James Akes, a deputy with the Linn County Sheriff's Office, is seeking the Republican nomination on Aug. 6 to become the sheriff. If he wins the primary he will not be opposed on the November ballot. Here are his answers to our candidate survey.
Why have you decided to run for office?
I have decided to run for office as I believe I can make a positive impact on the community and continue to grow and evolve the new Linn County Sheriff's Office and Linn County Jail.
What is your background and how has that prepared you to serve your constituents?
Prior to public service, I owned and operated multiple successful small businesses; one still being in operation today. I began as a public servant for Linn County with the Linn County Rural Fire Department in early 2000s. I then became a Certified E.M.T. and worked in the jail part-time at Anderson County Sheriff's Office. I began working as a part-time Deputy at the Linn County Sheriff's Office in 2013 and transitioned to a full-time Deputy in 2015. After attending the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center I became a certified law enforcement officer. Additionally, I have served as the lead death investigator for the Linn County Coroner's Office since 2018 and have supervised other death investigators during that time.
With owning a small business I have extensive experience related to personnel, budgeting, scheduling, and providing a service to the public. During my time in public service I feel I have built great relationships between working in the different services and have a great understanding of public service and serving the residents of Linn County. I feel that this has prepared me to take on the role as Linn County Sheriff.
One of the primary responsibilities of the sheriff has become operating the jail. How do you plan on managing that facility and do you have changes you would like to make?
As of right now we have a phenomenal Corrections staff that are highly trained and professional. I want to maintain the current leadership of the facility and build off of the foundation that has been set for the last two years since the jail opened. I believe that having good staff with a want to work and determination to succeed is the key to our success. The jail needs constant monitoring of commodities to ensure that we are getting the best deal available.
What other changes would you like to make for the sheriff’s office?
I would like to implement a Public Information Officer to keep the community informed on local scams, dangers, and general information that can be useful to the public through social media and local news. I would also like to seek out grants for equipment and operations to reduce the burden to the citizens of Linn County and still be able to give them the best services available.
What are some of the ways that you can make sure the sheriff’s office retains deputies instead of losing them to other law enforcement agencies?
Wages of all Linn County employees need to be reevaluated. I would like to work with the Linn County Commissioners on a plan to increase wages of current employees. I feel the wages for the jail staff along with Sheriff's deputies are lower than some surrounding counties. This has made it challenging to retain good employees when the opportunities are just across the county line. Currently Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas Highway Patrol are hiring at a higher base pay than most deputies are making currently with many years of experience. Retaining current employees is financially beneficial compared to hiring someone without experience. Currently cost of living as we all know has increased to the point of emergency with wages maintaining the same without compensating for the increase. This is crucial to employees that are looking to be financially stable.
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