There’s now a second candidate in the Carson City sheriff’s election.
Lorne Houle has announced his intent to run against Sheriff Ken Furlong.
“I care about Carson City, it is my hometown and I care about the future of it,” Houle said. “I care about the opioid (problems), I feel like crime has just gotten worse ... I really care about the outcome of Carson City, I can’t stress that enough, I care about the safety of the people here.”
This is Houle’s second time running against Furlong. He ran in the 2014 election, receiving less than 1 percent of the votes in the primary election.
“I don’t give up easily,” Houle said. “One thing I learned in the Marines was to never surrender, never give up and those values I learned I transitioned into my civilian life.”
He said this year will be different because citizens have seen his name and he’s more prominent with them.
“This will be different because people have seen my name now, my name has been on the ballot before,” Houle said.
The Carson City native is a Marine veteran, serving four of those years as a military police officer.
“When I came back to Carson City I was thrown back because I had a lot of friends who were into drugs, there was a lot more crime than I remembered and I could sit by and watch it become a place I didn’t want to live in,” Houle said.
Though Houle doesn’t have any experience in law enforcement, he believes he understands how the department works.
“I have done some ride-alongs and I went through some of the police academy in Orange County,” Houle said. “Plus I watch Live PD so I have a gist of what they do here because that one isn’t like Cops that only shows the highlight reel, it shows the boring parts too so it’s more realistic.
“It has to do with opportunity, not necessarily experience. There is no school to be a sheriff, it is trial and error. Even Ken Furlong has (messed) up along the way and he learned from those mistakes. I am sure if I am elected the department will be in hot water now and then but we can pull out of it and manage and start fresh. I think a lot of it is about knowledge. Experience helps of course but sometimes you don’t always have to be involved more to make a difference in that area.”
But he feels his ambition is enough to create change.
“I truly feel I can make a difference, I just need to keep at it,” Houle said. “I have a lot to offer Carson City and people will see that commitment, that I was committed to this.”
As his campaign strategy, Houle said he’s planning on focusing on promoting his platform on social media.
“Last year Daniel Gonzales said he went to 11,000 homes and I am not saying it didn’t work but I think social media is the place to go because I can talk to a large group of people at one time,” Houle said. “I am still interested in the footwork, but you are getting more younger people online and more involved in the system, which would increase my chances.”
While he doesn’t have his campaign webiste running yet, Houle said he hopes to have it up soon.