The other candidates are independent candidate Roger Williams; Steve Laux, a retired Michigan State Police trooper who McLean defeated in the Republican primary and is now running as a write-in candidate; and independent candidate Josh Saaranen, a Houghton County sergeant who filed before the primary election and is endorsing McLean.

Interviews with Laux and McLean are below. Interviews with Saaranen and Williams will follow Monday.

Steve Laux

Laux, who retired from the Michigan State Police earlier this year, said since he came back to the area in the ’90s, he’s had the goal of running for sheriff in 2020.

Laux

Laux said his top reason for running again as a write-in candidate was addressing the number of missing-persons cases over the past five years. He would first tackle the case of Leah Harding, which he called “very solvable.” The South Range resident has been missing since 2015.

“When I did the primary election campaign, I spoke to people at that time and got a few tips,” Laux said. “Some I had heard before, and a few I hadn’t. There’s a lot of tips that need to be looked at, and a lot of real basic investigative techniques that were never done.”

Laux said he would set up a separate missing persons task force, which would also include retired officers and seek assistance from outside sources such as the FBI.

Laux said he was also running in part to combat the drug problem in the area. In the past few months, he had seen several apparent drug transactions going on in the area, but having retired from the MSP, had no recourse to stop them. His plans include developing a K-9 unit to aid in drug detection, as has been done at the MSP Calumet post.

Laux said he is also running because he felt Commissioner Roy Britz had unfairly characterized him as being against a new jail at a board meeting after the August primary. Laux said he believes any new jail should be built on the county-owned land on Dodge Street across from the courthouse.

“I think that voters should have more than one option when it goes on a ballot, and have some cost estimates for Plan A and Plan B and let them choose, instead of just throwing one out there and vote,” he said. “…Ultimately, it’s up to the 36,000 residents in Houghton County as to when, where and if that jail or addition would be built.”

Laux was also encouraged by people to run as a write-in after his primary defeat, including by a World War II veteran.

“He said, ‘You really should think about doing a write-in campaign, as we need a strong sheriff,'” he said. “That was a tipping point … the next day, I went in, and I filed as a write-in.”

Laux said he would develop a detective deputy to assist the detective lieutenant to assist in investigating cases. He said he would also be more proactive in searching for grant money.

“I’ll try to create a good, fair work environment where everybody pulls their weight and everybody does their job,” he said.

Asked about policing in the wake of the nationwide protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, Laux said officers are specifically trained not to kneel on a suspect’s neck, as the arresting officer did in that case, and that Floyd should have been brought to a hospital sooner. He said he would work to create a training protocol for de-escalation techniques. In 26 years in law enforcement, he could count on one hand the times he’d needed to use any physical force, Laux said.

“If you’re walking into any kind of a situation, if you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, if you’re thinking down on this person, etc., things are going to go bad,” he said. “But if you’re transparent, if you’re an honest person, if you’re down to earth, not a pushover, 99% of the time, you’re going to nip all those other problems in the bud, and you’re never going to have to go hands-on.”

Laux said voters should consider him because he’s a hard worker and treats people with respect.

“I use this analogy: Imagine the person you’re dealing with is your mother, or your father, or your brother,” he said. “How would you like them to be treated?”

Brian McLean

McLean, who was first elected sheriff in 1996, said he still enjoys the challenge of the job.

“I’ve reached that age where I could say, ‘Well, I’ll collect my Social Security and just retire and walk away,'” he said. “But it’s nice to be part of something meaningful. And I still have the drive to keep going.”

Over the years, the department’s biggest challenge has been making do with a limited budget, McLean said. The department has 28 employees stretched over three 24-hour operations — patrols, the jail and the work camp. Dickinson County, which has about 10,000 fewer people, has a staff of about 80, McLean said.

“It’s a challenge, but we have a good group here,” he said.

McLean said he pursues grant opportunities to keep the department updated with, if not the newest technology, the newest and best the department can afford.

2020 has also seen a renewed scrutiny of policing after incidents such as the killing of George Floyd by an officer in Minneapolis. McLean said Houghton County, as in other rural areas across the country, benefit from closer relations with the community. Officers also receive additional training for interpersonal skills, he said.

“A lot of them have had the opportunity to work in the jail, where we learn to negotiate,” he said. “You can’t just hit people over the head and expect them to behave in the jail. You have to negotiate and give and take. And so learning to talk to people is the most important thing … everybody from the guy who’s down on his luck and has nothing to the president of a college.”

On the issue of a new jail, McLean said eventually a judge might force the county to upgrade if an inmate sued over unsafe conditions. Numbers have grown long-term at the jail despite the treatment court and community corrections programs. As has been the case nationwide, the jail numbers have temporarily dipped during the COVID-19 crisis as courts restricted their operations.

The county has made several proposals to voters for jail replacements or additions over the years, most recently a jail addition that was narrowly defeated in 2018.

McLean said his first requirement for any proposal is that it be affordable for residents. If there is only a freestanding jail, he would prefer it be built on the county-owned land across Dodge Street so it can be near the court. In the case of a complex where a jail would be paired with a new district court, McLean said he would like to see it remain in Houghton. Camp Kitwen, which some residents have suggested for a new jail, would be a “white elephant” as costly as a new facility once maintenance costs were included, he said.

“This isn’t my jail,” he said. “This is the taxpayers’ jail. This is the community jail. A jail is part of a healthy community. And a safe and secure jail is what the statute calls for … we improve all of our infrastructure across the county. The same can be said for the jail.”

McLean said he brings the most experience of any candidate, and has spent his career building relations with county residents and groups. He has also represented the county on the state level through the Michigan Sheriffs Association, serving as past presidents and also the board of directors.

“I have the experience, I have the temperament, I have the knowledge, and I’ve been through the different cycles that we’ve been through,” he said, describing the lean years after the 2008 recession. “I think we strike a fair balance there in making sure we run efficiently and people get what we can give them.”