" Thanks for the comments Detective Holland. I hope more and more people see what Mr. Thielen is all about. I did listen to party line today as well. I have to say thank you to the officer that called in as well. I didn't understand Mr. Thielen's answer to his question though. The officer asked him why he hadn't contacted the police union to speak with them and Mr. Thielen's response was "I was told I couldn't go". Who told him that? I would assume that the union would welcome his comments and ideas. He's basically wanting to be their boss, yet doesn't seek them out for their input? Some of the things he brought up today seem to be union issues. He also stated that he doesn't want to show his hand...Why? Isn't that what he should be doing? He stated that he would fix the moral problem. He stated that he has spoken to a few officers regarding the "moral problem", yet he has not spoken to the entire group and his reason is that he was told that he couldn't.

The other thing that got me was that he feels that both parties need to be arrested on domestic cases. If that became the policy under his administration, I would think that victims would be less likely to report the crime. That in itself would lead to more domestic violence.

God help us all if he's elected. "

" Good comments from Joe Green and Det Holland. I'm glad to hear from someone within the department who has the stones to spek out against Ben. Thanks Det. Holland!

Did anyone hear party line today? Ben stated that there is a connection between drugs and stolen property! Wow! Mind blowing stuff!

He should know, he bonds them all out. He also stated that he would have officers arrest both parties in domestic situations. Wow! Does he even know the law?

"Zero tolerance for the law", thats what his platform should be... "

" The bondsmen in todays messed up society is a necessary evil, however, when the crackhead PAYS him to get out of jail, he completes the ugly circle. Crackhead has no job, crackhead gets arrested for drugs, crackhead PAYS bondsman, in this case Thielen, crackhead is out on bond. Where does crackhead get the moeny to pay Thielen? From selling illegal drugs or his prescription, also illegal, or the proceeds from selling stolen property. Pretty easy equation.
I would venture to say that Thielen's campaign signs, which state he has "zero tolerance for meth" were purchased with the proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs and stolen. How ironic.
SO, what does Thielen do with the money he receives from the crackhead who gets arrested?
Just curious, but how does a person like Thielen switch overnight from an associate of the criminal element to the top law enforement official in this county?
Maybe he would use the information he has learned from his criminal contacts to help clean up this town. Highly unlikely.
A very huge possibility would be that this town would go back to an age where the Sheriff or Chief and his close few were corrupt and lawlessness was rampant.
Walsh may have his downfalls (who doesn't) but he definitely has zero tolerance for meth. "

" Thank you Det Srg Holland,your letter has many good points and I have to agree with you.

Mr. Theilen could be breaking the law if he knowingly takes money that is from illegal activities. Maybe one way to get these dealers is income tax evasion! "

" My name is George Holland. I am a Detective Sergeant with the Butte Police Department. Im writing in response to the letter from Kate Sheehan (my sister) in regards to the Sheriff candidate running on the zero tolerance for meth platform.

Up until June of this year I worked solely narcotics for about five years. I felt at one time that the jail should have installed a revolving door because Mr. Thielen was getting them out faster than I could put them in.

Im talking about the repeat offenders that have been arrested time and time again for sales or possession of methamphetamine. These are people that dont have jobs, yet they can come up with several thousands of dollars for bond.

I could name several that have been convicted of possession with intent to distribute (methamphetamine) and time and time again are bonded out by Mr. Thielen. These are not one time users. These are repeat offenders that continue to wreak havoc on our community. They get bonded out and then start slinging their product again.

Even those of us with jobs would have a hard time getting money for bond, yet these people who are repeat offenders can bond out with no problem. Where do they get the money? They get it from selling drugs and stolen property.

If either candidate can use the term zero tolerance for meth its John Walsh. He lets us do our jobs and put meth dealers and other criminals in jail, not bond them out for a quick buck. "

" Theilen is now promising some supporters that he will fire several officers for arresting their family members.

Lets see, firing people for doing their jobs... sounds an awful lot like more lawsuits that the taxpayers will have to flip the bill for... "

" Bail bondsmen are NOT COPS! By the time a bondsman is involved, the 'tolerance' has already lapsed. A bondsman is a 'reactive' piece of the puzzle. Sheriff is a 'pro-active' position that can actually do some good. Ultimately the Sheriff and the courts need to be on board with zero tolerance. I'd like to see something good happen with this. God knows Walsh has been there too long and does almost nothing. I'm not sure if I'm voting FOR Theilen or AGAINST Walsh... "

" I does seem that there would be a conflict of interest if Theilen is an owner of a bods company and also the Sheriff. He could be in the position to have people arrested then bailed out. It doesn't matter even if he put the company in his daughters name you know it is still his company.

I have a hard time understanding why there are not better people running for this position. Two choices of bad and worst is not much of a choice. "

" Why did the standard remove Theilen's response and all the comments?

Why were they separated in the first place?

Does it seem that he may be getting some preferential treatment from the paper?

He did seem to have a prompt response to Ms. Sheehans letter.

Did someone place a call and tell the standard to remove his response?

Makes one wonder... "

" callem,
Why don't you move to a third world country. If you think that Walsh is a joke and you are voting for Ben, you are either out of your mind or you are related to Ben. "

" I vote ben
walsh is a joke. i would rather live in the most deprived third world country than ever have to deal with mr. walsh again. for heavens sake i know about 50 people i would vote for before i voted walsh back in "

" Goldie, Buddy Walsh said he was going to run and then changed his mind. He stated that he's not interested. Like rumrunner said, if people start throwing write in votes now, we may end up with Theilen as sheriff. As much as people may be tired of Walsh (for real or imagined reasons), he is really the only clear choice. I think we can all live another 4 years with Walsh (as bad as that may sound to some). Can you imagine what Theilen would do to the department? It would be like the 60's and 70's all over again. On the bright side, we would probably have an FBI office here again. "

" No, no don't re-elect Walsh or Thielen either. What about Buddy? Buddy Walsh-no relation. I'd vote for Buddy Walsh for Sheriff before anybody else I can think of, if you could talk him into it. "

" ChitChat, I agree. Good comments, but please reconsider writing anyone in. Keep this in mind, whoever gets written in will not get enough votes to win. Every write in vote is a vote that Walsh could use. We may not agree with Walsh or what he's done or not done, but a write in vote for someone who won't win anyway is like a vote for Thielen. The bottom line is that it's going to be Walsh or Thielen as sheriff, I gotta vote for Walsh. "

" I don't think Ben can answer that question zamoto. He has to use tact and be politically correct and he doesn't have that in him. I'm sure he's collected many things over the year besides money for bond. "

" Great letter Kate. It sparked a lot of input. I didn't know much of Thielen's history until lately and these posts all pose really good points. I won't vote for him. And I hate to vote for Walsh. Anyone know anybody who would be an excellent write-in? "

" Ben answer this, you are being investigated by state for receiving stolen property for bond payment. Police officers removed a stolen camp trailer from your property, after the thief stated he gave it to you for exchange for bond payment? "

" Like I said long ago, I had the displeasure of dealing with Mr. Thielen a few years ago to get my grandson out of jail. I was never treated as poorly as I was that night. Now he's running for sheriff and wants us all to believe that he's the right man for the job.
How many people out there have been victimized whether it be physical or property taken? Why are people stealing our property? To feed thier habits, thats why.
How many of all those people are bonded out by this man and continue to steal from us?
Zero tolerance for meth? What a sham! He has made his $$$ from bonding out meth addicts. He can say what he wants about "innocent until proven guilty". He's in it for the money.If his family does take over his business and he's elected sheriff, he will make even more money. I'll bet he forces the jail to only use AA Bail Bonds!
Who is is going to place as undersheriff? a defense attorney?
What a joke!
I hope that the folks of Butte see right through this sham.
Maybe Ben wouldn't have so much negative press had it not been for his "zero tolerance for meth" slogan. "

" How is it that Ms. Sheehan can write the standard with a very good open minded opinion, and the standard takes her letter and feeds it to Mr. Theilen so he can write his response after he has had time to study it?

I would like to know how Mr. Theilen can keep trying to convince people that he's like some super-hero standing up for peoples constitutional rights.

It's true that we all have the right to a "reasonable bail". Mr. Theilen acts as if he is compelled to bond people out as it is HIS obligation as a bondsman. He does it to make money, and he doesn't care where it comes from.

Lets get back to the issue....How can he run with a zero tolerance for meth platform when he continues to bond out repeat meth offenders?

How is it that he can bond the same unemployed person out time and time again for continued meth related crimes and say he has zero tolerance for meth?

How can he look at himself in the mirror knowing that he accepts thousands of dollars in meth money from people who don't have a pot to piss in?

annd has a great point. While Mr. Theilen bonds people out to make money, they can continue on the same path of destruction that landed them in jail in the first place. They steal from you and me so that they can feed their habit. They know that if they get caught, freedom is a phone call away (at any price).

Several years ago he bonds out a child molester and the man runs on him. The child molester goes to another state and gets arrested for the same type crime. How many other victims were created because Mr. Theilen was protecting that child molester's constitutional right to fair bail?

He's in it to make money. Whether you like Mr. Theilen or not, he is a bail bondsman. He has made money bonding the bad guys (and gals) out of jail.

He should stick to bail bonds, thats what he does well. The fact that he's running for Sheriff in itself is a conflict of interest.

I also think that someone else wrote his response. I'm sure Mr. Theilen doesn't know the definition of "myriad".

Lastly, if and when he's elected sheriff (God forbid) and his daughter runs the bail bond company, can you get a more clear definition of "conflict of interest"? "

" Yes, I think we've experienced this contradiction. One of those he bailed out thankfully is in Prison, but not until after he ran (across state lines) and didn't show up for his sentencing hearing. Only when he got caught with more drugs in another state did he get arrested and sentenced. He also was a violent offender out of another county, and there was doubt that the guy used a weapon in the Butte crime. And, the guy has been a volatile individual while being incarcerated--resulting in infraction after infraction. "