows the budgetary concerns of the Sheriff’s Department and is an extremely capable supervisor who is able to make difficult decisions when needed. I have worked for a lot of supervisors over the years — good and bad — and John Halferty is one of the great ones.

Politics are part of any sheriff election because the position is an inherently political one. I believe politics are entirely irrelevant in this race. As a staunch conservative, I highly recommend electing John Halferty as Jasper County Sheriff.

The citizens of Jasper County deserve the highest quality of police protection, and John is the best person to provide that service in the office of sheriff.

Steven L. Woody

Johnston